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News release

32 young African researchers build their data analysis skills at the 2025 Afrobarometer Summer School and Thematic Workshop

22 Jan 2025 South Africa
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News release

Thirty-two young African researchers from 14 countries are sharpening their research and  analysis skills at the 2025 Afrobarometer English-language Summer School and Thematic  Workshop, hosted at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. More than half of the  programme’s participants are women, underscoring Afrobarometer’s dedication to  empowering women. 

Afrobarometer’s Summer School is an introductory-level analysis course that equips young  African scholars with essential skills in research design, survey methodology, and data  analysis, focusing on public attitudes towards democracy, governance, and other critical  areas. The 2025 Summer School, taking place from 13 to 31 January, will give participants the  opportunity to explore a range of topics, including perspectives on climate change, support  for military rule or democracy, and attitudes towards refugees, free trade and open borders,  access to healthcare, and women’s participation. 

The two-week intermediate Thematic Workshop, running from 20 January to 2 February,  focuses on developing more advanced data collection and analysis skills among African  researchers, fostering impactful research and strengthening research networks across African  institutions.  

According to Jason Owen, Afrobarometer capacity building manager (advanced track),  the Summer School and Thematic Workshop serve as vital platforms for capacity building,  collaboration, and the advancement of research that addresses Africa’s pressing  governance challenges.  

“By building a new generation of scholars and facilitating the production of analytical  outputs that make use of Afrobarometer’s extensive open access datasets, we continue to  amplify African voices and contribute to data-driven policymaking across the continent,” he  said. 

Participants are optimistic about the workshop’s transformative impact. 

“As a humanitarian and development communication specialist, I work with  communities and policy-makers to address political engagement issues among refugees  and internally displaced people,” said Ruth Nakayima, research assistant and  communication officer at Plan International Uganda. “This  workshop will build my capacities to understand geopolitics and to use data for social  development.”