Africa to share vision with G8

The president of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, is to press other African heads of state to appeal for G8 involvement in revitalising Africa's universities in an address at this month's African Union summit in Tripoli.

It is hoped that the formal message from the summit will influence the G8 response to Tony Blair's crusade to put Africa at the head of the agenda because a direct request for university revitalisation would be difficult for G8 leaders to ignore.

The emphasis in the G8's Gleneagles summit on July 6-8 will be on science and technology, with strong African universities as the essential springboard.

Earlier this year, Mr Blair's Commission for Africa called on the international community to pledge $500 million (£8 million) a year over ten years to help African universities to train engineers, scientists and other professionals. Over the same period, $3 billion would be used to develop 30 centres of excellence in science and technology, including African versions of the Indian Institutes of Technology.

If the G8 leaders fail to take up the revitalisation of Africa's universities, supporters of the plan believe that European leaders, particularly those from Scandinavia, will want to play a part.

About 30 African vice-chancellors and 20 speakers - including Sir David King, the UK Government's chief scientific adviser, and Sir Nicholas Stern, head of the UKGovernment Economic Service, Baroness Blackstone and Paul Boateng, Britain's next high commissioner in Pretoria - will attend a five-day conference on African higher education at the University of Abertay just before the G8 summit.

The delegates plan to submit their blueprint for Africa to the G8 summit.

However, Abertay's deputy principal, Nicholas Terry, said that although G8 support would be welcome, it was not essential to the plan's success.

"It is important to emphasise that the renewal of African universities is seen very much by the Africans as their own agenda, and if the G8 decides not to support it, my expectation is that the Africans will find another means," Mr Terry said.

Another speaker, Piyushi Kotecha, chief executive officer of Higher Education South Africa, said: "We will make our case for a renewed higher education in Africa. It is hoped that we can develop a truly African agenda and a strong advocacy that will locate higher education as pivotal in achieving our continent's goals."

Wiseman Nkuhlu, chief executive of the New Partnership for African Development's secretariat, had previously argued that Africa's universities were crucial to achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.