The first forum of the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations, hosted in the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Humanities, was framed from the outset as a working session rather than a ceremonial occasion. Held soon after the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit, it brought together senior leadership from universities and higher education bodies across the continent and the Global North, with the explicit purpose of moving the charter from signatures on paper to concrete institutional practice.
The charter itself was launched in July 2023 as the product of leading higher education bodies on the continent. Its aim is to champion a transformative model of cooperation that goes beyond simply redressing layers of power imbalance rooted in the past. Signatories commit to steering stereotypically equitable partnerships toward genuine equity, shifting the balance of power and authority toward leadership by scholars and institutions in Africa, and building a richer ecosystem of knowledge creation to the mutual benefit of both sides of the equator.
Delivery dominated the day. Professor Thokozani Majozi, UCT’s deputy vice chancellor for Research and Internationalisation, put the operational challenge plainly: “A signature is a promise. It is how we actualise it that counts. A charter asks all of us to change our ways.” He noted that signatures from Europe, Australia and Canada show an appetite for change across the board, but asked how it would be actualised. “Today is a day of action; of rolling out a practical roadmap for institutions.”
That roadmap now takes the form of a 10-step implementation plan through which signatories are encouraged to shift from intent to a community of action. Professor Isabella Aboderin, founding director and chair of the University of Bristol’s Perivoli Africa Research Centre (PARC), outlined the steps. They include public endorsement and active promotion of the charter through media and logo usage, encouraging others to join, and establishing internal coordinating mechanisms and forums to drive the journey. Institutions are expected to foster internal commitment, planning and accountability, to reflect critically on existing research collaborations to identify power imbalances and gaps in policy, teaching approach and benchmarks, and to exchange on the theory and practice of transformative collaborations while actively sharing action and advocacy between signatories.
Professor Puleng Segalo, holder of the Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair at the University of South Africa (UNISA), stressed the collective nature of the work. “The charter has already garnered a huge community. What is important now that we have this momentum is to action it. As the facilitation team at UNISA, UCT and Bristol, we aim for a collective effort.” She added: “It will require a community working together and learning from one another. It is about all of us taking accountability in doing this work.”
Meanwhile, the forum marked a new addition to the delivery roster. On 1 October 2026, Canada’s Carleton University became the charter’s newest signatory, joining through Professor David J Hornsby, vice provost of Academic and Global Learning, bringing the total to 146 signatories from across the Global North and South. Hornsby, speaking as the newest signatory, cautioned that funders, publishers, assessors and rankers sit overwhelmingly in the north, and that middle powers often present themselves as honest brokers, earning standing at low cost. Signatories, he said, need to make sure the regime-reform agenda is carried through. “As we take up the mantle of the charter, we have to recognise that our journey will evoke discomfort and resistance, and we will need to build in mechanisms for persistence in light. But the result will be contributing to a more equitable global order and one that will be relevant for generations to come.”
The choice of attendees reflected the implementation focus. Associate Professor Divine Fuh, director of UCT’s Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA), said it was vital that the forum be a gathering of high-end decision-makers from universities and higher education bodies with the power to drive change. HUMA co-facilitates the charter in partnership with PARC and UNISA’s Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair.
The charter’s origins lie in an intellectual argument sparked during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, which shone a spotlight on persisting global inconsistencies. What began as an Africa-centric quest to understand power asymmetry in research grew into a powerful coalition, and the charter was co-developed by major higher education bodies including the Association of African Universities, the African Research Universities Alliance, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa and the African Academy of Sciences. Launched with 93 signatories across universities, learning societies, institutions and publishers, it has already seen changes in behaviour, practice and policy, and is on its way to being endorsed by the African Union, which shares its goals and agenda around higher education.
Aboderin described the gathering as a special forum, and the long-term commitment required was captured by UNISA’s vice-chancellor, Professor Puleng LenkaBula, who joked: “The Africa Charter is like a marriage. Divorce is not an option in the quest for realistic transformation and an outcome that benefits all.” Whether the 146 signatories can now convert that commitment into sustained institutional practice is the question the 10-step roadmap is designed to answer.