Folk education and adult learning in Tanzania history is dated back to pre-colonial times. In the context of KTA, interest on folk education and adult learning builds on the establishment Folk Development Colleges (FDCs) in Tanzania as machinery to institutionalise adult learning for community transformation. The Folk education programme in Tanzania was established borrowing experiences from successful adult literacy campaign in Tanzania and folk education philosophy in Sweden.

The latter is linked to compatibility of community socialism ideas of the by then the President of Tanzania Mwalimu Nyerere and social state position of Royal Swedish government under Prime Minister Olof Palme.

Establishment of FDCs in 1975, in Tanzania, from political philosophy as well as financial reasons, was backed solely by Sweden. It is this base that led into FDCs architecture in Tanzania being a mirror reflection (of its kind) of the folk high schools landscape in Sweden, much as it is in other Scandinavian countries. Prosperity of these FDCs with adult learning grew with a record reduction of adult illiteracy to as low as 10 %. An involvement of the Tanzanian government to re-instate democracy in Uganda, triggered by retaliation following Amin invading northwest Tanzania, and the economic shock in early 1980s, brought down resource support to adult education and FDCs in general.

It is from these times that adult learning as part of education system faced a down turn, resulting into increased illiteracy. Inequitable access at primary schooling coupled with almost non-existent of adult learning programmes led to increased illiteracy, ignorance and limited awareness on human rights and democratic issues to majority of Tanzanians.

Part of the reflection and connection of folk education in Tanzania to Swedish system of folk high schools, is the Karibu Tanzania Association (KTA) an umbrella network bringing together experience, capacity and potentials in adult education from 55 folk development colleges in Tanzania. This network was established and registered as a society in 1990. It mirrors a similar network in Sweden in the name of Karibu Sweden Association (KSA), the mission envisaged in this network is promote basic human rights, democratic practices at community level though folk education and adult learning. The first step for KTA towards achieving this mission is on institutional capacity building in the existing folk development colleges.

Karibu Tanzania Association (KTA) aims at exploiting the ICT developments especially the increased use of computer facilities and internet services to promote quality folk education and adult learning that will shape both the magnitude and direction of social transformation of the Tanzanian society for better. Key words in KTA operation in this setting are human rights, democratic practices and sustainable developments