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3.2.1. Hopes on the Horizon
 

The Hopes in the Horizon is a multimedia training and educational initiative to highlight the positive social aspects of Africa. Developed in partnership with Blackside Inc, the project encourages the use of film in classrooms as means of teaching social history.
 

The pilot film which is entitled Hopes in the Horizon : The Rise of the New Africa (1945-1995) was screened in 11 sites on the continent last year. The comments and reactions of staff and students who watched the film, together with comments from members of the African Educational Advisory Board, have been helpful in revising the film. The revised versions of the film and educational material as well as the radio pilot are now available. Based on the recommendations of the Advisory Board and the decisions arrived at a meeting between Blackside and AAU, a transitional period to last from June 1998 to April 1999 was established. 

The specific objectives of the project at the transitional phase include:

• screening in 4 new sites for better continental representation of opinion;

• preparing a report of the screening;

• revising the activities and budget for the transition;

• organizing materials developed for the pilot for the AAU Hopes on the Horizon Library;

• undertaking a survey of institutions offering film and mass communication studies;

• improving the Hopes home page on the AAU web site with educational materials to support the film;

• organizing regional seminars on Film in Higher Education;

During the transitional period, the following activities have been implemented:

• In June 1998, the reports of the Cape Town Meeting of the Educational Advisory Board with Blackside and the AAU, and the meeting between Blackside and the AAU, were prepared and sent to Blackside and circulated to members of the Board;

• In July 1998, the budget for the transition period was revised and sent to Blackside, and the materials produced for the pilot phase of the project were organised for the AAU Hopes on the Horizon Library;

• Between August and September 1998, the Pilot Film was screened at the University of Natal, Mozambique, Zambia and Nairobi for better continental representation. The results of the screenings were analysed and incorporated into a report which was sent to Blackside in October 1998;

 

Figure 8: Ratio of Member Universities that have been involved in the Hopes on the Horizon Project

• A survey of institutions offering film and communication studies in Africa was undertaken together with the coordination of arrangements to revise/standardise the lesson plans received from the screening sites during the pilot phase ;

• A joint meeting between BSI and AAU was held in February 1999 to discuss the rest of the transitional phase activities and budget for the second phase. The report of the business meeting together with the schedule of activities, work plans and budget implications was prepared and sent to Blackside;

• In March 1999, the workshop on Film in Higher Education was conducted at the universities of Natal and Zambia. The workshop was completed on April 16, 1999 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Thereafter a comprehensive report on the transitional activities was prepared and distributed.

3.2.2. Study on the use of African Languages in Higher Education in Africa

Encouraging the use of African Languages in Higher Education an Research is one of the objectives of the AAU, and it is considered important enough to figure explicitly within the organization's constitution . As such the matter has been a theme for discussions and object of recommendations at several AAU conferences, such as the last COREVIP'99. Activities to pursue this goal have also been undertaken in previous periods. And in particular a study was undertaken in 1996/97, which contained among others, recommendations on the need to establish a Database of Experts, Research Activities and Training in African Languages, and a Publication of a Who's Who in the field. In the year under review, a project-proposal to implement this recommendation was presented and accepted for financing by IDRC. This report presents a general plan for the implementation of the proposal.
 

With funding provided by IDRC an Evaluation of the Status of Teaching and Use African Languages in Higher Education was completed in June 1997. The specific objective of the first study on African Languages was to assess the use of African languages in education and research and make recommendations for the promotion of the use of these languages. A pilot study by way of questionnaires was conducted in 21 institutions in 15 countries. The study whose results have been published and widely disseminated, indicated that all the institutions examined taught at least one African language. Teaching and research in an African language is however very rare. The study also showed that publishing in African languages was fast gaining grounds.
 

Two of the recommendations of the study were the following:
 

• Arrange for the compilation of a Who's Who of African scholars specialized

• Establish a database on training and research of African languages in African universities.

