The inaugural conference of the Institute for the African Child was a forum to bring together scholars and practitioners. This international and interdisciplinary conference included panel and paper presentations synthesizing theory and practice. Running concurrently was a K-12 teacher strand, focusing on ways to incorporate African children's issues into the K-12 curriculum. The conference was followed by a series of three 1-week classes, which expanded the themes presented during the conference. Emphasis was placed on praxis, the blending of theory and practice in ways that move the issues toward specific action.

During week 1 "Child Survival and Development in Africa" provided an overview of childhood in Africa, with an emphasis on society, education, broadcasting and community. During week 2 "Action Research for Child Survival", began with an introduction to Participatory Assessment (PA) methodologies and included a field experience in which students conducted a participatory assessment. The week ended with an evaluation of the data collected in the field and a discussion of the application of participatory assessment to support broadcasting for child survival in Africa. "Entertainment and Development for African Child Survival" during week 3 began with an introduction to the broadcast programming strategy, Entertainment-Education. Participants were involved in the design and production of prototypes of radio programs to support child survival in Africa. On Saturday, July 10, the workshop closed with a plenary session featuring program producers and the 'launching' of the radio programs produced during the workshop.