Abuja, Nigeria May 9, 2009:  The Association of African Universities (AAU)  has ended its 12th General Conference, in Abuja Nigeria with a commitment from African higher education institutions to integrate sustainable development not only in their institutions’ curricula, but also in every day life on the various campuses of higher education institutions.

The four-day Conference, which was organised in collaboration with the Universities of Abuja and Ilorin, comprised business and scientific sessions, as well as parallel events.  It was attended by 250 participants from 28 African countries and seven others from different parts of world, and representatives of donor agencies on the theme, Sustainable Development in Africa, the Role of Higher Education.

On the fourth day of the conference, the AAU elected a new 15-member executive board with Prof. Is-haq Oleyede, Vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin as the President.  Prof. Oleyede, is a dynamic, well-recognised academic in Nigeria.  For the first time ever, two female executive board members were elected, namely; Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, Vice chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana and Prof. Olive Mugenda, Vice chancellor of the Kenyatta University, Kenya. The newly elected executive board will serve a four-term period. 

During the Conference, The AAU African Higher Education Excellence Award for distinguished contribution to higher education was conferred on Prof Keto Elitabu Mshigeni, a distinguished Tanzanian academic. For his prize, Prof. Mshigeni received a plaque and a certificate and funding to visit one of more universities relevant to his area of expertise.  Funding for the Award was provided by the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) and the African Development Bank.

Another important event, which took place was the meeting of friends of the AAU.  This meeting was attended by donors and partners of the AAU, who gave feedback on the AAU’s Core Programme for the period 2009 – 2013, which was well received.

Other activities, which took place during the Conference, included parallel events on AAU Programmes, namely; Information Technology, Databases of African Theses and Dissertations, HIV and AIDS, and Quality Assurance. These presentations afforded participants the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the programmes, make inputs, as well as give feedback.  There were presentations on national examples on shaping higher education for sustainable development from Brazil, Japan and South Africa.

The AAU holds its General Conference every four years. There are two main components of the General Conference: The business session where the activities of the AAU Secretariat over the preceding four years are assessed; the work programme and budget for the following four years are approved; amendments are made to the statutory documents of the Association; and a new President and Executive Board are elected.

For more information on the 12^th General Conference, visit http://gc.aau.org/