#AHES2015: Welcome Address For the African Higher Education Summit

 By Aicha Bah Diallo

Welcome:

National Presidents; Ministers and dignitaries here present; heads of delegations; our donor partners, vice chancellors, academics, students, members of the media; those present here today and indeed our global audience through the use of information technology:

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen institutional partners and the sectors represented here, for responding in numbers, to our invitation to be present and part of our vision for inclusive socio-economic development for Africa through the transformation of higher education.

I would like to thank our summit partners for the vision that we have shared that has culminated in the creation of a continental platform for us to deliberate on the future of this critical sector:

TrustAfrica

The government of Senegal

African Union Commission (AUC),

Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA),

United Nations Africa Institute for Development and Economic Planning (IDEP),

Association of African Universities (AAU),

The African Development Bank (AfDB).

The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa

Association for Development in African Education (ADEA)

The Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)

MasterCard Foundation and

The World Bank

I thank Hon. Professor Mary Teuw Niane and his team at the Ministry of higher education and research; members of the interior ministry and foreign affairs for the time and effort devoted, to the preparation and organization of this meeting.

Your unwavering commitment is the type of dedication that we would wish all Ministers would demonstrate, so that we can follow your example.

To many of us, TrustAfrica was and is still possibly an unknown quantity. TrustAfrica is one of those rare African organisations currently engaged in an ongoing process of leveraging philanthropic resources from both the continent and the global North. TrustAfrica works to support and promote African agency on continental initiatives such as this Summit.

In terms of size we are indeed a very small organization, with a tendency to punch above our weight and our strength is drawn from our deep conviction for Africa to achieve shared development and inclusive democratic governance.

We accept that we do not hold a monopoly on this, and we have friends and partners helping us along the way to realise this grand vision for our continent. I am privileged to call everyone here a FRIEND of TrustAfrica based on your willingness to participate in this game-changing process that will produce a strategy that will take this sector into the next 50 years.

Thank You and welcome.

Having embarked on a journey this long, with a vision so big, I am excited to stand here today reflecting on the road travelled to get here.

As the Chair of the Board of Trustees at TrustAfrica, I have watched anxiously for a period of more than two years as the architects developed the plans and broke-ground for this, the African higher education summit.

In 2010, TrustAfrica held the first of a series of national convenings in Botswana. Little did I know that the African Union would someday utilize the outcomes of this initiative to feed into the 2016-2020 African Union: African higher education continental strategy.

I am excited by the vision of the African Union Commission, represented here by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

The African Union through Agenda 2063, has captured the spirit in which we all need to come together to build our continent, to take on the burden of asking the difficult questions and doing the hard work ourselves as Africans.

By developing this strategy the African Union has embraced the principles upon which the OAU was founded by Africa’s fore fathers in 1963.

It may have taken 50 years, but by developing a global strategy to optimize the use of Africa’s resources and to encourage stakeholders to learn from the past and build on the progress made to ensure positive socio economic transformation, we as Africans are now taking the continent forward. Embracing Pan-Africanism, jointly seeking collective solutions to continental problems and pursuing the ideals of African unity!

And now that the stage is set, it is NOW time for us to do the work!

At TrustAfrica we believe that improved access to quality Higher Education for all of our citizens could be the missing link inhibiting the realisation of an inclusive Africa Rising.

 Our work in promoting Equitable Development, Democratic Governance and enhancing African Philanthropy are all predicated upon progress made in higher education sector, as the cradle of skills development, knowledge generation and production.

For this reason we chose not to sit back and watch experts lead the process.

We have since 2010 been facilitating collaborations among African institutions and building relationships with like-minded partners such as the Carnegie Corporation, towards the creation of a continental platform to spearhead the urgent transformation of the sector.

At the moment African higher education has evolved very little and has thrived on relatively small changes. However global and technological innovations demand a realization that higher education is on the verge of a major transformation and for us here on the continent we have to embrace the change lest we are left behind again.

It is becoming increasingly important to think about what the industry might look like in 10 years, 50 years and beyond.

The value of determining our own path is that we empower Africa with a collective voice that will be heard on a global stage.

