Association des Universités Africaines
Bienvenue
CORE PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES
2001 - 2004
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Programme Objectives, Content and Design
The Programme outlined in this document
aims broadly at strengthening the capacity of AAU member universities to
respond effectively to current and future needs as expressed by national
communities in general and the university community in particular. In this
exercise, the AAU has drawn on the outcome of the various workshops and
seminars it has organised over the last four years, as well as its assessment
of current global, regional and national developments relevant to higher
education. Key among the latter were the straitened economic circumstances
of most member universities and the pressure for increased access to higher
education. The globalization of the world economy and the rise of the "knowledge
society" are also determining factors in the development of the Programme.
The AAU Core Programme 2001-2004 is designed around the general theme: "African Universities And The Challenge of Knowledge Creation And Application in The New Century", and covers the following sub-themes:
Leadership
and Management
Quality
of Training and Research
Information
and Communication Technologies
Women
in African Tertiary Institutions
Improving
management and access to African scholarly work
The AAU will continue to provide the special services designed to promote academic mobility and quality enhancement among its members. These services, which currently include staff exchanges, scholarships and grants for thesis support, will continue to be supportive of the sub-themes indicated above.
Other AAU services, such as the production and dissemination of research reports, the AAU Newsletter, directories of universities and a Bibliography on Higher Education in Africa, will be maintained. In addition, the Annual Report will be published.
Implementation
The Programme will be accomplished through studies, interactions of university people, training, and dissemination activities. In addition to its internal capacities the AAU will, as in the past, make use of the abundant expertise available in the member universities for the coordination of some of its activities. Moreover, in implementing Programme activities, the AAU Secretariat and member institutions will be encouraged to take full advantage of the new information and communication technologies.
These measures will be implemented with sufficient flexibility to take account of changes in the environment in which African universities operate. In addition, following a recommendation of the 8th AAU General Conference, each activity will seek to promote women's participation in building up the capacities of African universities.
Funding
Funding for the Core Programme will be through membership subscriptions, subventions from African countries and the Organization of African Unity, and donor assistance. In addition, the AAU will move to implement an earlier decision to establish an Endowment Fund, for which support has been committed by the Ford Foundation.
Core funding is considered vital both to maintaining the integrity and balance of AAU programming, and to enhancing its probable impact on the issues it seeks to address. For that reason, the funding strategy is to secure contributions to the Programme as a whole, or, failing that, to one or more of the sub-themes or special services, or for the Endowment Fund. The Association acknowledges the provision of core or institutional support by its donor partners. It is hoped that others will appreciate the force of this strategy and adjust their support accordingly.