On Tuesday 27 May, the University of Bristol invited Vice-Chancellors Professor Puleng LenkaBula, from the University of South Africa, and Professor Mosa Moshabela, from the University of Cape Town, to join Professor Evelyn Welch for a powerful and timely discussion on the future of global research collaborations.
The purpose of the visit was to deepen the cooperation between our universities and to finalise collaboration on the Africa Charter through meetings, engagements and a public panel discussion.
Panel Discussion: Towards a transformative agenda
The panel, with VCs or representatives of the three universities, was chaired by Lord Paul Boateng, a longstanding advocate for international collaboration and equitable development.
Speakers explored the future of global research collaborations in the face of an increasingly uncertain geopolitical, higher education and funding landscape.
“Understanding the assumptions we hold, understanding the systemic inequalities that are built into international global funding systems, understanding how careers are shaped by global systems rather than local systems, is something that really behoves us,” said Professor Evelyn Welch during the discussion, which looked at the rationale and motivation for a transformative agenda in Africa–North research collaboration.
Although Professor LenkaBula’s travel plans were disrupted, she was represented by Professor Puleng Segalo on the panel. You can watch the discussion on Youtube.
Progressing the Charter – a tripartite work programme
With the Africa Charter now widely endorsed worldwide (around 120 global signatories), the tripartite group, alongside the Africa Charter Steering Group, is advancing a programme of work to further progress the implementation of its goals through research, policy and practice engagement and capacity building.
Following their meeting, some of the next steps include simplifying how the Charter is articulated, developing an evidence base through targeted research, and building a champions network across institutions. There was a focus on practical implementation – on turning the community of interest into one of action.
