The caretaker Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Robbert Dijkgraaf, is leading an impressive delegation of 21 prominent Dutch educational and knowledge organisations on a knowledge mission to South Africa from 15 to 18 October. The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) is one of the organisations. The mission marks a significant step in strengthening relations between the Netherlands and South Africa, with a particular emphasis on education and research.
No fewer than 21 leading Dutch educational organisations are represented; the delegation includes executives from senior secondary vocational education, research universities and universities of applied sciences, and umbrella organisations. Together, they aim to strengthen existing partnerships and initiate new ones, and pave the way for future collaboration, on a basis of equality, between educational institutions in the Netherlands and South Africa.
The knowledge mission is an integral part of the International Knowledge and Talent Strategy (IKT), a strategic initiative aimed at promoting international cooperation in education and science. Within this ambitious strategy, South Africa occupies a prominent position as one of the focus countries, through which the Netherlands aims to reinforce its status as an international knowledge centre.
This initiative reflects the Netherlands' ongoing commitment to promoting international cooperation and encouraging knowledge exchange on a global scale. We look forward to the fruitful results that will emerge from this mission and to the further strengthening of scientific relations between the Netherlands and South Africa.