The Leadership Centre has articulated a powerful vision of Africa’s sustainability science leadership which will ensure Africa’s visibility and voice are represented in the Future Earth’s Global Secretariat and accelerate and amplify Africa’s contribution towards the pursuit of Future Earth’s global mission. The success of the Leadership Centre relies on the establishment of the Regional Nodes, the Consortium Partners, the Sustainability Science Clusters, the support of Early Career Researchers as well as the development of a strong and well-coordinated African Sustainability Science Association. These will be united in the common purpose of advancing Sustainability Science in and for Africa, advocating its priorities at a global level.
The Future Earth Africa Hub Leadership Centre is responsible for coordinating and carrying out as well as driving and advancing strategic activities in support of the Future Earth Africa Hub's mandate on the continent. To ensure that the mission and vision of Future Earth are realized in Africa, the Centre (in coordination with the Hub) liaises and works with African partners, the global Future Earth community, international stakeholders, and the networks of early/mid-career scientists and researchers.
The Leadership Centre is co-hosted by Rhodes University and the University of Pretoria, with an operations Implementation Team led by a Steering Committee. The Steering Committee provides the Leadership Centre team with strategic decision-making, while the Advisory Board provides strategic advice to the whole Africa Hub.
The Centre works with the NRF, the consortium partners and the Regional Nodes to provide leadership in terms of the implementation of the Africa Hub’s mandate in support of Future Earth global activities.
The Future Earth Africa Hub is a significant initiative aimed at enhancing sustainability science capabilities across Africa. It was launched by the National Research Foundation of South Africa during the 2023 Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress Africa Satellite event hosted by Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, South Africa. The Hub’s primary aim is to contribute towards Future Earth’s mission and vision by strengthening African sustainability science capacities, connections and global contributions. It will build a strong and well-coordinated African sustainability science community, putting mechanisms in place that advance leadership for sustainability science in Africa and driving the advancement, advocacy and leadership of African priorities at the global level.
The Africa Hub is designed to contribute capacity and expertise towards the effective delivery of the Future Earth Global Secretariat’s key functions on the African continent, which are intended to serve the global sustainability science community and its stakeholders. In doing so, the Africa Hub ensures that the needs and interests, as well as insights and perspectives of the African continent, are consistently and fully integrated into Future Earth's strategies, activities, and operations at a global level. The Africa Hub works to advance sustainability science in and for Africa and develop networks and activities that address specific regional priorities, which will include, for example, excellence models in research uptake and advancement, early-career scientists’ capacity development, institutional strengthening, and centres of competence/excellence, as well as strategic knowledge networking. In doing so, the Hub will leverage on Future Earth resources, broadly defined, to strengthen and showcase African sustainability science and its impact on Africa.
The advancement and strengthening of strategic South-South collaboration is a key tenet of the Africa Hub, and it will invest significantly in the expansion of existing networks as well as the establishment or enhancement of new programs, including Global Change research. A phased implementation process will enable the Africa Hub to operate as a truly global initiative with a strong African presence and voice, integrating Africa’s thriving and expanding sustainability science, policy, and funding communities into the global sustainability science arena.
Future Earth Africa Hub Regional Nodes are localized centres within the broader network of the Future Earth Africa Hub. The nodes function as decentralized points of engagement, collaboration, and implementation for the broader goals of Future Earth, tailored to the unique contexts and needs of their respective regions. They are designed to address specific regional challenges and opportunities related to sustainability, climate change, and environmental research. The nodes support and promote efforts aligned with the implementation of Future Earth Africa Global Secretariat programmes at a regional level, strengthen knowledge networks and infrastructure access, and enhance cooperation between regions in Africa and globally in support of Future Earth's vision and mission. The Nodes will support the coordination and implementation of the FEAH objectives in their respective regions in collaboration with national and regional structures, and other Sustainability Science stakeholders. They will mobilise resources for the implementation of regional activities that will be supported and coordinated by regional steering committees and regional consortia. The Africa Hub will work closely with Regional Nodes in fundraising and capacity development, leveraging resources, driving innovation, and contributing towards the publication of research outputs. North Africa: Launched May 2024 during the 2024 Sustainability Research and Innovation Africa satellite event and is hosted at Helwan University in Egypt East Africa: Launched May 2024 during the 2024 Sustainability Research and Innovation Africa satellite event and is hosted at Maseno University in Kenya West Africa: Launched May 2024 during the 2024 Sustainability Research and Innovation Africa satellite event and is co-hosted by Cape Coast University in Ghana and Togo’s University of Lome. Southern Africa: process to identify the host in progress Central Africa: process to identify the host in progress
Future Earth is a global network of scientists, researchers, and innovators collaborating for a more sustainable planet. Its vision is of a sustainable and equitable world for all, where societal decisions are informed by openly accessible and shared knowledge. Its mission is to advance research in support of transformations to global sustainability.
Future Earth is supported by nine Global Secretariat Hubs, including the newly formed Future Earth Africa Hub, hosted by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The Africa Hub has joined the eight global secretariat hubs, including Canada, China, France, Japan, South Asia, Sweden, Taipei, and the United States since 2022. Future Earth convenes nineteen National and Local Networks and twenty-seven Global Research Networks that bring together innovators from academia, policy, business, civil society and more to address the world's most pressing sustainability challenges. Together, they generate the multifaceted knowledge needed to inform solutions for complex societal issues.
Last Modified: Fri, 28 Feb 2025 10:06:36 SAST