Afri Twin is an international school linking initiative that facilitates mutually beneficial partnerships between students and teachers at schools in the United Kingdom and South Africa.[1][2] It was founded in 2001 by Jayne Martin, a South African then living in the United Kingdom who has since returned to South Africa.[3][4] Afri Twin provides support for the programme by matching schools with suitable partners, providing guidance to participating schools and arranging workshops and other networking events.[1] The benefits of Afri Twin partnerships include global learning, greater cultural tolerance and the improvement of learning facilities in disadvantaged schools.[2][4] In 2010, there were over 250 schools in the United Kingdom and South Africa participating in the initiative.[1]
Participating schools are arranged in collaborative clusters of up to six schools,[5] including at least one British school and one South African school, with one aim being the upliftment of a disadvantaged South African school in each cluster.[2][6][7][8] Apart from physical visits to partner schools,[7][9][10] students at twinned schools are encouraged to learn more about other cultures via pen pal relationships,[11]video chat,[12] and blogging,[11] and teachers exchange teaching tips and ideas.[13][14] School clusters also collaborate on themed projects that incorporate a variety of school subjects and foster global citizenship.[9][13]
Some participating schools have received financial support for the initiative from the British Council, a British charity that promotes international educational and cultural relations. Participating schools also undertake their own fundraising projects to help finance overseas trips and school upliftment projects.[7][9][10][11][15]
de Klerk, Werner; Temane, Q. Michael; Nienaber, Alida W. (2013). "The Prevalence of Well-Being on Teachers in Afri Twin Schools as Well as Non Afri Twin Schools". Journal of Psychology in Africa. 23 (3): 419–424. doi:10.1080/14330237.2013.10820646. hdl:10394/14375. S2CID55138047.