The post-2015 sustainable development agenda is upon us, with 2015 marking the end of the Millennium Development Goals and the launch of a new global framework for development.

This Summit presents a unique opportunity for us as stakeholders to work together to seek sustainable solutions for the development of the continent, understanding that education has many purposes, such as preparation for the labor market, preparation for democratic citizenship, personal development, and the development of a broad, advanced knowledge base.

Evidence shows that universities and research institutions play a significant role in development, but we are faced with the dilemma of whether or not higher education should be a development goal in its own right, or an agent to address other development goals?

It is therefore, not enough for us to spend our time here, on what we already know, but to look forward and reflect on new opportunities, possibilities and what we should be doing differently to enhance our beloved sector.

I was disappointed to learn from the reports done on the national convenings held by TrustAfrica between 2010 and 2014, that few administrators are being invited and participating in policy discussions on the sector, locally, regionally or continentally.

This needs to change. How can we promote change outside of policy? Such omissions result in rising gaps as policy is developed in isolation of those who should implement it.

Already there is need for an urgent conversation between the higher education sector and business. The absence of such a platform has resulted in the topical issues of graduate unemployment and unemployability.

How can policy ensure that business, especially foreign investors, are utilizing local skills not only as general labourers but in key decision making positions.

It is also time to consider ways of closing the finance gap through collaboration by developing more integrated and sophisticated relationships between sectors in the next 10 years?.

We all know that national governments have not allocated adequate financial resources to the sector because of the competing demands for these resources.

As a philanthropic organisation TrustAfrica believes that Africa’s different forms of giving need to be encouraged and strengthened to enhance locally-driven development especially in the development of the higher education sector.

We acknowledge the various scholarship initiatives, but these on their own will not contribute towards a more systematic transformation of the sector. We need mechanisms that can deploy financial resources towards enhancing institutional governance of our universities, research institutions, promoting and investing in the study of Science, Technology and Mathematics.

Therefore, we hope to stem the tide of disinvestment by governments and also encourage African philanthropy to step in and provide the necessary funding, hopefully in programs that suit the national good and meet continental needs, advancing equitable development.

It will be critical for many institutions to change their funding models to be able to continue offering required services.

This calls for a shift in mind sets towards an appreciation that higher education institutions need to transform themselves to meet demands beyond theory by enhancing processes of tangible transformation.

The future indeed looks bright for higher education when it comes to the possibilities of technology.

It is critical that individuals at all levels of higher education begin to think futuristically about how these technologies can be deployed.

Otherwise, we risk being controlled by, rather than in control of, the changes.

As technology moves forward, the higher education experience – both face to face and online will transform dramatically.

Technology’s impact on higher education will see the sector move to meet the needs of none traditional students, adult learners, address gender mainstreaming and in some instances resolve the challenges created by declining budgets.

But modern technologies should not be adopted at the expense of traditional knowledge systems as it is our collective burden to preserve our heritage and build trust in African initiatives.

I believe that the lives and livelihoods of African and indeed any other people are shaped by what they know about where they come from.

I am proud to declare TrustAfrica’s commitment to the transformation of the African higher education sector.

It is fitting that our emblem is the acacia tree. We realise that this process of transformation will take more than one actor hence, the need for continuing gatherings such as this summit, to ensure that we have consensus and are learning from one another.

Looking into the future, I hope higher education institutions? will pave the way for broad based African unity, by looking beyond individual borders and adopting learning programmes that promote integration.

Africa is a continental union with 8 Regional Economic Communities.

It is the youngest continent of the world. In 2050, half of Africa’ s population will be under 24 years old and by 2100 almost half of the world’s youth will be African.

It is a continent which has a lot of natural resources, but its greatest wealth is its human resources, in particular its youth.

Therefore, to meet the challenge of sustainable development, Africa will need well educated young girls and boys who will be able to create their own jobs and compete with their peers in the world.

After-all, the challenges of today are also opportunities for us to make a mark on the continent and to harness our collective energies.

Friends. Welcome to this- the 2015 African higher education summit.

Thank you!