The Association of African Universities presents 10 new policy briefs
October 10, 2024
Contemporary Legal Issues in Higher Education Training Programme, 2024
October 21, 2024PRESS RELEASE
Accra, Ghana, 10 October 2024 – The Association of African Universities (AAU) is calling on all higher education institutions across the continent to join the commemoration of this year’s Africa Universities’ Day. A week-long schedule of activities, slated from Monday November 11, through to Friday November 15, 2024, have been lined up for the celebrations, which also marks 57 years of the AAU’s existence and service to Africa’s higher education sector.
This year’s theme, “Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa”, is aligned to recognizing the year 2024 as the African Year of Education. The theme for this year was carefully selected to highlight activities in recognition of 2024 as the Year of Education, focusing on this important subject. For the first time, the African Union Commission has emphasized education as a central theme. The decision to prioritize education in 2024 was inspired by the global summit on transforming education, hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General in September 2022.
The Africa Universities’ Day is a key statutory event on the AAU’s calendar, observed annually to commemorate the founding of the Association on November 12, 1967, in Rabat, Morocco, as well as to highlight the contributions of the higher education sector to the development of the African continent. In 1994, and to coincide with the inaugural anniversary of the AAU, the Organisation of African Unity declared 12th November of every year as Africa Universities’ Day in pursuant to Resolution CM/Res.1534 passed by the OAU Council of Ministers in June of that year. The Africa Universities’ Day has been observed and celebrated by AAU member institutions since then. It also seeks to bring together academic leaders, policymakers, students, and industry experts to deliberate on key challenges and opportunities facing African universities.
“African Higher Education Institutions play a vital role in the overall success of the higher education system. They are essential in supporting all sectors of the economy and serve as the foundation for Africa’s development. As we celebrate 2024 as the Year of Education during our annual Africa Universities Week, we anticipate increased support for Africa’s education system and call on African governments and development partners to enhance and sustain their support for education across the continent.” – Prof. Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General, AAU.
This year’s events will be hosted virtually via the AAU-Zoom platform and streamed live on AAU TV as well as our social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
This year’s commemoration will feature a series of insightful high-level panel discussions and keynote presentations by experts, scholars, and leaders from academia, industry, and the public sector. Further details on the theme and topics to be discussed are highlighted in the concept notes which can be accessed in ENGLISH, FRENCH, ARABIC and PORTUGUESE.
The registration link is made available here – https://bit.ly/2024AfricaUniversitiesDay .
The 2024 Africa Universities Day promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking event that will provide the much-needed platform for deliberations on the contributions of higher education to Africa’s development. African higher education institutions are encouraged to commemorate the day within their campuses by arranging engaging events in the form of seminars, debates, exhibitions, social media dialogues, conferences, webinars, and other activities, aimed at exploring the theme and maximizing Africa’s gains from higher education. Alternatively, in cases where such initiatives are not feasible, higher education institutions and other stakeholders are urged to participate in the AAU Secretariat’s planned activities.
AAU encourages the management of universities, to circulate information concerning the 2024 Africa Universities Day celebrations to the Ministries of Education, University Councils, Committees of Vice-Chancellors, and all institutions involved in the management of Higher Education Institutions for their attention and participation in the events. Other public and private universities in each country which are non-members of the AAU, research institutions, the media and public should also be invited to join the celebrations to give visibility to the Africa Universities Day and promote the activities of Higher Education Institutions in each country.
AAU – The Voice of Higher Education in Africa!!
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Media Contacts
Ms. Naomi Darko, Communications Assistant, AAU – ndarko@aau.org
Ms Nodumo Dhlamini, Director ICT Services, Comms & KM – ndhlamini@aau.org
About the Association of African Universities
The AAU is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization created by African Universities to promote cooperation among them on the one hand, and between them and the international academic community on the other. Created in 1967, the AAU is the voice of higher education in Africa and aims to improve the quality of African higher education and strengthen its contribution to Africa’s development by supporting the core functions of higher education institutions and facilitating critical reflections and consensus building on issues affecting higher education. The AAU headquartered in Accra, Ghana has a membership of more than 400 Higher Education Institutions and is the technical implementing arm of the African Union Commission (AUC) in higher education. The Association is also the coordinating agency of the Higher Education Cluster of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25). Through our guidance, our member universities are also responsible for implementing the AUC’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024).
