Ann Cotton

Brought up in Wales, I began my career teaching in a deprived area of London. In 1991 as a graduate student of the London University’s Institute of Education, I travelled to rural Zimbabwe to investigate the barriers preventing girls from attending school. In spending time with families, teachers, and tribal leaders, I realised that it was poverty that forced families to limit their daughters’ progression to secondary school. At that time, this challenged the received wisdom that cultural norms were the primary obstacle.

As a result, in 1993 I founded the Campaign for Female Education, which became known as CAMFED. Starting with grassroots fundraising, the organisation initially supported the education of 32 girls in Zimbabwe.

Under my leadership, CAMFED dramatically expanded its team, cultivating a culture vested in the core principle of accountability to the child. Over the years, programmes were established in five Sub-Saharan African countries - Zimbabwe, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia - and organisations established in the U.K., U.S. and Canada.

CAMFED’s innovative model focuses on creating a supportive ecosystem around girls, bolstered by the full engagement, support and expertise of their communities, local institutions, and national education ministries. At its heart, the model shares power within and beyond local communities, thereby ensuring sustainable impact. It’s the manner in which something is done that determines its impact. When a girl is placed at the centre of concern and action by all those with the power to influence her life, she grows up believing in her worth and capability.

Recognising the challenges female secondary school graduates faced as they left school and seeing the power of alumni networks, CAMA (the CAMFED Association) was born with the first 400 secondary school graduates of the programme. This pan-African network is a powerful force for change, with members supporting each other and extending educational opportunities to their communities' children. Each member of CAMA typically supports the education of two to three children outside her own family, setting in motion a virtuous circle. CAMA members are now doctors, lawyers, teachers, farmers and entrepreneurs and becoming influential leaders in their communities.

Over the years, I have received numerous awards for my work. In 2006, I was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to education in Africa. I also received an Honorary Doctorate in Law from Cambridge University and an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the Open University. In 2014, I was honoured with the WISE Prize for Education.

I am a speaker on international platforms, including the World Economic Forum, a Skoll Awardee, a Schwab Awardee and an Honorary Fellow of Homerton College at the University of Cambridge. I remain committed to CAMFED as Founder Emerita.

Until recently I served on the board of Girls Not Brides, as a member of the Transformative Leadership Panel of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), and a member of the Mastercard Foundation Collaboration for Impact.