My Vision for Future Africa
I believe that Africa’s research output to the global public has not been significant. The continent is undergoing many positive trends in terms of higher education, acceleration of the use of modern technologies, new visions for capacity building and connecting research to policy and business.
These trends will not be consolidated and sustained if there is no space for collaboration where linking people to knowledge becomes the main driver for development as it opens up opportunities for the youth and vulnerable groups. Addressing challenges in a context of poverty, rapid demographic growth, social challenges and severe human security cannot be carried with the somewhat negative image of Africa. Whilst most of these challenges are true, Africa hosts a great deal of opportunities that can only be unlocked through developing local solutions using the best scientific outputs.
Future Africa can serve as a seedbed for sustainable transformation of the continent and will be a new model for tertiary education’s approach to address the challenges of the 21st century.
One has to create a culture of reconnection. A culture of trust and reliance to African scientists to create a bottom-up momentum for development using the knowledge generated by our universities is essential for that vision to be realised.