Signatories of the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations (‘Africa Charter’) will come together for an online workshop to further develop a shared framework for action toward realising the ambitions of the Africa Charter. The workshop will be convened by the Africa Charter facilitating team at the Universities of South Africa, Cape Town and Bristol, on behalf of the Africa Charter Steering Group.

The workshop is targeted at office holders – such as, for example, senior leadership on internationalisation and research – who are most directly tasked with advancing the implementation of the Africa Charter within signatory institutions.

Aims

The aim of the workshop is to gather critical input from participants on a set of four draft resources developed by the facilitating team as a proposed framework for action for the Community of Africa Charter signatories:

1. A clear statement on what it means to be an Africa Charter signatory
2. A roadmap of suggested steps to be taken by signatory institutions
3. A practical guide on applying Africa Charter principles in the review or development of research collaborations
4. Designs for a dedicated Africa Charter website and community platform.

Participants will jointly consider the overall relevance and orientation of the resources, as well as key areas for refinement, elaboration or amendment.

Outcomes

The critical input generated through the workshop will be captured, and incorporated in a revised set of resources, which will be formally considered and embraced in a high-level convening of the senior leadership of signatory institutions – as a shared framework for a Community of Action on the Africa Charter.

Structure

The workshop will comprise two 2h30-hour blocks, respectively on 1 July and 2 July at 9h30 – 11h30 GMT | 11h30 – 13h30 SAST | 12h30 – 14h30 EAT. In each block, participants will engage in moderated plenary and facilitated small group discussions

Programme

1 July

1. Introduction and setting of scene. Plenary
2. Considering the statement on ‘what being an Africa Charter signatory means’. Small group discussions and plenary feedback
3. Considering the ‘Roadmap for Africa Charter signatories’. Small group discussions and plenary feedback
4. Wrap up and close

2 July

1. Introduction and recap of Day 1. Plenary
2. Considering the ‘practical guide for reflecting on and applying Africa Charter principles’. Small group discussions and plenary feedback
3. Considering the ‘Africa Charter website’ design. Small group discussions and plenary feedback
4. Wrap up and close