HERI Africa participated in the 2026 Yidan Prize Conference in Dakar, Senegal, bringing together educators, researchers, policymakers, development partners, and changemakers from around the world to explore bold ideas and practical solutions to improve education and learning outcomes.
Held under the theme “Unleashing Africa’s Potential: The Role of Education in a New Era of Development,” the conference held in June 29-July 1 2026 was the first Yidan Prize Conference hosted on the African continent. It provided a unique platform for dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge exchange, placing Africa at the centre of conversations about the future of education.
As discussions unfolded, one message stood out: many of the solutions to improving education are already emerging from African communities, institutions, and researchers. The conference highlighted the importance of investing in locally generated evidence, strengthening research ecosystems, and fostering partnerships that translate research into meaningful policy and practice.
HERI Africa’s participation reflected its commitment to advancing African-led research and ensuring that evidence generated on the continent informs decisions to improve education systems. The conference also offered an opportunity to engage with partners, exchange ideas, and learn from innovative approaches implemented across Africa and beyond.
The programme featured keynote addresses, ministerial dialogues, technical sessions, and collaborative workshops on critical issues such as multilingual foundational learning, school leadership, education research, teacher development, secondary education, and the role of technology and artificial intelligence in shaping the future of learning. Participants also explored how education intersects with health, climate resilience, and economic development, underscoring the need for integrated approaches to achieving sustainable development.
At HERI Africa, the conference underscored the importance of collaboration to strengthen higher education research across the continent. Through interactions with universities, researchers, governments, funders, and development organisations, the team explored opportunities to forge new partnerships and deepen existing ones to support evidence-informed education transformation.
The event also reaffirmed HERI Africa’s vision to strengthen African research capacity and amplify locally rooted solutions that address the continent’s unique educational priorities. By bringing together diverse voices and perspectives, the conference demonstrated the power of collaboration to address shared challenges and speed up progress towards quality, inclusive education for all.
The insights and connections gained during the conference will contribute to HERI Africa’s ongoing efforts to build stronger research ecosystems and ensure that African knowledge continues to shape education policy and practice across the continent.
As Africa’s research community continues to grow, HERI Africa remains committed to creating spaces where researchers, policymakers, and practitioners can collaborate to generate evidence that improves learning outcomes and transforms education systems for future generations.