The Committee of Ten African Heads of State and Government (C10) Championing Education, Science and Technology in Africa endorsed by the African Union Assembly of January 2018 held its first Extra-Ordinary Summit hosted by the Government of the Republic of Malawi, 2-3 November 2018 in Lilongwe, Malawi. The summit adopted the C10 Declaration and Action Plan with three major commitments including; 1) investing in education, science and technology; 2) promoting education in Africa; and, 3) engaging the private sector.
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM, see RUFORUM Flyer and RUFORUM at a Glance) in collaboration with other partners was mandated to oversee the implementation of specific activities as enshrined in the C10 Action Plan. These activities, as assigned to RUFORUM, either in leading or as a partner fall under four priority areas, i.e.,
Priority area 1: Operationalize Education, Science and Technology Funds in Africa; Priority Area 4: Strengthen teacher development and retention; Priority Area 5: Enhancing TVET and skill development for employment; and, Priority area 7: Strengthen higher education, science, technology and innovation.
RUFORUM is a consortium of 129 universities in 38 countries in Africa with a vision to create ‘vibrant, transformative universities to catalyze sustainable, inclusive agricultural development to feed and create prosperity for Africa’. RUFORUM was established to provide a platform for networking, resource mobilization and advocacy; rationalize resource use; and, promote the integration of member universities into Africa’s development processes. RUFORUM programs respond to continental frameworks including the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture
Development Program (CAADP), Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa (S3A), Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA), the African Union Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024) and the Continental TVET Strategy.
Read more for the summary of achievements against each of the tasks assigned to RUFORUM.