Amany Abdullah El-Sharif, the recently-elected Vice President of the Pan African University (PAU) (Photo: Al-Ahram)
El-Sharif received 42 votes out of 51 during the elections that were held in the last session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) earlier this month.
Ensuring the votes was a result of coordination between the ministry’s African Organisations and Communities Department with the Egyptian Embassy in Addis Ababa and all other Egyptian embassies in Africa to secure the necessary support from the various member states of the AU for Al-Sharif, the statement said.
This comes within the framework of the efforts exerted by the ministry to support Egyptian candidates in all international and African arenas, said the statement.
This also came in light of El-Sharif’s scientific and academic capabilities and her considerable experience in the African continent’s higher education topics as well as being the regional coordinator of the Association of African Universities’ North Africa Regional Office, which is hosted by Egypt.
The PAU was conceptualised in 2008 as part of the implementation of the ‘Plan of Action for the Second Decade of Education for Africa’ to support the revitalisation of higher education in Africa and contribute to the achievement of the vision of the AU, according to the university’s official website.
The AU’s Assembly of Heads of State and Government decided to establish the PAU in 2010, and the PAU’s Statute was adopted by the assembly in January 2013, and the revised statute was adopted in January 2016.
The PAU is a continental academic institution that aims to promote academic cooperation and programme development for postgraduate studies and research centres within selected universities across Africa. It also aims to build high-level skills, allowing its graduates to become effective leaders in various areas of vital importance to Africa’s future, the statement said.
Short link: