The WUN Global Africa Group (GAG) is a platform for African and non-African research institutions committed to working together. Utilising the expertise and international partnerships amongst our group members, we aim to contribute to the identification of sustainable and equitable solutions to critical local, regional and global challenges of relevance to Africa.
Strategy 2020–2023
The Global Africa Group currently focuses on new approaches for Africa research collaborations – within and beyond academia – that enable equitable knowledge production and innovation. We will pursue our aim by:
- Bringing together group members and thought leaders on the subject, for example in workshops;
- Exploring and refining new approaches; and
- Devising and promoting guidelines – principles and practice approaches – for future collaborative research and cooperation.
Foundational for our endeavour is to challenge, explicitly, the historically rooted inequities and existing orthodoxies in the global field of knowledge production and specifically, in research cooperation with Africa; and to develop alternative epistemologies and methodologies for productive collaborations. Entrenched power imbalances between and among African institutions and actors and those outside of the continent arise on several levels: in the financial control and management of projects; the determination of agendas, priorities and locations for inquiry; the epistemological and methodological approaches embraced; the interpretation and use of findings; and in research dissemination.
We believe that our work will nurture the capacities necessary to bring about grounded solutions from and for the African continent, thus enriching the global scientific endeavour and, ultimately, drive sustainable social and economic transformation needed regionally and globally.
Read the full WUN GAG Strategy 2020–2023 document.
About
The WUN Global Africa Group (GAG) is one of WUN’s special interest groups and has been identified as one of WUN’s cross-cutting themes. These themes intersect with all four Global Challenges and are deemed vital to understanding and addressing them. Cross-cutting themes are selected based on identified research strengths across WUN.
The Global Africa Group was formed by WUN in 2015 to enhance opportunities – enabled by WUN’s network of partners – of research collaborations, innovations and impact in support of Africa’s sustainable development challenges.
Our research areas are i) environmental change and food security; ii) public health; iii) governance, inequality and social inclusion; iv) higher education and knowledge exchange; v) natural resources.
Our group members are WUN researchers and colleagues from African and non-African research institutions.
Contact us:
Please get in touch with us if you would like to know more about the network and how to be involved. We look forward to hearing from you.
Email Wilna Venter · WUN Coordinator for the Global Africa Group
See WUN Global Africa Group on YouTube
Steering Group:
- A/Prof Divine Fuh, University of Cape Town · Co-Chair | Email
- Prof Isabella Aboderin, University of Bristol · Co-Chair | Email
Resources
Documentation and presentations
- GAG Strategy 2020–2023 > view
- GAG Workshop Series 2021: “Disrupting orthodoxies in global North-Africa research cooperation and knowledge production for sustainable development. Concept Note > view
- GAG Annual Research Workshop 2020: “Re-thinking North-South cooperation and knowledge production for SDGs”. 15 Dec 2020. Online. Report > view > workshop videos
- GAG presentation at WUN AGM 2019, Dublin: “WUN Success Stories”. 19–24 May, 2019. University College Dublin, Ireland. Report > view
- GAG panel discussion: “Africa and Sustainable Development Agendas” 2018. WUN Conference and AGM. 25 May 2018. University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Invitation > view
- GAG Annual Research Workshop 2018: “Implementing the SDGs in East Africa: Translating collaborative research into policy impact”. 29–30 Nov 2018. University of Nairobi, Kenya. Report > view > presentation
Videos
- “Re-thinking North-South cooperation and knowledge production for SDGs” (2020). GAG workshop. 15 Dec 2020. Online. > view (6 videos)
- “Remapping Africa through peace parks: What future for the continent?”. Prof. Maano Ramutsindela, GAG Co-Chair (2018). University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor’s Inaugural Lecture. 21 Feb 2018. University of Cape Town, South Africa. > view
Publications
- GAG collaborative book project: “Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals” (2020) > view
Research
There are several Africa-related research projects funded by the WUN through interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs).
IRGs 2020:
- Education in a warming world: A collaborative research network on education and climate change
- Gendering public health – women’s leadership in the context of COVID-19
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries
- Rising Inequalities (RISIN) – taking stock and learning from the Covid-19 pandemic
- Strengthening antenatal care resilience in the face of pandemics (SARA)
- Strengthening disaster risk governance and enhancing societal resilience associated with COVID-19
- The new African urban university: Building partnerships to realise the promise and potential of sustainable urban transformations
- WUN to building resilience In construction (WUN-BRIC)
IRGs 2019:
- Adressing the impact of heatwaves and drought on food security
- Climate-induced migration: Global scope, regional impacts and national policy frameworks
- !Gâ re – Rangatiranga – Dadirri: Decolonizing the ‘capture of knowledge’
- Gendering migration: Women and girls experiences of gender-based discrimination, abuse and violence across migratory stages
- Global Research Network on the economic empowerment of women (ReNEW)
- Informing health resource allocation decisions: Models of interdisciplinary research emphasising local engagement and policy impact
- Innovating the mathematics curriculum in times of change: Towards local and global relevance
- Mental health impact and access to health and social care services for women victims of intimate partner violence
- (Re)negotiating power to enhance resilience to climate change
- The WUN Data Science Network (WUN-DSN)
- WUN Health Humanities initiative: Towards the development of the patient-centred and compassionate health professional through education
IRGs 2018:
- Climate-resilient African landscapes
- Smallholder dairy cooperatives in addressing sustainable development goals in ODA
- Memorials to people who have died and to those missing during migration: A global project
- Sustainability and electricity access in developing countries
- Researching diversity, inclusion and student success: Towards a global campus climate
- A cross-national study of urban solid waste management: Learnings and way forward
- African child and youth wellbeing in the context of migration and displacement
- Migrants’ decision-making in the context of shifting migration regimes: Highly skilled healthcare professionals
Selected outcomes
Academic Publication
- Ramutsindela, M. and Mickler, D. eds. (2019) “Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals“, Sustainable Development Series. Switzerland: Springer