 

To implement this program a center is being selected to perform the following tasks:

• literature review on the state-of-the-art of the subject;

• design a questionnaire to collect data and conduct interviews with leading institutions and scholars in the continent;

• prepare the results for publication in user friendly formats, including hard copies and electronic versions;

• establish a database to be kept and maintained by the AAU.

 

The project is currently in its initial stage and two institutions have been invited to submit proposals, namely the Center for African Languages at the University Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique (NELIMO), currently holding the presidency of

LASU (Linguistic Association of Southern Africa), and the Department of African Languages of University of South Africa (UNISA). The first invitations were sent out in July 1999, but delays of the institutions invited have been observed and a new deadline is set at October 30, 1999.
 

3.2.3. Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD)
 

The DATAD idea to index and abstract, and distribute information on theses and dissertations completed in African Universities was initiated by Project for Information Access and Connectivity (PIAC). At the initial planning meeting convened by PIAC in January 1998 in Nairobi (Kenya) to outline a feasibility study for the pilot project, participants recognized and reiterated the centrality of the AAU to the process of DATAD. Since then, AAU collaborated with PIAC in carrying out the feasibility study which will be followed by a pilot project.
 

The main objective of DATAD is to contribute to the creation of capacity in African

Universities for the collection, management and dissemination of theses and dissertations electronically.
 

Specifically DATAD is expected to:
 

• provide visibility for the work of African scholars;
• help protect the intellectual property rights of the students and supervisors who were responsible for the research carried out;
• make African scholarship better recognized and more easily accessible;
• improve the ability of participating institutions to organize and manage their own collections of theses and dissertations
• accelerate the rate of information and communication technology (ICT) utilization;
• help participating institutions to establish appropriate policies pertaining to the intellectual ownership of theses and dissertations and guidelines for submission of manuscripts in the new electronic era;
• make participating institutions a part of a network from which they can draw information;
• become an income-generating project for participating African institutions.

 

• An initial feasibility Study Project which covered eighteen (1 8) higher education institutions and three research consortia in African countries, and a market survey conducted by a commercial publisher, have been carried out by the AAU and PIAC. Funding and management support was provided by the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation;

• Plans are underway for the commencement of the three year pilot project. The advertisement for the recruitment of the Senior Programme Officer position has been done;

• The Ford Foundation and the AAU have signed a grant agreement of $300,000.00 covering the first two years of the pilot project;
• The Rockefeller Foundation has agreed in principle to make a grant of $250,000.00 available from January 2000;

• Other donors like World Bank, UNESCO, OSI/SA, have been approached for funding for the balance of the budget of the pilot project.

 

The African University Day which is celebrated every year on the 12th of November was launched by the Organisation of African Unity in 1994. The aim of the day is to make the public and decision-makers aware of the role of the African University in the social and economic development of the continent.

The first celebration which took place in 1995 was under the theme, "Promotion of Gender in African universities". In 1996 the theme was "The Role of the University in the Education Sector" and in 1997, the theme was "Quality Promotion in African Universities". The theme for last year's celebration was "Revitalising Universities in Africa: Strategy for the 21" Century".
 

Some of the universities that celebrated the Day in 1998 and shared their experience with the AAU were : University of Mauritius, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), The Open University of Tanzania, Université de Cocody (Côte d'lvoire).
 

The theme for 1999 is "2000 Milestone : Preparing the University for the Third Millenium". This theme similar to that of 1998 : "Revitalising Universities in Africa: strategy for the 21" Century", would lead African universities to think about the future of higher education in Africa.
 

Each university is invited to celebrate the University Day by organizing a suitable activity. This activity could be a conference on a topic related to the theme of the day or an exhibition on the achievements of the university. This year's (1999) discussions must focus on topics concerning the critical aspects of African university development which are :

• the relationship between university and socioeconomic partners (civil society, private sector, government, etc)

• university and the culture of peace and democracy;

• university and life long-learning ;

• university and African economic integration.

