​​From August 31 to September 4, IDRC staff, grantees and research partners will be participating in the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF).​ 

As the world's premier forum for African agriculture and food systems, AFSF's aim is to inform, influence and catalyse the transition to sustainable, resilient, healthy and inclusive food systems across the continent. Held this year at the Kigali Convention Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, the forum will host important conversations that address some of the most complex challenges facing Africa's food systems today.  

Under this year's theme "Investing in Agri-Food Systems", sessions will cover diverse topics including mobilising finance, improving dietary quality, climate resilience, youth and digital innovation for food systems transformation, women's leadership, trade, markets and value chains and more.  

Learn more about our participation in the forum below. 

AFSF events hosted and co-hosted by IDRC, our grantees and our partners

Note: All session times are listed in South Africa Standard Time (SAST). A full schedule of sessions and session descriptions can be found on the AFSF website.  

These sessions will build on conversations offered throughout the summer via a series of webinars, where IDRC and additional AFSF partners hosted virtual events that introduced many of the themes that will be further explored in Kigali. 

The collaborations bring together Indigenous communities, researchers, institutions and knowledge holders to co-develop research agendas grounded in knowledge-sharing and reciprocal learning. Together, they are advancing priorities that include territorial protection, conservation, maternal and neonatal health, healing practices, fisheries governance, and climate-resilient food systems. 
 
The seven teams span collaborations linking Canada with Colombia, Ecuador, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda and Nepal. Their projects highlight the value of exchanges between scientific approaches and traditional knowledge, including Two-Eyed Seeing, to strengthen Indigenous-led research and community priorities. 

The seven projects were selected by an internal-external review panel composed of Indigenous scholars and representatives of IDRC and Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, following an open call that attracted more than 200 proposals.    

These activities aim to co-develop an interdisciplinary, Indigenous research agendas and build alliances between Indigenous researchers in the Global South and First Nations, Métis and Inuit researchers in Canada, potentially leading to broader joint research endeavors in the future. 

The continued collaboration between GPE and IDRC underscores the importance of sustained investment in evidence-informed policymaking as part of broader efforts to strengthen education systems globally, particularly at a time when international cooperation is essential to address the learning crisis.

GPE KIX strengthens the use of evidence in decision-making by reinforcing national research capacities and connecting evidence directly to policy processes. By supporting applied research, regional learning, and knowledge mobilization through strong multi-stakeholder evidence networks, it helps countries to effectively and efficiently address policy and implementation options through the application of relevant evidence.

“At a time when education systems are navigating complex and evolving challenges, the ability to turn evidence into action is critical,” said Laura Frigenti, CEO of GPE. “Through our partnership with IDRC, GPE KIX is helping ensure that evidence is not only generated but used — supporting governments to make informed decisions and drive meaningful change.”

As GPE’s core implementing partner for GPE KIX, IDRC will continue to play a central role in delivering the program and contribute financial resources to support its implementation — reflecting a shared commitment to ensuring that evidence informs policy and practice in education systems.

"GPE KIX reflects a shared vision of how locally led research can inform education policy and practice,” said Julie Delahanty, president of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). “By working closely with GPE and partners, we are supporting researchers and policymakers who are strengthening both the quality of locally generated knowledge and its uptake in decision-making. This ensures that evidence contributes to tangible improvements in education systems.” she added.

Since 2019, GPE KIX has grown into a major global initiative for turning evidence into action in education — bringing together more than 134,000 participants through over 3,000 events, generating more than 1,800 outputs, and supporting nearly 400 instances of evidence uptake of and innovation across 80 countries. The next phase of KIX begins in July 2027.