18 November 2021  Issue No: 337

The significance of scholars and intellectuals to support democratic institutions in African societies and “speak truth to power” – as enabled by academic freedom – has been reiterated in a study at a time when democracy has been under attack in several countries on the continent.

“Education benefits when people with diverse backgrounds and different personal experiences are drawn into the conversation.” That’s the premise posited for what has been described as an “audacious educational experiment” to be offered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology anthropology Professor M Amah Edoh.

The World Health Organization and the COVID Vaccines Global Access or COVAX initiative announced in mid-2021 that they were working with a consortium to establish the first COVID messenger RNA vaccine technology transfer hub on the African continent, in South Africa.

The East African Community, through its project Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry, has launched an online skills matchmaking platform for young people in the East African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It will link graduates with work and study opportunities.

Highly unequal societies are less effective at reducing poverty than those with low levels of inequality. They grow more slowly and struggle to sustain economic growth. Mount Kenya University has tackled these challenges on several fronts through a sustainable development hub that has been recognised internationally.

The recent 2021 Common Statement in Support of International Education and Mobility by nine European and North American countries is that of a Western, physical mobility-focused approach to international education that may have been relevant in the past but is much less so for the present and future.

Higher education leaders face many challenges and good leadership can depend on context. Inspiring leaders may have high standards, a strong vision, and be creative, smart, honest and tough but fair. What is also important is for leaders to stay connected and to plan carefully for their successors – something that definitely needs more attention within the sector.

A global climate deal was agreed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, on Saturday. But crucially, it watered down draft commitments to phase out coal, leaving the United Nations secretary general and scientists warning that “we are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe”.