From EurActiv

Education Minister Johanna Wanka announced a change of course for German development cooperation in Africa last Friday (20 June). In the future, projects in science and research should be regionally targeted. EurActiv Germany reports.

Signs of success in African development have inspired Germany to redesign its strategy for promoting growth on the continent. On Friday (20 June) in Berlin, Education Minister Johanna Wanka announced a paradigm shift, in a joint statement with the Commissioner of Human Resources, Science and Research from the African Union, Martial Ikounga.

Last year, growth was at 4.8%, according to statistics of the World Bank. This year, the rate has risen to 5.3%. In 2012, four African countries made it to the worldwide ranking for the top ten countries with the highest growth rates according to GDP.

This success story is something the German government hopes to promote, and it has devised a new route to take. Speaking in Berlin last week, Wanka said that education and research projects will be coordinated on equal footing and in agreement with the African Union (AU) in the future, partnering with African countries.

As an example of innovations, she mentioned the common structure of two regional competence centres for climate change and adapted land management in southern and western Africa. There, input and support from the African countries are not only appreciated but expected, she said.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has already allocated €76 million for new projects, Wanka said, indicating that these funds will not only be concentrated in the continent’s few well-developed countries, like South Africa and Egypt.

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