ALBATROSS consortium partners are meeting on 2-6 December 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, co-hosted by the University of Nairobi and UNESCO. Around 40 people from 18 project partners —10 EU partners from 8 countries and 8 Africa partners from 5 countries— that comprise the ALBATROSS consortium joined together to share their learnings and progressing with a clear objective to achieve all the objectives set at the core of the ALBATROSS project.

The meeting was opened by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research Innovation Enterprise) Prof. Francis Mulaa, Joseph Muhwanga, on behalf of Louise Haxthaussen, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa and James Gichiah Niogu, HSC, Secretary General of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO who took this opportunity to- welcome everyone and remark the importance of education , the new innovations, networking and the need to create an economy around climate to keep the Albatross project on the right way. All of them agreed this project is not just about combating the immediate effects of climate change; it is about laying the foundation for long-term resilience.

After that, the overview of project progress was offered by Laura S. Leo and Silvana Di Sabatino, project Coordinators from UNIBO, who offered an emotional speech highlighting once again that Europe and Africa are together in the climate change.  The future of education lies in encouraging collaborative thinking and teamwork to tackle this crucial challenge. “By joining our efforts and sharing ideas, we can drive significant progress and create solutions that truly make a difference. Our commitment is to give our best and this meeting for us is a celebration for the work done so far.  Let´s keep rolling!”, they added.

Then, the day combined plenary sessions about the WorkPackages progress and update with parallel sessions where partners met together to share their knowledge and discuss among them.

The first day was filled with a positive and productive energy, with plenty of great ideas being shared. This makes us confident that the next days will help building a strong foundation for what the ALBATROSS project can achieve in the future.