Royal Holloway has signed up to the Africa Charter, a framework for advancing a transformative mode of research collaborations to advance and uphold the continent’s place in the global production of scientific knowledge.
The Africa Charter aims to achieve a fundamental reshaping of research collaborations and promises to:
- Decolonise knowledge production.
- Enhance the global relevance of research.
- Build sustainable research capacity in Africa.
- Foster more equitable and productive international partnerships.
- Contribute to more diverse and innovative solutions to global challenges.
The signing of the Charter is a key contributor to Royal Holloway’s new RH2030s strategy, which commits the University to being globally engaged, enabling stronger global partnerships, realising the full potential of its alumni network, and amplifying its global reputation.
Professor Tracy Bhamra, Provost and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), at Royal Holloway, said: “Signing this agreement signals our commitment to research collaborations across Africa and provides the framework within which we will work with our partners.
“We will be working to ensure our research collaborations are transformative and advance a rebalancing of the global research ecosystem. This will build on our previous collaborations, such as the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund programme that resulted in more than 60 research outputs with a wide range of African organisations.
“Our recent research collaborations in Africa have already covered hugely important topics such as environmental economics, social cohesion, sustainable agriculture, and conflict-related sexual violence. We are looking forward to growing our connections and making a positive difference through our research.”
Professor Julie Sanders, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, at Royal Holloway, added: “I am incredibly pleased that Royal Holloway has become a signatory of the Africa Charter and that we are continuously taking steps to reinforce our commitment to equitable partnership working as part of being a University of Social Purpose.
“Our work across Africa with in-country partners from multiple sectors, including business and government as well as Higher Education, has already had tremendous impact and will undoubtedly go from strength to strength in the context of the Africa Charter framework.”
The Charter will give African institutions greater autonomy, capacity, and freedom to pursue their priority research agendas and produce recognised knowledge about how the world works.
All institutions involved, whether in Africa, the global North or beyond, will gain an opportunity to join forces to shape a future scientific effort that is more just. This is urgently needed to address the multiple crises humanity and the planet face.
The Charter coalition comprises major African and global university networks and academic associations, and key higher education institutions in the continent, the UK and wider Europe, North America and Latin America.
