RCE Ogun made her debut appearance at the 9th African Regional RCE Meeting which held at the University of Eswatini, Luyengo Campus, Eswatini (former Swaziland), between 5th -7th of August, 2019. The theme of the meeting was ‘Accelerating Progress towards the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in Africa’.
The meeting was officially declared open by Hon. Moses Vilakati (Honourable Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs). Other high profile dignitaries at the event included: Prof Goolam Mohamedbhai (Regional Advisor to the RCE community in Africa), Dr Fumiko Noguchi (UNU-IAS, Tokyo, Japan) and Professor Justice Thwala, (Vice Chancellor UNESWA) who was ably represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, UNESWA.
The 2019 Africa SDG index and dash board indicates that Nigeria still has a long way to go in attaining the SDGs. Nigeria ranked 43rd out of 52 African countries on attainment of the SDGs. The major take home from the event was that African RCEs and Universities should gear up actions in research and developmental projects that will facilitate the attainment of the SDGs.
A total of 92 participants were in attendance. Including RCE Minna, RCE Eswatini, RCE Greater Nairobi, RCE Zomba, RCE Port Harcourt, RCE North Rift, RCE Greater Pwani, RCE Greater Eastern Uganda, RCE Greater Yenagoa, RCE Greater Dar Es Salaam, RCE Zaria, RCE Lusaka, RCE Kwazulu Natal. RCE Ogun was ably represented by Prof Evans Osabuohien and Dr. Patience Tunji-Olayeni.
The 10th African Regional RCE Meeting will be hosted by RCE Minna, Nigeria in 2020