The University of Pretoria’s (UP) Africa Week 2023 recently provided an impactful convening platform for several of the University’s key knowledge partners to engage on topics related to the theme ‘Open Africa, Open Science’.

The Australia-Africa Universities Network (AAUN), for which UP hosts the Africa Secretariat, held its Africa Forum at the University’s Future Africa Institute under the theme ‘Collaborations and Partnerships for Impact’. This forum precedes the annual Australia Forum, which will take place on 4 and 5 September at Curtin University in Perth, Australia.

Established in 2012, the AAUN is a bilateral network of 13 African universities and 10 Australian universities. It focuses on the engagement of Australian universities in sub-Saharan Africa to enable the provision of specific expertise across areas of priority for Australia and Africa. AAUN is equitably chaired between Australia and Africa, with UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Tawana Kupe acting as Co-Chair for Africa and Professor John Hearn of the University of Sydney as Co-Chair for Australia.

During the forum’s day-long event, discussions were held on the critical role of emerging partnership arrangements such as the AAUN in addressing increasingly complex global issues, including climate change, food insecurity, technological changes, and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Attended by delegates from various member universities, the forum provided a platform for adding substance to an emerging field that is at the interface of international relations and science – science diplomacy.

“The quality of discussion during the Africa Forum was invaluable as always,” said Professor Frans Swanepoel, Director of International Strategic Partnerships at UP. “Africa Forum discussions always try to avoid sugar-coating the shortcomings of academia’s role in society while critically examining where the network’s successes can be further boosted and enabled for impact through diversity and inclusivity of perspectives and representation.”

‘No single university or nation can address the range of current intractable problems’

The Australian High Commissioner to South Africa, Tegan Brink, delivered the opening address, during which she affirmed her government’s commitment to furthering its relations with Africa. Part of this commitment includes recognising the increasing importance of diaspora populations from Africa, which have grown by more than 70% over the past 15 years. Australia’s relations with Africa are founded on the shared values of advancing human rights and furthering development through programmes and policies that promote trade, services and investments.

“It is important for academics to be committed to the project of partnerships for them to be successful,” said Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University Professor Harlene Hayne. “Teamwork assists in tackling wicked problems such as those outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. No single university or nation can address the range of current intractable problems.”

Dr Thandi Mgwebi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation, and Internationalisation at Nelson Mandela University, was of the view that cross-sectoral partnerships are driven by cross-sectoral innovation, and that the benefits can be scaled to amplify their impact.

“Cross-sectoral partnerships can benefit from replicability and sustainable approaches to drive scale,” she added.

Professor Cecilia Onyango of the University of Nairobi also attended the event. She is a professor of horticulture and a member of the Executive Committee of the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems, which is co-hosted by UP, the University of Nairobi and the University of Ghana at the Future Africa Institute.

“Complex global problems cannot be solved through a reliance on one discipline and the neglect of others – there is a need for mutual respect for various disciplines,” she said.

Prof Onyango also argued that Africa has a lot to offer the world but that Africans tend to “adopt a beggarly mindset”, which needs to change.

“Collaboration leads to improved science, increased community impact and the identification of research complementarities,” argued Professor Kadambot Siddique, Director of the Institute for Agriculture at the University of Western Australia. “Partnerships should embrace flexibility by using transparent communication and regular consultation. Students must play a central role in all of this.”

‘Women’s participation leads to higher levels of productivity and a diversity of perspectives’

Topics that emerged from the session on promoting gender equity and diversity included challenges around gender equity, which plague developing countries as a consequence of cultural and social norms; limited access to education and economic empowerment; decent work; and high levels of gender-based violence.

In terms of labour force participation rates and economic growth, women’s participation leads to higher levels of productivity and women provide a diversity of perspectives. This improves education and promotes effective solutions. Growth and productivity result from the more equitable participation of women in the economy, which offers a strong economic argument for the career advancement for women.

Professor Lina Pelliccione, Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Curtin University’s Mauritius Campus, said there is a need to promote gender equity through intentional action to create and foster more diverse, inclusive environments. She noted the social pressure that has been mounting in this regard towards building fairer societies. The question is which strategy will have the greatest impact.

Professor Treena Burgess, Director of Research at the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University, spoke of the “ceiling” problem that women in Africa encounter and of the importance of mentoring early-career researchers to help them build the networks and support systems that are needed when a woman takes a career break.

Echoing Prof Pelliccione’s point, Professor Loretta Feris, Vice-Principal: Academic at UP, spoke of the importance of research on gender issues. She also noted the importance of intentionality in addressing gender issues; of embracing equity, diversity and inclusivity as shared values; and of the critical role of leadership in managing partnerships, research priorities and agendas, which should be characterised by equity, inclusivity and diversity.

Opportunities for knowledge sharing

During the event, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Prof Feris and Prof Hayne, who also took the opportunity to announce the newly launched Curtin Centre for Australia-Africa relations.

The centre is led by Professor David Mickler, Dean Global, Africa at Curtin University, and Professor Christopher Isike, Director of UP’s Africa Centre for the Study of the United States. Prof Isike emphasised the opportunities for knowledge sharing to address global challenges and the role of African academics in Australia as a resource. The centre highlights the reinvigorated relations with Africa and the opportunities that exist across science diplomacy, which are boosted by the South African government’s launch of the Science Diplomacy for Economic Development programme.

The forum provided a platform for adding substance to an emerging field that is at the interface of international relations and science – science diplomacy. This encapsulates the role of science on the geopolitical stage – and for the AAUN and the Future Africa Institute – the role of the science diaspora and the related idea of “brain circularity” as a source of expertise for cross-sectoral partnerships and multidisciplinary research. This is broadly founded on the idea of science as a neutral space and arena for collaboration that transcends political and socio-economic differences.

The full report of the Africa Forum will be available on the AAUN website.