In the first Phase of Teach Africa, principals, superintendents, and policymakers assemble for a program and reception where they learn why it is crucial that Africa education be included in their schools' curricula. The Teach Africa program demonstrates Africa's significance and relevance by exposing administrators, educators, and policymakers to members of the African Diplomatic Corps, members of the academic community, and experts on Africa's diverse people, history, cultures, and economies. Past Phase One speakers include such renowned personalities as His Excellency Amadou Lamine Ba, Ambassador from Senegal to the U.S.; Dr. Sarah Moten, Chief of Education Division of USAID; Actor Michael Nouri; John Donaldson, Africa Spokesman for the World Bank; Her Excellency Faida Mitifu, Ambassador to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Africa Society, in partnership with the International Diplomacy Council of San Francisco, launched the first Phase of Teach Africa in October 2002, in the San Francisco Bay area. On the East Coast, the first Phase of Teach Africa was held in Washington, D.C. on November 20, 2002 during International Education Week. In 2006, Phase One of Teach Africa was successfully implemented in Pittsburgh, PA and Portland, OR in collaboration with the World Affairs Councils of Pittsburgh and Oregon. In June 2008, The Africa Society, in Partnership with The World Affairs Council of Houston, UCLA's African Studies Center, and The Southern Center for International Studies, launched Phase One of Teach Africa in Houston, Los Angeles, and Atlanta respectively. On average, Phase One of Teach Africa draws 200 educators and administrators. It is our hope that these educational leaders will come to understand that an integrated approach to Africa education is both possible and necessary.