On 15 and 16 May 2025 in Addis Ababa, at the Italian Institute of Culture and with the support of the Italian Embassy in Ethiopia, the first face-to-face meeting of the UNITAFRICA project will take place, the academic cooperation initiative born from the partnership between 21 Italian universities and the Alliance with 78 African universities, within the framework of the PNRR-TNE (Transnational Education Initiatives) projects.
The aim of the UNITAFRICA project, which is coordinated by the University of Brescia, is to consolidate experiences of academic cooperation in the field of education, through the identification of Best Practices in Education through the use of innovative teaching methods. To this end, in addition to the already active website (www.unitafrica.it), a multidisciplinary teaching platform will be set up to which students and teaching staff of the 99 participating universities will have access.
Access to high-level secondary education is the fundamental aim of this academic cooperation project which, building on the 20-year experience of CUCS (University Coordination for Development Cooperation), aims to achieve it without gender discrimination and in an equitable and sustainable manner, in accordance with the standards set out in the main international legal instruments (Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063).
Among the numerous activities of the project, which have already seen the opening meeting between the member universities at the meeting on 14 February, the establishment of the UNITAFRICA Alliance and the launch of the thematic webinars, the UNITAFRICA academic council has organised this important event in Africa, both to present the progress of the activities and to directly launch the partnership with African colleagues, who will give voice to the demands of the 18 sub-Saharan countries involved.
The event will be held in mixed mode, allowing those who have not had the opportunity to travel to the Ethiopian capital to follow along remotely.