The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie is a global association that includes universities, academic networks, and scientific research centers that use the French language. Its rector is Slim KhalbousThis video explains the mission and purpose of this multilateral institution. Hichem Ben Yaïche Nicolas Bouchet.
The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, a multilateral institution, supports solidarity and cooperation among French-speaking institutions and universities. It brings together 1007 universities and colleges, as well as university networks, scientific research centres, and universities in France that use the French language. It was founded 60 years ago. It is one of the most important associations of higher education institutions and research institutions in the globe.
The AUF is also the specialist higher education and research agency for the International Organisation of La Francophonie, the organisation bringing together countries where French is spoken and French culture is present.
Slim Khalbous was a former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Interim Education minister in Tunisia. He was elected its rector for 2019. He discusses the history and mission of the little-known, but highly valuable institution in the following interview.
New African: In 2019, you took over as the AUF’s rector. After adopting a strategy for 2021-25, do you feel that you moving forward with the “revolution” you want to lead?
Slim KhalbousWe are on track, even though not everything is done. The idea is to revive French-speaking education and promote the French language. Given the complexity of the development we seek in our countries, especially in Africa, it is very important for academics to develop skills around the world.
The challenge is to place skills, knowledge, collective intelligence, and collective intelligence at center of the concept of development. This is our long term goal, but we must fundamentally reform our organisation to achieve it.
This institution, little known to the general public, has more than 1,000 members, is present in 119 countries, with 81 local representations, and a budget of over €43m. Diplomacy is the practice of scientific knowledge. How does this all happen on a daily basis
The AUF began as a utopia in 1961, in Montreal when a dozen universities met and asked themselves: “Why not create a worldwide network of French-speaking universities?” Sixty years later, we now have more than a thousand universities and research centres that are members of our organisation. This makes the AUF by far the most important university network in the world. There are other networks, but we are larger in terms both of countries and members.
We are proud to be part of this network, which spans five continents. Our members are from 120 countries and we have an administrative organization that covers ten regions of the globe. This means that we extend our reach beyond the French-speaking world (which includes approximately 50 countries). Because knowledge transcends all cultural and linguistic barriers, we address everyone.
We are French-speaking and promote the French language’s benefits in science and knowledge. We work with everyone and appreciate multilingualism as a way to develop science through development. We support countries in their university and educational reforms in a traditional way.
We also work in non-French-speaking countries that are interested in collaborating, mobilisation, and mobility projects with the French scientific space.
The AUF is a growing organisation. While everyone complains about a decrease in funding, our budget has grown by 20% over the past two years. We are proud to have been successful in convincing both public and private donors to fund our projects through competitive funds. Today, we are more successful in securing funding contracts.
I want to remind you that the AUF does not profit from development aid. All money we raise through partnership contracts goes to development aid via knowledge. The primary, secondary, and university education systems are all supported by training and guidance.
The 2025 strategy centers on the employmentability of graduates who have been affected by unemployment. As an aid to governance, digital education is also a possibility. I’d like to mention research for development of countries. We are working on pooling networks and skills around the world.
There are many institutions that do the same thing. What makes you stand out from the rest?
Two key elements are what make us different. The first is our ability to mobilize all expertise on an international level. We are present in 120 countries, which allows us to mobilize experts from all disciplines, languages and specialties. This is something that we are the only organization in the world to be able to do. The second element, which compliments the expertise is the element if proximity. We have a physical presence across more than 60 nations. Our digital campuses are everywhere, as well as national representatives.
The political dimension is crucial. We know that without the support and cooperation from political decision-makers, we cannot transform the university system. There are many high-ranking academics in countries without a national office who have served as presidents of universities and ministers representing the AUF.
Other organisations are richer than ours, but they don’t have this unparalleled proximity to the field. The problem with university and scientific cooperation is that it often starts with a friendly event or a simple action, but loses momentum quickly because there is not local representation. We are present with teams and services in 42 countries and have cooperation and headquarters agreements. This gives us a tremendous strength of proximity.
What can you do to improve education quality when faced with the collapse in education systems?
We are all well aware of the immense challenges facing all member countries of our organization in relation to the quality of education. The problem of post-education is a particular concern. Graduate unemployment is at its highest when skills aren’t up to standard. This is unacceptable, as we have been arguing for twenty years that Africa lacks skilled workers.
All African countries have made huge investments in the training of top-level students. There has also been a significant increase in the number of universities. However, the results are mixed. The quality and quantity of diplomas has not been improved by mass education. Employers say there are many graduates, but they are not easily employable. The brain drain is also increasing and the best students are leaving their country for the North, as they are not finding employment opportunities.
