Roundtable discussion

Dr. Samia Chasi, Head of the Internationalisation and Strategic Partnerships Office, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesbourg (South Africa)

Prof. Mustapha Lkhider, Vice-President for Research and Partnerships, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca (Morocco)

Mary Ryan, International Research Development Manager, University of Glasgow, Glasgow (Scotland)

Prof. Fabio Sciarrino, Vice-Rector for Competitive Strategies for International Research, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma (Italy) tbc

Moderator: Christian Möllmann, CIVIS Global Partnerships Officer

On the significance of the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations 

Prof. Isabella Aboderin, Director of the Perivoli Africa Research Institute - PARC, University of Bristol (United Kingdom) – online

CIVIS signs the Africa Charter: A look back and ahead 

Prof. Estelle Doudet, Chair of the CIVIS Research Council, University of Lausanne, Lausanne (Switzerland)– tbc

Signing ceremony 

Prof. Stefan Lang, CIVIS Secretary General, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg (Austria)

Considering persistent socio-economic and power asymmetries within global scientific production, ‘building equitable partnerships in an unequal world’ (Zeblon Vilakazi) was the shared commitment underpinning African-European cooperation in CIVIS from the very beginning. But the concrete meaning of this principle remained rather implicit so far, its application to joint activities rather ad-hoc and intuitive.

The CIVIS Forum marks a step towards a more reflexive and systematic approach in fostering equity in and by our African-European partnership. With the signing of the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations, our alliance will join an ambitions community of practice striving to change the role of Africa in knowledge production.   

What are the main issues for equitable science partnerships? What could and should be the role of CIVIS in addressing those – in our own collaborations as well as in the research eco-systems of our home continents? How can the Africa Charter support such an effort? These questions will be addressed by the roundtable discussants and in the plenary.

 All participants are invited to consult the Africa Charter:

 https://parc.bristol.ac.uk/africa-charter/