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Enhancing European and African Collaboration

28 November 2024

The University of Pavia hosted delegates of the Coimbra Group Global Partnerships Working Group for their Autumn meeting. The two-day meeting concluded with the conference “Building Together: Enhancing European and African Collaboration in Research and Innovation”, organised jointly with the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI).

During the Working Group meeting, the University of Pavia presented their structure and ongoing activities in the field of cooperation, specifically through the Center for International Cooperation and Development (CICOPS), celebrating 40 years of existence at the University of Pavia.
The Global Partnerships Working Group discussed the ongoing and future initiatives, such as the Sumer School on multilingualism, the series of workshops on “decolonising the University”, further steps to the implementation of the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations, the Coimbra Group initiative on peace & conflict studies, the networking series with he University of Namibia and also the preparation for the Annual Conference and General Assembly 2025, taking place at the University of Bologna.

“Building Together: Enhancing European and African Collaboration in Research and Innovation”

The full-day conference was aimed at fostering a collaborative spirit by bringing together leading professors from both continents and representatives of public institutions to explore synergies, share knowledge, and co-develop solutions to global challenges. Representatives from the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes and from the Coimbra Group  Coimbra Group provided their expertise, alongside representatives from African universities and from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

The discussion focused on the current challenges and opportunities in collaborative Europe- Africa research, strategies to support Euro-African partnerships to generate, disseminate and use knowledge and also on the development of sustainable solutions to global challenges. The event built on existing networks and good practices, fostering opportunities for joint research initiatives, with the ultimate goal of promoting unified research environment that benefits both continents, fostering innovation, mutual understanding, and a shared commitment to solving the world’s most pressing problems.