INEE Member Spotlight: Drew Edwards

Location:  Uganda

Job Title: CEO, Pangea Educational Development

Contact: drew@pangeaeducation.org

Introduce yourself to other members. Tell us who you are and summarize the work you do or interest you have in EiE. 

I lead an education social enterprise that publishes educational content in local languages, and with programming in the refugee camp setting in Uganda.

What has been a highlight of your work as a professional in EiE? Feel free to share a personal story. 

Our programming and even publishing is community-led. Our staff are from the communities we work in and many are refugees themselves. The highlight of my work has been seeing our team as changemakers in their communities,and  I am convinced that this is what makes the real difference in our work.

When and why did you join INEE, and what is the value of INEE membership to you?

I joined INEE last year to become part of the INEE Community of Practice (INEE CoP). The work we do is difficult and leadership can be a lonely journey. When I connect with colleagues, whether within our context in Uganda or beyond, I feel a camaraderie that strengthens me for our work. Not to mention that there are quite a few amazing resources and opportunities that are posted in the network.

How do you currently engage with the INEE network? 

I currently manage the #Uganda community channel on the INEE Community of Practice and our team routinely hosts meetups to try to strengthen engagement between organizations in the region.

How would you like INEE members to connect and engage with you? What skills, experience and/or technical support would you be willing to share or provide to other members and/or INEE Secretariat? 

We have a lot of experience in implementing and analyzing research. The unfortunate reality in EiE is that research is not done often enough, and when it is, there are frequently missed opportunities to connect with beneficiaries and deploy information for the good of all. We are happy and would love to connect on this, especially around foundational skills like literacy.

Anything else you want to share with members? 

You get out of INEE what you put into it. The more consistently engaged you are, the more you will make connections, learn new ideas, and seize opportunities. This also builds the community - the more engaged members we have the more value we all benefit from across the network.

*Published on July 2023.