Erasmus Student Network (ESN) proudly participated in the ASAF Annual General Forum 2025, held in South Africa. This marked ESN’s inaugural external engagement on the African continent, a milestone that reaffirmed our commitment to fostering robust Africa–EU relationships in higher education and mobility.
A morning of dialogue: exchange to impact
During the morning session, ESN contributed as a panelist to the discussion entitled “From Exchange to Impact: Strengthening Africa–EU Partnerships through Education and Innovation”. We shared the platform with representatives from the Erasmus Mundus Association, the Western Balkans Alumni Association and the OCEANS Network, exchanging experiences and proposing practical ways to amplify the societal benefits of international exchanges. The conversation emphasised purposeful partnerships, evidence-based approaches and the role of student networks in translating mobility into measurable local and regional gains.
ESN’s participation in the plenary session,
Emna Memmi, Liaison Officer for ESN in Africa and the Middle East
Knowledge transfer session: practical partnership-building
In the afternoon, ESN led an interactive workshop, “How to Foster Collaboration between International Education Stakeholders and Organisations in Higher Education”. The session invited attendees to co-design pragmatic strategies for partnership formation. Through facilitated group work, participants identified realistic pathways to convert dialogue into joint, deliverable initiatives, from joint curricula and capacity-building programmes to scalable student-led projects that respond to local priorities.
This event proved to be an outstanding success, not only in strengthening our ties with ASAF, but also in enabling direct engagement with he Directorate-General of European Education and Culture Executive Agency from the European Commission, reinforcing our joint commitment to advancing Africa–EU relations through knowledge, innovation and inclusive collaboration.
ESN’s participation underlines the vital role that student-led organisations play in international cooperation. By bringing student perspectives into conversations with policymakers, funders and institutional partners, we ensure that mobility programmes remain relevant, inclusive and grounded in the needs of communities across both regions. Our contributions emphasised co-ownership of initiatives, mutual capacity development and long-term sustainability as core principles for future collaboration.
We are eager to keep collaborating between ESN and ASAF and to pursue follow-up activities that translate the Forum’s momentum into tangible projects. Building on the contacts and ideas generated at the AGF, ESN will continue to explore joint proposals, pilot initiatives and knowledge-exchange opportunities that place students at the heart of Africa–EU cooperation.
Follow ESN