Accra-Ghana, October 11, 2021 – The Association of African Universities (AAU) is inviting all Higher Education Institutions across the continent to celebrate the 2021 Africa Universities’ Day which comes off on November 12, 2021, under the theme “Building Technology Based Resilient Universities, Now!”.

Africa Universities’ Day is commemorated each year to celebrate the day of the AAU’s establishment on November 12, 1967, and to highlight the contributions of the Higher Education Sector to the development of the African continent. It is also a day when critical dialogue on how to improve the quality of Africa’s higher education is promoted.

The theme for this year’s celebration – Building Technology Based Resilient Universities, Now!, seeks to throw more light on the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on higher education, and the urgent need for stakeholders to find ways to improve the modes of  education delivery, especially based on the experiences and innovations that emerged as positives from the pandemic era. The concept note for the 2021 Africa Universities’ Day celebration is accessible at –  https://blog.aau.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Final-Concept-Note-Africa-Universities-Day-2021.pdf 

A rich bouquet of the programme lined up to be hosted in the week of November 8 -12, includes high-level presentations and panel discussions on the need for African Higher Education Institutions to collaborate and share technological resources and expertise in online content preparation and delivery. Other aspects will focus on the needed management and stakeholder support (policy and financial) and commitment towards building a technology based resilient higher education system. Having such systems in place is critical in promoting development and the attainment of the “Africa we want” by 2063. Please download the programme from here: 2021 AU Day Program Line Up

The Registration Link is found here: https://meet.aau.org/auday-2021

“The 2021 celebration also seeks to bring together the entire higher education community and major stakeholders in Africa to respond to salient questions and issues such as:  How are HEIs leveraging on partnerships to share resources? How are they capitalizing on technological innovations to enhance the achievement of their core mandates? What can African Universities do to promote equitable access to higher education and inclusion for Africa’s youth bulge?”, said Prof. Olusola Oyewole, the Secretary General of the AAU.  “Answers to the above questions and the conversations around the theme of the Africa Universities’ Day Celebrations are critical and fall in line with the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 (CESA 16-25) and the AAU Strategic Plan (2020 – 2025)”, he added.

From topical seminars, debates, exhibitions, social media conversations, conferences, webinars and several interesting events, the variety of events hosted by Higher Education Institutions over the years continue to be colourful and educative. The 2021 celebrations promise to be even more insightful. Aside the events lined up by the AAU Secretariat headquartered in Accra, Ghana, the AAU East Africa Regional Office at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, the North Africa Regional Office at Al-Azhar University, Egypt, and individual AAU member institutions will also be hosting events to mark the Africa Universities’ Day.

AAU encourages the management of universities, to circulate information concerning the 2021 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 general 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 Contact:  Mrs. Felicia Kuagbedzi       fnkrumah@aau.org

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