On the 23rd of February, prior to the ASAF board meeting, the ASAF board, specifically Mr. Alexandre Zoumman, Ms. Imane Benrabiaa, and Ms. Juliet Kasozzi, organised a mobility promotion event on the premises of Institut Universitaire d'Abidjan (IUA). They were in contact with Mr. Abdoulaye Ouattara, who is both a local ASAF member and a staff member in Institut Universitaire d’Abidjan. Mr. Ouattara facilitated the organisation of the event and made sure the logistics were ready in time. The aforementioned ASAF board members along with Mr. Toussaint Yoboué, the Co-Ambassador of the Ivory Coast, organised the cocktail event that took place after the event for networking purposes, as well as contacting relevant participants for the event, which included three local ASAF members who gave their mobility testimonies, including Ms. Bérénice Tetchi, Ms. Ammah Philippe Marcelle Ahissan and Mr. Ouattara himself.

The event included presentations about mobility programs funded by the EU and the application process, as well as an introduction to ASAF as a network and our main objectives, in the hope that students become more interested in applying for mobility scholarships and eventually become ASAF members. Furthermore, the event also included testimonies from the mentioned ASAF members who benefited from various mobilities including student and staff mobilities.

The highlight of the event was a panel about the impact of inter-university mobility on the higher education system in Africa and the challenges of the reintegration of alumni in their home countries. The panel had interesting contributions from Mr. Massimo Scalorbi, Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation, Mr. Eric Tillous, Erasmus National Focal Point, and Mr. Kouassi Paul Anoh, Rector of the Institut Universitaire d'Abidjan (IUA).

The event garnered great interest from the students who found out about new beneficial opportunities for their studies. Further discussions and networking continued in a cocktail after the event, which allowed room for more questions and interactions between participants and students.

We hope we can have many similar opportunities to promote mobility around Africa and spread the name of ASAF so that both students and staff in universities are well informed.

Imane Benrabiaa

ASAF Board President

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Ivory Coast, Abidjan, 23rd February 2023