News

 

EXPERT KICK-OFF SEMINAR

Call for contributions

14 May, 2019 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

(venue to be confirmed)

 

Objectives

The Expert Kick-Off Seminar is the first step in launching the Africa-Europe Dialogue on Education, Mobility and Youth. It is called to stimulate intellectual discussions and gather vital inputs as a contribution to the Africa-Europe Strategic Partnership. The Dialogue is building a strategic longterm process in the run up to the AU-EU Summit in 2020.

Building robust partnerships for sustainable development is seen as a prerequisite for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, the Dialogue follows from the Joint Africa-EU Partnership which looks at working towards a people-centered partnership and delivering direct benefits for African and European citizens (Joint Africa-Europe Strategy, 2007). The core focus of the Dialogue includes investing in people by investing in education and skills whilst feeding into the proposed Africa Alumni Programme (being conceptualised by the AU and EU). It echoes the African Union's Vision 2063 and the AU Roadmap on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through investment in the youth. Moreover, it gives focus to the African Continental Free Trade Area launched in March 2018, envisioning free movement of goods and people across Africa (as experienced in the EU), suggesting opportunities for mutual learning and mutually beneficial cooperation in a perspective of continent-to-continent free trade agreement between the EU and Africa.

It further highlights, voices and adresses some pressing socio-economic issues of our contemporary society: impact of slavery and colonial past, Françafrique, post-colonialism, distractive factors of aid, profile of illegal migrants: migration and expats' discourse, hate speech, racism in its multiple facets, fear of brain-drain and returning graduates nexus. The power of youth policies, youth work and youth research will be also be considered and analyzed.

 

Critical questions

Growth entails competitiveness, and both come with investments in high-level skills, higher education and research fields, which drive sustainable growth and competitiveness. Furthermore, these modern knowledge and skills enhance TVET and secondary education, as well as primary schools, supporting frugal innovation and blended learning. This comes with the acknowledgement that today (due to democratization of the access to knowledge through ICT), people can enjoy multiple learning paths, and there is no one approach fitting all (alternatives to formal schooling often address better the learning needs and the ground realities). Investments in higher education and international learning mobility remain marginal and often neglected. This is reflected in the State of Education in Africa Report 2015 which points that 137 million young people between ages 20-24 will have a secondary education in 2030, and (only) 12 million, a tertiary education. The same report points out that a one-year's increase in average tertiary education levels translates into a 12 percent increase in GDP. This is a significant contribution to global development.

 

Participants

The Seminar will gather expert inputs from researchers, educators, change makers, social entrepreneurs, opinion leaders, the development community, international organizations, EU member states embassies and agencies based in Addis, EU alumni, youth workers and activists.

 

Flow

Presentation of project results, academic papers and applicable recommendations, posters and creative ideas, national and donor policies and strategies with justifications.

 

Organizers

The Africa-Europe Dialogue on Education, Mobility, Youth is under the auspices of the Erasmus+ Student and Alumni Alliance, comprising the Erasmus Mundus Students and Alumni Association, garagErasmus Foundation, OCEANS network and Erasmus Student Network. The Dialogue is supported by the European Union with the endorsement of the African Union Youth Envoy. The Dialogue has been organized in close cooperation with the Addis Ababa University and the Ethiopian Institute for Higher Education.

 

Deadline for application

In case of your interest, please, respond soonest, but no later than 7th of May, 2019 providing details about yourself and contribution that you wish to make to the Seminar and the Dialogue.

 

Contacts

Further information and registration at Dialogue@esaa-eu.org. Follow the Dialogue on social media, FB Africa-Europe Dialogue on Education, Mobility, Youth.

For more information, please have a look at the following document.