Facilitating knowledge exchange between the African Union and the UN

30 Jun 2022

Facilitating knowledge exchange between the African Union and the UN

Building on the Secretary-General’s commitment to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and African Union, training and capacity development practitioners from both organisations held a workshop from 13 to 17 June at UN Headquarters. Experts from the African Union (AU) and UN identified areas of common interest and priorities for future trainings, knowledge development, and information sharing. They are also in the process of finalizing a joint roadmap to capture the development of mutual capacities to address existing and emerging needs. 

Jointly planned by the UN and the AU, the workshop provided an opportunity to strengthen shared ownership of the AU-UN Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Programme (KEEP). Originally launched in 2016 as a staff exchange programme, the AU-UN Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Programme has been redesigned to better accommodate the evolving nature of the partnership. It has incorporated innovative learning methodologies. To facilitate knowledge exchange, participants will have opportunities to join collaborative networks to solve complex challenges relating to operational support. In their closing remarks, Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, and Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, reiterated their commitment to the AU-UN Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Programme.

They both acknowledged its role as a catalyst for deepening the AU-UN partnership on operational support matters and its contribution to the implementation of UN-AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security. They emphasised the importance of building a shared understanding of each organisation’s comparative advantages and complementarities to deepen cooperation at the institutional level and build interoperability in peace support operations.