British Embassy in Luanda and the Angola Chevening club hosted a Conference on March 16th on the Impact of the programme. It was an opportunity to celebrate 25 years of achievement and a venue for reflection on the impact of scholarships in Angola’s development.

The main objectives were to promote the Chevening Programme in Angola, to share experiences and visions on the impact of international education for Angola in the context of then SADC region, and the importance of establishing an Alumni Club.

The opening speech

HMA Pat Phillips delivered the opening speech in which she stressed that the Chevening programme has been contributing for the past 25 years to strengthen UK Angola relations and the success of the past encourages both governments to take on new challenges.

The Panels

The panels were specially tailored to encourage open discussions using sensitive key phases likely to encourage open debate and allow objective contributions. They focussed on specific experiences portraying the differences in the academic approach in the UK in comparison to Angola and covered issues like the importance of studying in developed countries, the academic environment in the UK, global and regional integration.

The hot topics revolved around social and professional integration, the issue of brain drain, and attribution of certificate equivalence to freshly returned scholars. The issue of the English language in a Portuguese speaking country particularly triggered intense debate.

Some Conclusion

The Chevening Programme was identified as a:

• A unique opportunity to promote the Angolan culture in the UK
• The cultural links established during the scholar’s time in the UK
• A rare tool for Preventive Diplomacy
• The strategic importance of the English language in the SADC region
• The Angola Chevening alumni club

The Closing

The Conference ended with a closing speech of the State Secretary for Higher Education who praised the British Government for its continuous support for the Country’s development and promised to increase interaction with scholarship programmes on the issues of post study integration and attribution of certificate equivalence.