A forum focusing on China-Africa cooperation in higher education opened on Thursday in Changsha, Hunan province, bringing together university leaders from China and Africa.
The China-Africa University Presidents Forum on Frontiers of Education Development was hosted by Hunan University. It attracted representatives from 15 universities across 13 African countries, including the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
This year is the China-Africa Year of Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges, marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries, beginning when Egypt became the first African nation to open official ties with Beijing in 1956.
In his opening address, Jiang Chao, vice-president of Hunan University, emphasized that cooperation in higher education serves as a vital spiritual bond for the China-Africa community with a shared future. "It is important that we work on the basis of equality and mutual learning, carry out joint research in key areas such as digital technology, healthcare, engineering, and trade, strengthen local talent cultivation, and turn the consensus we reach today into real, tangible results," he said.
Participants at the forum released a joint initiative to establish a China-Africa university alliance focused on digital development. The initiative calls for collaboration in building a digital higher education community, conducting forward-looking joint research, promoting cultural exchange, cultivating internationally minded digital talent, advancing industry-academia-research cooperation, and improving coordination mechanisms.
Perreau Marie Joelle Cynthia, vice-chancellor of the University of Seychelles, noted that China-Africa partnerships can support joint digital learning and ensure that technology respects cultural diversity and strengthens educators' ability to guide and inspire students. "Our goal should not merely be to make education more digital, but to make it more accessible, relevant, and responsive," she said.
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