Quality is also a problem. Quality will deteriorate as more students are enrolled, but the same equipment and infrastructure is used. The number of teachers has fallen, and the student-teacher ratio has dropped. These are the greatest challenges I face. The AUF has therefore decided to make the problem of supporting employability with innovative and unique proposals a central part of its strategy.
In a world dominated by English, don’t you have the impression that French is in a rear-guard battle?
Not at all. When languages and cultures are at odds, there is a rear-guard battle. This is not our goal, our philosophy or our way to do things. It’s not about replacing English with French, or any other international languages like Spanish, Arabic, or others. We make it clear that we live in a multilingual world, and that multilingualism has become a necessity. We are academics and encourage students to learn as many languages possible.
Students learn a second language to gain new skills and culture. We have settled the issue. We are not against languages but just as comfortable with them. We are simply part of a global movement to promote French culture and language. This means that we have a responsibility to promote the French language to young people who want to pursue an international career and a better lifestyle.
I am always surprised when I hear that English is used in some countries to replace French or other languages. We all know that there are many languages in the world and that children can learn them even as young as elementary school. These are additional strengths you can gain. I don’t object to English being introduced in French-speaking countries. It is not a problem to French, which is an acquired wealth.
We are in a very open mindset that is open to the reality of the world. Because people still value their ancestral languages, the trend towards multilingualism is both global and local. This is not contradictory in today’s world and is part of its evolution.
Many countries have difficulty transforming knowledge into skills. What are the best tools to address this lack of entrepreneurial culture
This culture is lacking, I agree. The AUF has a very clear position regarding entrepreneurship. First, we are clear that entrepreneurship is not the solution to unemployment. People often believe that anyone can become an entrepreneur and create jobs tomorrow if they have a university degree. With hindsight, experience and knowledge, we know that this is false.
Entrepreneurship is a viable option, but it must be a long-term strategy. It’s not enough to talk about entrepreneurialism at the end a university course if a young person is already more than twenty-years old and has never been ready for it. The question of taking initiative, curiosity, and organisation, that’s what entrepreneurship is all about in the end. This must be done gradually from primary school to secondary school, and then be consolidated in higher education to receive a diploma as well as a project.
The AUF offers training in entrepreneurial spirit to all. These skills include taking initiative, being organized, and general culture. This applies to all disciplines, all ages, and all times. We are offering a training program for teachers who want the role of mentors, tutors, or advisors. This is not a traditional teaching position. These coaches have the role of identifying, among all the young people who are following entrepreneurial training courses, those who have a profile that is capable of taking them to the end of creative value chain. We support the formation of a business or a start up.
We also suggest to governments that they improve the success rate for incubators. The lack of qualified candidates at the entrance is one of the main reasons African incubators fail. We propose a preincubation approach that teaches entrepreneurship and selects profiles that can take it all the way. We have created the status for student entrepreneur in ten African nations with the cooperation of the ministries. This is a wonderful innovation that I launched as Minister of Higher Education Research in Tunisia. It is a project that has been extremely successful.
We will be implementing this project in eight sub-Saharan Africa countries, based on the pilot projects we did in Tunisia or Morocco. The idea is to offer students who are willing to take entrepreneurship training courses alongside their studies. Later in the programme, optional subjects are replaced by the student’s entrepreneurial project. After two to three years, those who succeed leave with their diploma and a project that they had an academic and professional coach throughout their studies.
How do your institutions deal avec the issue artificial intelligence and the disappearance certain professions?
These are civilisational questions. Many people are starting to realize the scope of artificial intelligence. We do what we do best: mobilize expertise to tell us how to deal with these developments. Our World Francophonie Science Week will be held in Cairo from October 25-28. I am delighted that it will take place in an Arabic- and English speaking country, which is a great choice for hosting such a large event. We will discuss the impact of artificial Intelligence on daily life of citizens.
It’s not the technological advancement that worries us. It is natural and will keep on going. There will always remain very talented engineers who will continue to improve the technology’s performance. What we don’t yet fully understand and grasp is the effect of these changes on our daily life as citizens, consumers, or members of society. We are mobilizing sociologists and historians, jurists and ethics experts to explain this amazing technology with everyday life.
How will you harness the power of the tools you have to create reality?
I have been an academic all my life and will continue to be one. That’s the scientific and rational side I always try to have with me. I also have experience in entrepreneurship. As an expert in governance and management, I am also familiar with the constraints and imperatives of economic operators. Without having a political career, I had the opportunity to serve almost four years as a minister in a government of a developing nation. I was able to understand international political and balance issues.
My political skills and entrepreneurial skills combined with my professorship allow me to provide some answers to the complex world we live within. This is how I try to help my organization. I’m not alone. Our organisation’s advantage is that there are many academics who are interested in governance and management and not just the theoretical or fundamental aspects.
Source: New African Magazine
