Report of the Pan African University (PAU) Exchange Visit to UN-Habitat

The exchange visit between the Pan African University's Institute of Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences (PAUGHSS) and UN-Habitat's Policy, Legislation and Governance Section (PLGS) is a pivotal step in strengthening a partnership to advance African and global development agendas. The report details a two-day visit in December 2024 to UN-Habitat's Nairobi headquarters and other key institutions like the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), the Kenya School of Government (KSG), and the Centre for Urban-Rural Linkages in Africa (CURLA). The main objective of the visit was to implement a Letter of Intent signed in November 2023, which aims to fast-track the achievement of the African Union Agenda 2063, the New Urban Agenda, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enhancing the capacity of African academia and government stakeholders.

This report outlines various sessions that identified concrete areas of collaboration. These include:

• Capacity Building: The partners consented to promoting internship opportunities at UN-Habitat and other identified potential partners, organize guest lectures, workshops, and training sessions, and share e-learning courses and publications.
• Research and Knowledge Sharing: The collaboration will focus on joint research and publications, with UN-Habitat contributing to the ongoing curriculum review at PAU. A significant point raised was the need to address the gap in documented African data and research, with a call to strengthen the "African voice" in international issues.
• Specific Programmatic Areas: Discussions highlighted collaboration opportunities in areas like climate resilience, sustainable urbanization, human rights, social inclusion, and the 'women-led cities' program. A key takeaway from the visit was the benchmarking of CURLA's experience to inform the long-term establishment of a similar center of excellence on governance by PAU.

To institutionalize these plans, the report highlights the critical need to transition the partnership from a Letter of Intent to an advanced framework, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The participants also agreed on a roadmap for 2025 to track progress and expand the collaboration beyond PAUGHSS to all four PAU institutes across Africa. This collaborative effort is seen as a key to building the capacity of African youth for effective public service and governance.