AFRICA

Engagement and development of bilateral relationships for the international educational sector and global network activities

The FBI’s international activities also focus on developing bilateral cooperation with countries on the African continent in the areas of education, science and business. Initially, the aim is to establish an exchange of information and experiences between representatives of African countries and Austrian representatives.

Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of local education systems can make an important contribution to successful development in countries on the African continent. In the long term, the aim should be to transform successes in the area of education into economic successes, because stable African countries that are able to offer their populations the perspective of becoming self-reliant and self-sufficient can in turn have positive outcomes for European countries such as Austria.

Delegations therefore regularly travel to Africa to obtain first-hand information about current developments in individual countries and to explore possibilities for bilateral cooperation in a constant process of engagement with politicians and experts. During these meetings, Austrian approaches in the fields of education, science and research are presented. One focus here is on the successful model of dual training in Austria, which has already been used as a model for efficient vocational training in EU plans. At the university level, projects such as the "Africa-UniNet" research network launched in 2020, which aims to advance university cooperation between Austria and Africa, are discussed and given expert support. In the course of the regular exchange of information, the positions of the FPÖ in particular and the current political situation in Austria and the European Union in general are also presented.