Managing and disseminating information on higher education in Africa is one of the key objectives of the Association of African Universities (AAU). This objective is implemented through:

• publications;

• library management and query and answer services;

• management of ICTs ( Web site, LAN and Databases).

 

This year, the Library received and answered about 700 queries via e-mail and ordinary mail from member universities (students and lecturers), international organizations and other individuals. The queries ranged from addresses of African universities (as well as courses they offer) to publications of the Association. Most of the users who physically visited the library were in search of addresses of African universities. Most of these users were students.
 

Launched in January 1998, the AAU Web site (http://www.aau.org) which is both in French and English serves as one of the main sources of information on higher education institutions in Africa. All the major AAU documents have their electronic versions posted on this webiste which gets about 400 to 500 visits daily.
 

Some databases implemented within the Information and Communication Section are posted on the servers (AAUNET). They are:

• Bibliographical database on Higher Education in Africa;

• Database on Women Experts in Africa Universities;

• Database on Gender Equity in Africa universities;

• Database on Quality Assurance;

• Database of address of member universities.

 

3.3.1.Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP)
 

This assembly of the chief executive officers of member institutions or their representatives meets every two years with the purpose of:
 

• examining collectively themes identified as common concerns and priorities for the development of Higher Education in member institutions;

• making recommendations primarily to members, as well as to the Executive Board and to the secretariat;

• acting as a mid-term conference and taking stock of the implementation of the decisions of the General Conference and recommending corrective measures.

 

The theme of the Conference was: Revitalising Universities in Africa: Strategy for the 2lst Century. Sub-themes addressed at the conference included : Regional Cooperation in Graduate Training and Research, Information and Communication Technologies, and Access, Quality and Resource Management. There were also presentations from the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), on women issues in African universities, on a project on the development of databases on African theses and dissertations (DATAD), and on the outcome of the World Conference on Higher Education organised by UNESCO and held in Paris in October, 1998 and its implications for African universities. The Keynote Speaker was Ms. Lalla Ben Barka, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNECA. Other speakers were: Prof. Hassan Mekouar (Regional Cooperation in Graduate Training and Research); Prof. Frederick Owako (Access, Quality and Resource Management); Prof. Adebayo Akinde (Information and Communication Technologies); Dr. Florence K-Nyamu, FAWE (Women in Universities: Issues and Concerns Related to Access, Quality and Relevance); Dr. Lisbeth Levey and Mrs. Mary Materu-Behitsa spoke to the DATAD.
 

In addition to the themes, during a Business Session, the conference participants were informed of other major initiatives of the AAU and were presented with AAU's Mid-Term Report, financial situation and plans to develop a Vision and Strategic Plan. A seminar on Tracer Studies aimed at monitoring life after graduation with particular reference to employment patterns of young graduates was held as part of the Conference. In partnership with the African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions (ANSTI), a workshop on human resource development in science and technology in Africa was also held as part of the conference.
 

COREVIP'99 had 185 participants, coming from 84 member institutions, 25 non member institutions, 11 regional organisations, 17 international organisations, 8 foreign universities and representatives of some African Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs. Participants came from Asia, USA, Europe and all five sub-regions of Africa (South, West, East, Central, North).
 

During the Conference delegates formed three working groups which were charged to discuss the theme and sub-themes of the Conference as follows:
 

Group 1: Regional Cooperation in Graduate Training and Research

Group 2: Information and Communication Technologies

Group 3: Access, Quality and Resource Management
 

A fourth group was formed and charged to deal with the themes of the Business Session, mainly AAU's financial situation and its Vision and Strategic Plan.
 

COREVIP '99 was made possible by generous donations from the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD), the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Netherlands Government, the Swedish Agency for Development SIDA/SAREC, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the UNESCO/Africa Bureau (BREDA). The University of Dar-es-Salaam co-organised the Conference and contributed financially to defray some of the local costs. In addition, on the initiative of UDSM, several local companies in Tanzania also contributed financially or in kind to the Organisation of the COREVIP. The AAU is most grateful to these organizations for their kind support.
 

