Afrobarometer has launched a virtual training video library to enable anyone – from government and civil society to the media, students, and the general public – to access, understand, and use its data on Africans’ experiences and preferences.
The library provides step-by-step guidance through a series of short, user-friendly videos, showing how to navigate Afrobarometer’s online data analysis (ODA) tool to analyse data and create graphics – all without requiring advanced statistical skills. The ODA tool provides free access to more than 25 years’ worth of Afrobarometer survey data on democracy, governance, quality of life, and related issues based on more than 400,000 interviews across 42 African countries.
Carolyn Logan, Afrobarometer’s director of capacity building, underscored the initiative’s broader goal.
“Our vision is to ensure that African voices are not just heard but also used to shape policy and development,” she said. “This training video library makes it easier for everyone to use Afrobarometer’s data, giving them the tools they need to translate data into insights that matter.”
Dominique Dryding, Afrobarometer capacity building manager (basic track), added that the training video library aims to democratise access to Afrobarometer’s wealth of resources.
“The Afrobarometer training video library is designed to make our data and tools more accessible for everyone,” she said. “By equipping researchers, students, journalists, and policy makers with practical, user-friendly guidance, we hope to strengthen the ability of Africans everywhere to engage with the data and apply it to pressing policy challenges.”
The video library is the latest addition to Afrobarometer’s capacity building programme, a core pillar of the organisation. Afrobarometer provides summer schools for researchers, training workshops on basic and advanced statistical skills, and thematic workshops to address diverse research needs; mentorship and networking through its Emerging Scholars initiative; and university outreach to help faculty and students integrate Afrobarometer data into their work.
Together, these initiatives are nurturing a new generation of data-savvy researchers and helping to ensure that African voices inform policy and development.