The presidents of the universities of Lomé (Togo) and Clark Atlanta (United States) signed on Saturday April 1 in the Togolese capital, a memorandum of understanding within the framework of a partnership facilitated by the World Bank Group, affirms the financial institution in a press release.
The document indicates that this partnership will offer students and teachers the opportunity to collaborate in the field of research, while promoting a more inclusive and sustainable social and economic development.
It follows a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2022 between the World Bank and six colleges and universities historically serving the black community (HBCUs) in the United States, the statement continued.
According to World Bank Group President David Malpass, “Education is the bedrock of development. Africa’s economic transformation hinges on its human capital and the skills of its workforce”.
“Given the strong interest shown by HBCUs in exchange and collaboration initiatives with solid African academic institutions, we have endeavored to connect these institutions”, he explained, satisfied with “the prospect to see the World Bank Group continue its unifying role in helping to forge partnerships between educational institutions”.
Clark Atlanta University is the oldest HBCU in the southern United States and today has more than 4,000 students. The institution is a member of UNCF, a non-profit organization whose goal is to provide financial support to minority students who wish to pursue higher education, the statement said.
“The HBCU community commends the World Bank Group and President Malpass for facilitating this critical partnership, which aims to have a transformative effect,” said George Tony French, president of Clark Atlanta University. and director of the UNCF.
He also stressed that “the cutting-edge research carried out at Clark Atlanta University and the University of Lomé will be multiplied tenfold thanks to this transnational collaboration and marks a turning point in higher education, insofar as it offers innovative modalities of collaboration conducive to the eradication of extreme poverty”.
Concerning the University of Lomé, the largest university in the country, the press release affirms that it hosts three of the African Centers of Excellence created within the framework of the first large-scale program in the region financed by the World Bank in the sector of Higher Education.
“With the support of our partners, including the World Bank, African universities are modernizing and opening up more to the world in the field of teaching and research in the service of sustainable development”, said Professor Dodzi Komla Kokoroko, president of the University of Lomé.
The World Bank reports that, since 2014, it has provided more than $600 million through the Africa Centers of Excellence program to support more than 70 structures in 20 African countries. In West and Central Africa, its annual commitments to education tripled between 2018 and 2021, from $400 million to $1.2 billion.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1115 of 03/03/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