A summary report containing the main conclusions and recommendations of the conference is available for more detailed information. Also available will be the Full Proceedings which will contain a collection of papers and speeches presented at the conference.
 

Evaluations received from participants judged the Conference to be very successful. Several noteworthy comments were given and a few points to highlight are that the Programme did not allow enough time for discussion in plenary sessions; the need to identify chairpersons and rapporteurs for working groups in advance and that communication facilities for participants at the conference venue were not adequate. The AAU will ensure that in future conferences all the comments will be taken into consideration.
 

3.3.2. Strengthening University Linkage with the Productive Sector
 

The three-day regional workshop was organised by the Association of African Universities in Dodowa near Accra, Ghana, with the financial and technical support of the African Training for Leadership & Advanced Skills (ATLAS). The workshop, which was a follow-up of similar workshops, deliberated on the subject: Strengthening University Linkages with the Productive Sector. The aim was to sensitize the universities in Africa on the need to develop and implement viable strategies to improve their linkages with the productive sector in their respective countries, especially, with the small and medium scale enterprises (SMES) and to bring to bear the results of their research on the development process.
 

Over 20 participants drawn from Western and Southern Africa attended the workshop. The participants include university administrators, SME operators and promoters, country case writers and others.
 

After the opening session and presentation of the overview and objectives of the workshop and review of the workshop programme, participants discussed two presentations made by resource persons. These were on Issues in Developing Linkages with the Productive Sector and The Ghana Citronella Project As A Case Study.
 

A synthesis report summarizing the findings of the country studies commissioned by AAU, which served as the main background document of the workshop, was presented and discussed with full participation and contributions from the authors of the country case studies from Nigeria, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The contributions from the authors of the country case studies considerably enriched the deliberations of the workshop.
 

Two working groups were established by the workshop. One deliberated on A Framework and Strategies for Strengthening UPS Linkages and the other on Formation of Networks. The recommendations of the working groups were discussed and adopted by the workshop. An Action Plan was also developed by the workshop to facilitate implementation of the key recommendations.
 

3.3.3. AAU AD HOC Committee on University Libraries
 

In February 1998, the Association of African Universities with support from the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) brought together African university librarians to discuss the need for external funding interventions to be more responsive to the environment into which they are placed and how libraries can be self-sustaining in the long term. At the end of the workshop, an ad hoc committee on university libraries in Africa was formed to continue deliberating on the problems discussed at the meeting. The committee held its first meeting immediately after the workshop and scheduled another meeting for 1999.
 

The committee held its second meeting on May 24-25, 1999 at the Secretariat of the Association of African Universities. In attendance were representatives from East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. The AAU was represented by its Secretary-General, and the Head of Information & Communication Division. A document on The Role of University Libraries in Africa which the committee commissioned Mrs. H. Kay Raseroka to write was discussed at the meeting.
 

During the discussion, the need to give greater priority to the improvement of university libraries in Africa and the issue of access to the new information technologies were stressed. The participants in their comments emphasized the need to train students and lecturers to use university libraries. They stressed that library staff and the users should cooperate for the benefit of the libraries and the right perception of university libraries should be created through the establishment of partnerships between librarians, department or faculty staff and students.
 

This committee aims at getting national governments and university administrators to give more prominence to university libraries in Africa, in the area of the provision of infrastructure and funding. It also seeks to come up with suggestions to make university libraries self-sustaining after being provided the initial funding either by external donors or their institutions..
 

3.3.4. Hopes on Horizon Advisory Board
 

The Advisory Board of the Hopes on the Horizon project held its second meeting on April 26-30, at the Villa Via Gordon Bay Hotel on Harbour Island in Cape Town, South Africa. The meeting was attended by 4 representatives from Blackside Films, USA, 3 representatives from the AAU in Accra and 5 members of the Educational Advisory Board.
 

