A hunger for education fuelled by booming economic growth across much of the vast African continent is behind the launch yesterday of the Australian-African Universities Network.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs helped to launch the Australia-Africa Universities Network in Canberra on 17 July 2012. This speech was originally given by Mr Dennis Richardson, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

A consortium of Australian universities is being formed to strengthen relations with African partners and address the challenges faced by people living in sub-Saharan Africa.