Leading higher education committees and networks in Africa have presented a charter for transformative research collaborations. This aims to set the framework for African universities to collaborate with the Global North and address existing inequalities. The charter was presented at the Association of African Universities AAU Rectors' Conference and is open to be signed.
The "Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations" was developed by the Perivoli Africa Research Centre at the University of Bristol in cooperation with the University of Cape Town and the University of South Africa in dialogue with higher education and research stakeholders from Europe, North America and other parts of the world. The Charter is co-sponsored by the Association of African Universities (AAU), the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), among other African higher education bodies and networks.
The Charter formulates key principles to make up for the multi-layered power imbalances in research collaborations between Africa and the Global North in all scientific disciplines. It contains approaches to put the principles into practice - at the level of individual higher education institutions, networks, committees, funding agencies, science associations and publishers, as well as governments. For this purpose, the implementation of the charter is to be supported by a broad-based accompanying program.
The Charter was presented on the 5th of July during the AAU Biennial Conference Of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities 2023 (COREVIP 2023) in Namibia. Stakeholders in the higher education sector are encouraged to sign the charter.