A small science club in Eswatini just won Africa's gold — with 27,000 students behind it

83 African science clubs, 27,000 student members and about 1,800 trainers — and the gold award went to the STEM Club of Eswatini. The programme, celebrated by UNESCO, has turned modest beginnings into a pathway through robotics, coding, artificial intelligence and engineering for students across the continent. Programme director Titus Mandla Sithole received the gold award in Paris. One alumnus, Nhlanhla Mavuso, went on to the University of Pennsylvania and won the 2026 President's Sustainability Prize for making data centres more energy-efficient. The award is a trophy; the real prize is the pipeline of young engineers it's building.