Workshop language: English / Workshopsprache: Englisch
How can international development cooperation succeed in regions affected by conflict, political instability, or restricted academic freedom? This workshop explores the complex realities of higher education cooperation with institutions in countries such as Ethiopia, or Uganda – where rapidly changing conditions create significant challenges for collaboration.
Ms. Caroline Paparu and Dr. Hafte Mebrahten Tesfay, who will share their insights and first-hand experiences implementing projects within the APPEAR and KoeF programme under challenging circumstances. Their perspectives will provide the foundation for a deeper discussion around key questions such as:
- How can projects remain flexible and impactful when contexts shift unpredictably?
- How can individuals or organizations make decisions and take action when faced with difficult ethical dilemmas and logistical challenges in contexts where politics are complex, unstable, or controversial?
- What does equitable partnership look like under unequal conditions of access, mobility, or safety?
Speakers:
Caroline Paparu is a PhD student in the APPEAR funded AMUTI, hosted in the BOKU Institute of Development Research. Her PhD topic is: Negotiating Inclusion: An Intersectional Feminist Approach to Natural Resource Governance in Refugee-Host Communities, Uganda. She explores the power dynamics in the access, use and conservation of natural resources at household levels in a refugee – host community context using interdisciplinary approaches through an intersectional lens. Caroline has experience in Academia and Civil society with a decade long involvement in Experiential Learning and research in Development Studies from Uganda Martyrs University. Her most recent role in Civil Society was managing the See Far project (Psychosocial Support and Economic Empowerment Program for Women and girls’ survivors of GBV; VAWG and, with a conflict past – Funded by German Cooperation through Medica Mondiale) at Mentoring and Empowerment Program for Young Women (MEMPROW).
Hafte Tesfay is a researcher at Austria’s Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards, and Landscape, and an affiliate of BOKU University in Vienna. His work focuses on forest biodiversity, nature conservation, and the role of agroforestry in climate change mitigation and sustainable livelihoods. He (co)leads the STRENGTH project, which empowers women in agroforestry research and education in Ethiopia’s Fogera district and the APPEAR Project on Revitalizing Mekelle and Adigrat Universities’ Academic Capacity Post-Conflict: Introducing Peri-Urban Agroforestry for Climate Resilience, Forest Restoration, and Women’s Livelihood Enhancement.
Programmes
APPEAR (Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education and Research for Development) is a funding programme of the Austrian Development Cooperation. The overall objective of APPEAR is to strengthen the scientific foundation and institutional capacities in higher education, research and management in the partner countries through academic partnerships with Austrian higher education institutions and master’s and PhD scholarships. Furthermore, APPEAR aims at increasing the commitment to international cooperation and development at Austrian higher education institutions. Since 2009, APPEAR has enabled over 100 cooperation projects in 20 countries worldwide – many of them in fragile or politically sensitive contexts.
KoEF (Kooperation Entwicklungsforschung, Cooperation Development Research) is a funding programme financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research (BMFWF) to support scientifically excellent cooperation development research projects. Funding is provided for cooperation projects between Austrian higher education and research institutions and institutions in countries of the Global South, with the aim of contributing to the analysis and solution of local challenges and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). KoEF is currently funding 27 collaborative research projects in 20 countries worldwide.
