Oct 27, 2023
Bristol University Press signs Africa Charter for Transformative Research
Bristol University Press is proud to be the first publisher to sign the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations. Co-created by some of Africa’s key higher education and science constituencies, the Charter aims to ensure that African scholars, institutions and knowledges take their rightful place in the worldwide scientific effort. It sets out key principles and aspirations for fostering transformative research collaborations with the continent for research institutions, funders, assessment bodies, governments, international science bodies and publishers.
The Charter is facilitated by the Perivoli Africa Research Centre (PARC) at the University of Bristol which advances a rebalancing of the global science and research ecosystem by envisioning, modelling and championing a transformative mode of global North-Africa research collaborations.
This initiative represents the University of Bristol’s cross-disciplinary commitment to championing transformation in research collaborations with Africa to advance global science and the achievement of the continent’s own aspirations.
This commitment ties in with Bristol University Press’s own mission to transform global challenge research by committing to, and actively soliciting, truly inclusive publishing, representative of the majority world. Its books and journals champion evidence-informed, bold thinking that aim to address the global social challenges. This includes its flagship Open Access Global Social Challenges Journal which has just published a provocation by four of the authors of the Charter: Beyond ‘equitable partnerships’: the imperative of transformative research collaborations with Africa by Isabella Aboderin, Divine Fuh, Eyob Gebremariam and Puleng Segalo, which has already been viewed or downloaded over 1400 times.
Sarah Bird, its Managing Editor, has written a blog about the importance to Bristol University Press in signing the Charter.
Julia Mortimer, Journals and Open Access Director said ”We are delighted to be the first publisher to sign the Charter, since it chimes so perfectly with our publishing aims and mission.”
Isabella Aboderin, Perivoli Chair in Africa Research, University of Bristol and Partnerships and Director of PSRC said "BUP’s commitment represents an incredibly powerful step and impetus for a serious effort to explore how and where the Press, and possibly other publishers, can adjust their policies and guidelines to align with the principles and aspirations of the Charter.”
The Charter was shared at a fringe event of the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit in September 2023 in Sydney, Australia attended by Bronwen Morgan, Co-Editor in Chief of Global Social Challenges Journal, University of Bristol’s VC Evelyn Welch and with PARC Director Isabella Aboderin joining online.
Launch of Africa Charter, Namibia, July 2023
Times Higher Education World Academic Summit in September 2023 in Sydney, Australia
For more information, contact Kathryn King, Marketing Manager, Bristol University Press:
Kathryn.king@bristol.ac.uk