MEDIA ADVISORY

WHAT: The Continental Forum on Diaspora, Higher Education, Research and Innovation in Africa

WHEN: 13 – 14 November, 2019

WHERE: African Union Commission Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

WHO: The African Union Commission through its Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) and the Human Resources Science and Technology (HRST) Department in partnership with the Institute of African studies of Carleton University and the Carnegie Corporation.

Background Information

The Continental Forum on Diaspora, Higher Education, Research and Innovation will provide practical implementation of the operational of objectives 9 and 12 of the CESA 16-25, relating to higher education, scientific research and innovation to improve higher education and build stakeholder coalitions on education, respectively.

The forum will convene a multi-stakeholder coalition consisting of educators; policy makers; regional and continental institutions; and industry groups around a process to develop a road map for national, regional, continental, and trans-national action towards the achievement of the strategic objectives of the CESA 16-25 (Objectives 9 and 12).

• Strategic Objective 9: Revitalize and expand tertiary education, research and innovation to address continental challenges and promote global competitiveness

• Strategic Objective 12: Set up a coalition of stakeholders to facilitate and support activities resulting from the implementation of CESA 16-25.

Expected outcomes

• Improved situational understanding of the higher education sector in Africa through detailed distillations of lessons learned from previous interventionist initiatives in the various disciplines of higher education and research with strategic importance to the continent, including STEM, health, technology, the humanities and the social sciences;

• Enhanced awareness of current diaspora-led interventions in higher education and research in Africa through the mapping of diaspora engagement in selected areas;

• Enhanced participation of the African diaspora in the implementation of the CESA-16-25 through the development of operational mechanisms to convert existing ad-hoc initiatives into permanent, structured diaspora-led knowledge exchange programs;

• Improved coordination between higher education and research professionals in Africa and their counterparts in the diaspora through the creation and operationalization of trans-spatial networks of academics and researchers in the various disciplines of strategic importance to the continent.

This forum will also contribute to the ‘Pan-African E-university’, an Agenda 2063 flagship project that aims to accelerate the development of human capital, science, technology and innovation through increasing access to high quality information across the continent.

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For more information on registration and program details: - www.diasporaforum2019.com
For media inquiries contact:

Ms. Janet Faith Ochieng| Communications Officer, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission | Tel: +251(0) 911361185 | E-mail: OchiengJ@africa-union.org