Kinshasa, June 5th, 2021 (CPA).– The University Agency of Francophonie (AUF) has just made available to teams of young researchers from higher and university education establishments (ESU) members, including the DRC, a sum one million euros to assist projects to fight COVID-19, the AUF Great Lakes and Central Africa Press reported Friday to the CPA. According to this source, AUF, faithful to its values of solidarity and sharing, is launching a second COVID-19 call for this purpose aimed at teams of young researchers carrying out projects for the benefit of countries in the South.
In 2020, continued this source, the AUF launched a first international call for projects to support, within its member institutions, initiatives by students, engineering students and young researchers linked to the pandemic, which had met with great success. This led AUF to double its initial grant and finally release more than one million euros to finance 92 projects from 87 member institutions in 44 countries.
The variety and quality of the projects selected have demonstrated the agility and creativity of students and young researchers to respond, in an innovative and rapid manner, to the many challenges facing our societies. Unfortunately, a year later, this pandemic is still rampant and seems to be lasting. Its endemic nature has a lasting impact not only on health systems, but also on all the cogs of our ecosystems and particularly on education systems. In addition, the health crisis has amplified psychosocial phenomena of which we do not yet measure all the effects.
COVID-19.2 projects for coping mechanisms
In addition, this COVID-19.2 call for projects intends to examine the adaptation mechanisms that promote the resilience of individuals and communities. The main objective of this second phase is to promote the contribution of AUF member universities to the development of solutions with a technological and / or social impact to face the difficulties caused by the prolongation of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to identify innovative, frugal initiatives adapted to the ecosystem, to support societies weakened by the consequences of a long-term health crisis.The typology of eligible projects is broadened in order to be able to finance research actions, surveys and / or studies devoted to the analysis of the consequences of the health crisis and which propose innovative solutions, whether in the fields of health, science and technologies but also human, economic and social sciences.
This second phase is aimed primarily at teams of young researchers working on projects for the benefit of countries in the South as well as consortia offering projects with a national, regional or international impact.The involvement of the Ministries concerned is encouraged and valued. The beneficiaries targeted by this new call are final beneficiaries, namely educational structures, health structures, structures caring for sick, vulnerable or isolated people as well as structures fighting against violence or discrimination based on gender, disability etc. ACP/