The Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) is five years old today, May 12, 2021. As consortium members celebrate achievements registered along the way, Co-Director Amy Jamison says the fifth anniversary “is a time for celebration, but also reflection.”

“We need to look back and do some introspection. We should read our objectives again and see how much we have achieved to better plan for the next five years.”

The AAP consortium was established in 2016 at a convening of influential African leaders and MSU faculty and administrators. The aim was to consider new ways that MSU and its partners in Africa could work together effectively and sustainably to address challenges. In 2018, AAP evolved into a consortium of institutions dedicated to mutually beneficial partnership to improve lives and livelihoods in Africa and beyond.

“This past year has not been easy especially with COVID-19 disrupting a number of our plans,” says Co-Director José Jackson-Malete.

Jackson-Malete adds that “we are nonetheless inspired that with COVID-19 came innovations such as hosting several virtual fora including what has become one of our flagship programs, the AAP Public Dialogue series.”

AAP’s achievements despite challenges of COVID-19 and other barriers, are a result of the dedication and support of many people including the attendees of the first convening who set AAP’s vision and AAP’s first co-directors, Thom Jayne and Jamie Monson, who laid a sustainable foundation.

Additionally, says Jamison, AAP honors past and present members of the advisory board, consortium institution leaders, faculty and staff from each of the consortium members, and a dedicated management team.

According to Richard Mkandawire, AAP Africa Director, “five years on, AAP can look back and celebrate how far we have come as is evident from recognition by governments and continental bodies such as the African Union (AU).

“Our member universities have so much hope and expectations, and so do we. Championing more co-creation and joint actions will be critical to ensuring that AAP is deeply rooted across all our partners for the long-term,” he adds.

For University of Pretoria (UP) Vice Chancellor, Tawana Kupe, the work the university has done with AAP, has increased the visibility of the work of UP researchers and experts, “helping us reach beyond academic research communities.”

“We look forward to collaborating more to find innovative African solutions to solve global challenges,” says Kupe.

Rose Mwonya, former Vice Chancellor of Egerton University, hopes to see “more partnerships, opportunities for dialogues and discussions and calls for proposals targeted to institutions in the Global South, 2021 and beyond.”

Initiated at MSU, the AAP is a consortium of 10 African universities, MSU in the U.S. and a think tank, the Regional Network for Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ReNAPRI).

AAP members can be found here https://aap.isp.msu.edu/about1/who-we-are/aap-consortium-members