Addis Ababa hosts IPORA 2026 Conference to strengthen Africa–Europe academic partnerships (SAEAP 2026)

Retour

From 31 March to 3 April 2026, Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia will host the IPORA conference – Strengthening Africa-Europe Academic Partnerships (SAEAP).
These days of discussion will help to further develop this interdisciplinary project, in which many members of the BPH’s GHiGS team have been involved since its launch

IPORA, which stands for ‘Interdisciplinary Policy-Oriented Research on Africa’, is a project designed to create and develop a new type of research network based on interdisciplinarity.

It brings together research teams specialising in public health, economics, political science, socio-anthropology, law, environmental physics and food systems, from Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), the International University of Rabat (Morocco) and the University of Bordeaux.

The IPORA project is one of the University of Bordeaux’s seven Major Research Projects (GPR), for which the consortium agreement was signed in 2023.

Since its inception, some members of the GiGhs-BPH team have been actively involved in the development of the IPORA.

The aim of the IPORA project is use interdisciplinary approaches to conduct research that will guide public decision-makers in addressing the major challenges and issues specific to the African continent.
Around thirty research projects are organised within IPORA across five thematic areas:

food systems and nutrition, including research on food security and agricultural value chains
global health and inequalities, with projects focusing on childhood tuberculosis, access to care in rural settings, and deliveries in traditional contexts
pollution and health, including studies on the impacts of domestic and urban pollution
social protection and economic justice, examining social protection reforms and their effects on inequality reduction
epistemic communities, which explore knowledge production and the dynamics of academic partnerships between the Global North and South

Opening round table of IPORA Conference 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Photo Nicolas Koskas

Opening of IPORA Conference 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Interview of Addis Ababa University (AAU) Président – Dr Samuel Kifle Kidane
Photo Nicolas Koskas

IPORA 2026 Conference to strengthen Africa–Europe academic partnerships

The IPORA scientific conference in 2026 offers network members a new opportunity to meet and exchange, in an interdisciplinary approach, on issues relating to public policy, sustainable development and future challenges.

Researchers, students, policy-makers, civil society, academic institutions and partners will all come together for this four-day event, organised by the IPORA network.

All sessions will take place in a hybrid format and will focus on:

Health inequalities and access to healthcare
Food security and nutrition in rapidly changing environments
Pollution and environmental health
Water, urbanisation and health systems
Social equity and informality
Research-policy dialogue, including discussions with institutional partners and donors

Find all the information at IPORA – Transdisciplinary international research network