PARTNERSHIP TO STRENGTHEN AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

On Monday, April 24, 2000, the presidents of four U.S. foundations announced an initiative to support the improvement of higher education institutions in a number of sub-Saharan African countries. The joint effort recognizes the importance of higher education in reducing poverty and stimulating economic and social development in Africa. Below are some photo highlights of the meeting at which the announcement was made, along with quotes from the presidents, along with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the president of the Association of African Universities, who also attended the event.

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Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations “I'm excited about this initiative because higher education is so important in our global age. Higher education is central to development, human progress and freedom. And the university is the logical extension of basic education for all.”
Vartan Gregorian President, Carnegie Corporation of New York “While the challenges facing African countries are daunting, Africans determined to address them are increasingly focused on the crucial task of strengthening their universities. They recognize that their societies need a new generation of well-educated leaders trained in many fields, and that to develop them, their higher education institutions must expand and diversify. We believe that the graduates of these universities can contribvte enormously to helping their countries move forward and that this is a particularly promising moment in the history of Africa to support those efforts.”	Gordon Conway President, Rockefeller Foundation “This process of change in African higher education is being aided by broadened recognition on the part of governments of the multi-faceted contributions that universities can make in national development and poverty alleviation. Information technology will be key among those tools that universities can harness to help turn the process of globalization to Africa‘s advantage.”
Susan V. Berresford President, Ford Foundation “Strong African universities can play a role in protecting basic freedoms, enhancing intellectual life, and informing policymaking. This is clearly the right moment to have a ‘bias for hope’ and to increase support for their leaders.”	Jonathan Fanton President, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation “This partnership will be flexible and approaches will differ. But we are united in the belief that strong universities and intellectual freedom are indispensible preconditions in developing and sustaining healthy democratic societies.”
Andrew Siwela President, Association of African Universities “African universities are facing serious economic crises stemming from regional conflicts, international upheavals and natural disasters. As a result, the resources of African nations are strained to their limits and budgets for education suffer. Many African universities have risen to this challenge by initiating revitalization programs, but, in this context, the role of international support for African universities is of paramount importance.”