The first edition of this annual event was held on 1 September 2022. This year’s theme was ‘Walking the talk on equitable partnerships’.

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The event was held in Amsterdam, Beirut and Johannesburg. You can watch the inspirational keynote speeches that kickstarted the event in Amsterdam in the video above.

This symposium brought together representatives from national and international governments, policy organisations, think tanks, philanthropic organisations, corporations, and non-governmental organisations from around the globe. Together, we examined how the North-South paradigm shapes the flow of knowledge adversely and how we can effectively move away from an imbalanced structure towards a more equitable one by creating equitable partnerships.

Walking the talk on equitable partnerships

This year we co-hosted and co-created this event with the Asfari Institute of the American University in Beirut and EthiXPERT in South Africa. Like us, both organisations strongly believe in the power of knowledge to inspire more inclusive and sustainable societies.

Our work is guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and one of the goals and a crucial key to achieving the goals is Goal 17, Partnerships for Goals. Hence our focus this year was on sustainable and equitable partnerships. Along with our dialogue partners we showcased partnerships that embrace the indigenization of knowledge; have governance structures that are led by women and youth; use transdisciplinary approaches with multiple stakeholders, and are centred on the accessibility of data as a key resource.

Thank you for your insights and input

Throughout the day, there were plenty of opportunities for the participants to share their experiences and ideas. We have documented your suggestions on how we can harness the power of knowledge for more equitable partnerships and we hope to share this agenda of change with you soon.

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Programme – a look back

We kicked off the day with keynote addresses from our inspiring speakers, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Dr. Zuleika Bibi Sheik and Dr. Sam Oti who are committed to decolonising knowledge and are striving hard in their own arenas to forge promising and equal partnerships.

This was followed by dialogue sessions facilitated by diverse organisations, like Utrecht University and International Institute of Environment and development (IIED). They presented, discussed and debated the challenges they face in decolonising knowledge and making their knowledge partnerships more fair and inclusive.

In discussion with you, the facilitator put together recommendations that was shared and discussed with the panelists at the plenary before the closing address. After the event we will also put together these recommendations – a shared agenda for change – for all participating organisations and individuals. We hope that this action plan will help us make concrete strides in creating fair and equitable partnerships until we meet again in 2023.

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