The main objectives of this meeting are the following:
 

- to examine the progress made so far on the project;

- to discuss the implications of results from testing sites;

- to discuss AAU's involvement in the project;

- to suggest strategies for a smooth transition into the 2nd phase.
 

The business meeting of the Board which began on Monday April 25 was heralded on the evening of 26th, by the screening of the Hopes on the Horizon film, followed by discussions on the content of the film. The members of the Board who had watched the film at one stage or the other made the following observations about the film:
 

- that the Ghana segment of the film was very short;

- that Winnie Mandela was not given her proper place in the history of South Africa;

- that there appeared to have been no thread running through the whole film;

- that there are too many (voices) commentators in the film some of them actually saying very little and that this helps to confuse the viewers;

- that there was a lot of assumptions on the viewers' knowledge of the history of Eritrea.
 

After the opening ceremony of the Advisory Board meeting in which the Secretary-General gave a welcome address, the AAU presented a 2-part report on the project: the Educational component part and the New Media component part.
 

After the discussion on the two previous documents, the AAU presented 2 other documents namely, the Role of the AAU in the 2nd phase of the project and the Role of the Advisory Board during the 2nd phase of the project.
 

Both documents were discussed and approved with the following recommendations:
 

- that the composition of the new Advisory Board should include a Media expert as a member and a representative of the radio and the film components, in attendance;

- that the new Board should consist of 11 members, one of whom should be nominated by CODESRIA;

- that the terms of reference section of the Advisory Board paper be revised to remove the amount of money paid as per them and honorarium and to include the mention of their names in the film credits;

- that a paper announcing Board membership positions be circulated to members at the appropriate time to enable them take decisions on whether to continue or not. New members will be required as usual to send their CVs to the AAU office.
 
 

3.3.5. AAU Executive Board

On the kind invitation of the former Vice President of the Suez Canal University and Deputy Minister for Education, Prof. Abdel Hamied Shalaby, who is also a member of the Board, the 54th meeting of the AAU Executive Board was held at the Sporting Village of Ismailia, Egypt from 6th to 8th July, 1999.
 

All but one member of the Board attended or were duly represented, giving a ninety-three percent (93%) attendance of members coming from Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'lvoire, Egypt, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
 

The meeting was opened at an impressive ceremony held at the auditorium of the Suez Canal University. In attendance were many important dignitaries including the Honorable Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Moufid Shehab; the Honorable Governor of Ismailia, Major-General Abdel Aziz Salama, the President of the Suez Canal University, Prof. Shawkry and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 

During its working sessions the Board deliberated on many issues presented by the Secretariat concerning:
 

• the major programmes membership matters, and
• the financial and administrative matters of the AAU.

 

• The Executive Board noted the activities presented by the Secretariat in a document on the Monitoring and Evaluation of its major activities, and encouraged the Secretariat to pursue efforts to implement the Core Programme of Activities for the period 1997-2000. It was decided that the Board select six heads of member institutions - three from the Executive Board and three others, to take part in the external monitoring and evaluation. Regional and linguistic balances were to be taken into consideration in making this selection;

 

• Taking note of the report of the film project being supervised by the AAU, Hopes on the Horizon, which was initiated by the Blackside Films Inc., an American film producing company, members emphasized the importance of ensuring that the film truly reflects an African perspective on the history and reality of Africa;

 

• With the completion of the feasibility study on the DATAD (Database on African Theses and Dissertations) pilot project, members of the Board expressed the opinion that in the future and with the required resources, this pilot phase be extended to include, not only theses and dissertations in African universities, but also works done by Africans in other parts of the world. The Secretariat was urged to continue seeking for funding to support this worthy cause;

 

• Applications from five (5) African universities to join the AAU were approved. The approval of the application of a sixth was deferred as there were some doubts as to the status of the institution;

