Accra, Ghana, 16^th June 2021 – Under the patronage of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, the Association of African Universities (AAU), will be holding its 15^th General Conference on July 5-8, 2021, virtually.  | Download French Version HERE

The AAU, Africa’s apex continental Higher Education body with a membership of over 400 higher education institutions, convenes its General Conference – an assembly of representatives of all member institutions and key higher education stakeholders including policy makers, academics, researchers, development partner representatives and others, once every four years.

The 2021 General Conference, with the theme: “The Future of African Higher Education” will, among other things, provide an opportunity for African academics to share scientific and research information on the theme, as well as provide a platform for sharing best practices with policy makers, and strengthen networking among African higher education institutions.

The Conference also features statutory sessions which are specific to the Association, such as electing a new Governing Board from among the Vice Chancellors, Presidents and Rectors of the member universities; Assessing the activities implemented by the AAU in the past four years against the background of its Work Programme and Strategic Plan approved at the previous Conference and; Approving the plan of activities and budget estimates for the following four-year period.

The 15^th General Conference coincides with the 21^st Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP), which is also hosted by the AAU.  The two events are jointly being held under the  main theme with the following six (6) Sub-themes :

Sub-Theme 1: The Future of African Higher Education Post-COVID-19 ; Sub-Theme 2: Contributions of African Higher Education Institutions to Addressing the Challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic ; Sub-Theme 3: Contributions of African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals; Sub-Theme 4: Funding of African Higher Education Institutions in the face of unpredictable Economy ; Sub-Theme 5: Mainstreaming e-learning and the digital divide and Sub-Theme 6: Contributions of the Diaspora to African Higher Education.

“Africa’s ongoing transformation, founded on strong economic growth, political will and favorable demographics, is ushering a new higher education landscape on the continent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current environment beckons the higher education community to position itself as a beacon to accelerate this transformation from promise to reality and the 15th General Conference is a key step in this direction that will ultimately foster development of a cohesive and vibrant African higher education community as a driver of Africa’s development agenda”, said Prof. Ehile, Secretary General, AAU.

Being one of the biggest gatherings of Higher Education stakeholders on the continent, the AAU is encouraging all stakeholders both on the continent and beyond, including Africans in the Diaspora, to actively get involved by registering via the event registration link – https://tinyurl.com/AAUGC2021 . Participation in this conference is free of charge.

For enquiries or any further information, kindly write to secgen@aau.org  and  fnkrumah@aau.org.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Notes to editors

 About the Association of African Universities

The Association of African Universities 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. AAU aims to improve the quality of African higher education, and to strengthen its contribution to Africa’s development by supporting the core functions of higher education institutions and facilitating critical reflection and consensus building on issues affecting higher education. It is headquartered in Accra, Ghana, has a membership of more than 400 HEIs and has three regional offices – North Africa Regional Office (NARO) in Cairo, Egypt; East Africa Regional Office (EARO) in Khartoum, Sudan; and North America Office (NAMO) in Washington DC, USA. The Association is the technical implementing arm of the African Union in higher education – with coverage and mandate across the language divide of Africa. We have influence in the francophone, anglophone, lusophone and arabophone regions. The AAU is the coordinating agency of the Higher Education Cluster of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25) of the African Union Commission (AUC). Through our guidance, our member universities are responsible for implementing the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024) of the AUC.

Website – https://www.aau.org/ |Facebook – Association of African Universities| Twitter  -@aau_67

Media enquiries

Felicia Kuagbedzi, Communications and Publications Officer at the AAU

fnkrumah@aau.org +233246425147