The Perivoli African Research Centre (PARC) has recently welcomed Professor Leon Tikly from the School of Education, University of Bristol, to its team as their new Academic Director.

Taking up the new role in February 2025, Leon joins Professor Isabella Aboderin from the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, in co-leading the Centre as it enters an exciting new phase.

A key focus for PARC has been the development of the Africa Charter initiative. Co-created between PARC, the Universities of Cape Town and South Africa, the Charter provides a framework for transformative partnership working with Africa. In the next phase, PARC will build a community of scholars and practitioners in the university and city of Bristol and deepen collaboration with the continent so as to take forward the principles of the charter.

Leon joins PARC with a wealth of leadership experience. He  currently holds the UNESCO Chair in Transforming Knowledge and Research for Just and Sustainable Futures, and the Global Chair in Education at the University of Bristol. He co-directs the Centre for International and Comparative Education (CIRE) alongside Dr Sharon Walker and Dr Rafael Mitchell in the School of Education. He has recently been PI on a UKRI-funded network on Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures.

Leon is also able to draw on more than 35 years of experience of conducting research on the African continent. His research has been deeply collaborative in nature and has focused on issues relating to the quality of education for disadvantaged learners, language in education and education for sustainable futures. In the UK, Leon’s work has focused on the educational experiences of the African diaspora in the UK education system.

Overall, Leon feels that his new role as Academic Director of PARC is a ‘culmination’ of his research and multiple roles spanning the discipline of international education.

Reflecting on his new role, Leon said: ‘I am delighted to be working with such a strong team in PARC, and there is a lot of good work to build on.’

‘There’s a special resonance and significance that I’m based within the School of Education; lots of PARC’s activities have an educational dimension, understanding how higher education institutions can work more equitably and collaboratively with each other, and understanding the importance of education on the continent itself.’

‘My colleagues, especially those in CIRE, have participated in similar research. I’m excited to join the dots in my new role and bring all our research together.’

The Africa Charter is a document which sets out defined principles about how universities in the UK, such as the University of Bristol, can work in equitable and transformative ways with partners in Africa. As a result, the Africa Charter ensures that African education partners have equal access to funding as their partners in the Northern hemisphere, ensuring that African-led research is well-supported.

While Leon hopes to continue developing these strong organisational relationships in his new leadership role, he also hopes to contribute to a new phase of work for the Centre. This involves applying the conversations PARC have been having across continents to the city of Bristol.

‘Bristol has many people from the African diaspora living in the city. Another exciting thing that PARC can do is try to bring people within the city who are interested in Africa together.

By bringing everyone together, we can provide ways of working with Africa that are genuinely transformative, and we can better understand how to support our African partners.’

From the School of Education, we congratulate Professor Leon Tikly on his new role!