• The drafting of a Declaration on Higher Education in Africa for the next millennium was proposed for which a committee of five (5) vice chancellors and rectors, one from each region of Africa will be appointed;

 

• The Executive Board Committee on Programmes and Membership was formally charged with the task of assisting the Secretariat in preparing an AAU Vision and Strategic PI an, to be presented to and approved of by the 10th General Conference scheduled for January 2001 in Abidjan, Côte d'lvoire;

 
• A document on The Role of University Libraries presented to the Executive Board, is to be edited and copies sent to all university libraries and other stakeholders;

 
• The Executive Board was reminded and took note of the fact that the 10th General Conference of the AAU is scheduled to take place in Côte d'lvoire in January 2001, and the process of preparation is to be initiated soon;

 
• On the Meeting of Partners in Higher Education, it was appreciated that the proposal needs more precise definition of objectives and agenda for the meeting. For this an international advisory board should be set up taking into account the need for African leadership of the process.

 

• The Board accepted an Auditors' Report on financial activities for the period 1997/98 with a few observations made;

 

• The Secretariat had succeeded in obtaining funding for most programme activities and the Board commended it for the efforts made. The payment of membership subscriptions however, remains a major problem area with arrears of over one million US Dollars. Some recommendations were made to get members to pay these arrears;

 

• A proposed budget for the next fiscal year of 1999/2000 was presented and approved. The Board noted the proposal for an Endowment Fund and considered this Fund the way to go to increase AAU's capacity for sustainable funding;

 

3.3.6. AAU/IAUP WORKSHOP OF PARTNERS
 

As a result of their collaboration over the years, AAU and IAUP jointly organized a Workshop of Partners in Graduate Program on Humanitarian and Refugee Studies in Accra from 11th to 12th June, 1999. The workshop which was funded by DANIDA and the IAUP was attended by representatives of the IAUP, humanitarian organizations, and seven (7) African Universities.
 

Humanitarian organizations present, made presentations on their activities, especially in Africa. This was followed by presentations of seven proposals for the establishment/strengthening of postgraduate programmes in humanitarian and refugee studies received from seven African universities.
 

After the presentation of the highlights of the proposals, the participants split into two Working Groups and at the end of their deliberations, the groups presented their reports to the full house. They noted that this type of Workshop was unique and held out the potential for networking among interested parties.
 

The meeting recommended that the AAU should facilitate the establishment of a network for humanitarian and refugee affairs, initially comprising the seven universities that presented proposals at the Workshop. Other African institutions, especially Francophobe, Lusophone and Arabophone, with similar interests and activities should be eligible to join the network. For effectiveness, sub-regional networks should subsequently be formed. The AAU was tasked with soliciting funds to enable the network, whether continental or sub-regional, to meet annually and the setting up of a Lister, to be hosted by one of the network partners, was recommended.
 

The Secretary-General of the AAU expressed gratitude to DANIDA, IAUP and UNHCR for their financial and other forms of support which made the holding of the workshop possible. He also thanked all participants for their various contributions at the Workshop. He pledged that the AAU would do its best to see to the realization of the objectives of the Project.
 

3.3.7. WORKSHOP ON HUMAN RESOURCE CAPACITY BUILDING IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 

In Conjunction with the AAU's Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities, the African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions (ANSTI) held a workshop on Human Resource Capacity Building in Science and Technology on February 4, 1999 in Arusha, Tanzania.

The objectives of the meeting included: 

• the review of the state of S&T education; 
• the sharing of experiences of how various institutions are coping with the problem of resource limitations in S&T institutions;
• the examination of the role of regional networks in S&T capacity building; and
• discussions of various strategies which have been used to enhance women's access to S&T education.

Three papers were presented at the workshop. They are: The state of science and technology in higher education systems in Africa, Increasing Access and Equity in S&T Education in Africa and Regional Cooperation in Science and Technology Capacity Building in Africa. A report of the workshop has been prepared.