Journée de l'Université Africaine |
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November 12 is African University Day. On this day each year, African Universities commemorate the day with various activities. Since 2000, the Secretariat of the Association of African Universities, based in Accra, Ghana and the Secretariat of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP), now Vice Chancellors, Ghana (VCG), have jointly organized events to commemorate the day. The events have been in the form of exhibitions and a lecture to discuss a selected theme.
From 2000 to date, the following have been the venues and themes for the Day: In 2000 the University of Ghana hosted the event under the theme, ‘African Universities and the Challenge of Knowledge Creation and Application in the Information Age.’
- In 2001 the ‘Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology hosted it under the theme ‘Globalization and Higher Education in Africa.’
- In 2002 the University of Education, Winneba hosted the day under the theme, ‘African Universities’ Response to Current Emerging Issues in Africa.’
- 2003 was the turn of the University for Development Studies with the theme, ‘Distance Education and African Universities.’
- The University of Cape Coast hosted the 2004 event under the theme, ‘The implications of WTO/GATS for higher education in Africa.’
- There was a recess in 2005 due to changes at the Secretariats of the AAU and the VCG.
- The theme for African University Day 2006 was ‘Education for Sustainable Development’
- In 2007, which was the fortieth anniversary of the AAU, the theme was, ‘Forty years of Championing African University Leadership: Prospects and Challenges for the Near Future.’
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The theme for the African University Day in 2008 is “Sustainable Development in Africa: The Role of Higher Education”
Africa faces a myriad of problems on all fronts. For instance poverty, disease, including the HIV and AIDS menace, land degradation, sanitation, water security, climate change, conflicts, deforestation, natural disasters, and urbanization, the list is inexhaustible. In Africa, the above problems have been exacerbated by the accelerating global fuel, energy and food price hikes. The challenge for African governments, therefore, is to come up with strategies that would not only solve these problems to enhance development, but would also sustain the gains of this development process.
Sustainable development is therefore, crucial, that is why in 2006, the Association of African Universities (AAU) commemorated the African University Day under the theme, ‘Education for Sustainable Development.’ So why is the AAU still talking about sustainable development two years after this? The AAU believes that higher education institutions can play a role in the sustainable development of Africa by harnessing the minds of the brightest and best in academia to map out strategies to enhance development. Indeed, the issues around sustainable development offer a strategic opportunity for the academic communities in Africa to redesign African educational structures, geared towards providing answers to the environmental and developmental challenges confronting the continent.
More than ever, it has become crucial that additional resources be committed to African higher education institutions, so that they plan, develop and implement innovations in the contexts of curriculum; innovations; research; community service and management, targeting sustainable development. The solutions to our problems must be mainstreamed into our higher educational system so that we can grow a populace that can transform Africa.
In Ghana, the forum which will be hosted by the University of Ghana, will bring together the six public universities in Ghana (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, University for Development Studies, University of Education, Winneba and University of Ghana, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa), the Central University College, Institute of Professional Studies, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, all members of the AAU as well as other private universities, tertiary education institutions, non-higher education institutions and the general public.
After the event, kindly send to the AAU reports, including photographs on the celebration, and these will be published in the AAU Newsletter and on its Website.
Click here for the draft Program |
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Journée de l'Université Africaine
