UCT, Unisa and Bristol launch implementation framework for Africa Charter - IOL

UCT, Unisa and the University of Bristol have launched the next phase of the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations.

The University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of South Africa (Unisa) and the University of Bristol have taken the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations into its next phase, with an implementation framework launched at a forum in Cape Town.

The development came during the Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit 2026, co-hosted by UCT and Bristol in Cape Town from September 29 to October 1. The summit brought together leaders from higher education, government, business and civil society.

The inaugural Africa Charter Signatories Forum: Towards a Community of Action brought together signatories and supporters to launch the Charter’s implementation framework and agree on the next phase of collective action.

Bristol said the forum aimed to move the Charter “from a broad-based community of interest to an active global community committed to embedding transformative principles in research collaboration”.

As part of the initiative, UCT, Unisa and Bristol signed an agreement committing the institutions to coordinate support for the Charter and advance its implementation internationally.

The Charter was launched on July 5, 2023, in Windhoek, Namibia, during the African Association of Universities’ Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents. It was developed through the Perivoli Africa Research Centre at Bristol, the Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair at Unisa and UCT’s Institute for the Humanities in Africa.

The Charter seeks to address power imbalances in global knowledge production and promote more equitable international research collaborations. Bristol says around 140 universities and organisations have become signatories.

UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said the partnership would “redress unjust power imbalances in global knowledge production, advance intellectual leadership and scholarship” and “implement and centre the Africa Charter as a transformative instrument for international academic, cultural and educational research collaborations globally”.

Separately, UCT and Unisa signed a bilateral agreement on September 30 to strengthen strategic higher education cooperation in training, science, research and innovation.

The Africa Charter forum formed part of the wider THE World Academic Summit, held under the theme “Knowledge, justice and futures: Universities in the age of intelligence”.

University of Bristol Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Evelyn Welch said: “We are delighted to co-host this year's summit with the University of Cape Town and to bring together diverse perspectives from across the world.”

“The challenges we face are global, but many of the most effective solutions emerge through strong local partnerships, shared ambition and a commitment to creating lasting public value,” she said.

Among the summit speakers was Lord Marvin Rees, former Mayor of Bristol and a Labour peer, who joined Cape Town Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis for a panel discussion on the role of universities as civic institutions.

Rees said he was “looking forward to being in Cape Town to progress understanding and action on how cities, universities, civic partners, and industry, can work together to navigate the changes ahead”.

South African Minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela also featured on the summit programme, where he was due to discuss the future of university-government partnerships and the role of higher education in building research and innovation ecosystems.