In this event, ARES and VLIRUOS want to showcase how international cooperation can meaningfully connect with local-level realities through policy dialogue. ‘Inclusive policy dialogue’ refers to the political and coordination processes that structure interactions between local populations, public authorities, and international actors. It focuses on how the Belgian cooperation can better mobilise local expertise, avoid top‑down interventions, […]
Pierre Martinot
Decolonising Research and Higher Education : for Marie-Annick Gournet, ‘the African Charter rebalances the exchange and production of knowledge, wherever it comes from.’
Promoting equity in research partnerships is one of the main challenges of decolonising research. It is also the main purpose of the African Charter, which, in line with pan-African intellectual engagement, is committed to supporting and strengthening the continent’s contribution to scientific knowledge production. The African Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations was launched in 2023 […]
Decolonising Research and Higher Education : the need to develop collaborations based on mutual recognition
An increasing number of voices are calling for truly equitable academic collaboration between the Global South and the Global North. Even today, partnerships remain marked by imbalances inherited from the colonial past, with academic institutions in the Global North retaining control over project management and leaving little room for partners from the Global South to […]
Two Congolese researchers publish a Study on urban gullies in Nature
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the deep erosion gullies carved by intense rainfall scar urban landscapes, destroy roads and homes, and directly threaten hundreds of thousands of people. Long underestimated, this phenomenon is now receiving international scientific recognition: a study conducted by Congolese researchers has just been published in the journal Nature, accompanied […]
Cutting back on development cooperation today, is not cutting back on expenses, but on our future
Budgets for development cooperation are under severe pressure, including in Belgium. Now that Flanders is discontinuing its support, it is crucial that Belgium maintains its commitment. Cutting back today will undermine our strategic position and influence tomorrow. Knowledge as strategic capital Belgium has no oil or gas, but it does have world-class higher education institutions. […]
DR Congo: When Science becomes a lever for peace and development
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese and Belgian researchers are combining their expertise to address strategic challenges related to the exploitation of natural resources. This academic cooperation is producing tangible results that benefit local populations and support regional stability. The DRC holds 80% of Africa’s coltan, primarily located in the South and […]
PSP CLEAR : Producing actionable knowledge to support strategic and operational policymaking processes focusing on the nexus development-environment-climate change.
Third and final interview on Policy Supporting Programmes (PSPs). Today, we focus on the PSP Climate & Environment, based a social science approach to questions at the instersection of sustainable development , climate change and ecology, in order to contribute to better informed development policymaking and interventions. Leonard K. Mubalama is professor in the environmental […]
PSP SPRING – Towards social protection for workers in the informal sector: issues and challenges.
We continue our series of interviews on the Policy Supporting Programme (PSP) with Tom De Herdt (UAntwerpen) and Francine Iragi Mukotanyi (Université Catholique de Bukavu, DRC), academic leaders of the Social Protection, Inequality & Inclusive Growth Programme (SPRING). What are the challenges and issues of social protection that could transform the informal economy sector in […]
Joining forces for a lasting impact
Enabel, VLIRUOS and Academy for Research and Higher Education – ARES are strengthening their collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This is a powerful statement of intent at a time when international cooperation faces major challenges. Why this MoU? And why sign it together, today? This partnership seeks to reinforce the synergy between our institutions and to rethink research and higher education. It aims to […]
PSP REFRACT – Conflict and international security: when research supports political decision-making in Belgium.
With Manu Klimis (UCLouvain) and Lassané Yaméogo (CNRST – Burkina Faso), academic leaders of the Policy Supporting Programme (PSP) ‘Fragility & Resilience’, we begin our series of interviews on these inter-institutional research programmes aimed at providing support and decision-making assistance to the DGD (see the first Policy brief below). In the coming weeks, we will […]