Kyambogo University yesterday launched its inaugural Future Is Global: Public Lecture Series 1.0 with a strong message: it’s time to fundamentally rethink how universities in the Global North and South collaborate.
The event, held at the university’s NPT Conference Hall, marked the beginning of what organizers describe as a long-term intellectual movement to challenge the traditional dynamics that underpin international academic partnerships.
Headlining the lecture was renowned scholar Prof. Abdul Karim Bangura, a leading voice in global peace studies and international relations. With five PhDs and a reputation for challenging orthodoxy, Prof. Bangura delivered a keynote titled “Aufhebung of the Global North and Global South,” urging academics and institutions to confront the ideological and structural roots of global inequality in knowledge production.
“These are not just geographical markers,” Prof. Bangura said, referring to the terms “Global North” and “Global South.” “They are ideological instruments — tools that can preserve power hierarchies unless we interrogate and redefine them.”
His lecture outlined five interlocking forces shaping the current global academic and political landscape:
- Globalization and Its Discontents
- Strategic U.S.-China Rivalry
- Neocolonial Power Structures
- The Shift Toward a Multipolar World
- The Centrality of Indigenous Knowledge
Bangura’s message was clear: partnerships must go beyond symbolic inclusion. Without equity in funding, agenda-setting, and knowledge validation, collaborations risk reinforcing the very hierarchies they claim to challenge.
“Whoever brings the money controls the partnership,” he said bluntly in response to a question from the audience, cutting through any romanticism about global cooperation.
He critiqued not only the legacy of Western dominance in academia but also the rise of ideologically driven anti-Western sentiment in some Global South institutions, warning that this too can obscure deeper structural critiques. Instead of framing academic engagement as a geopolitical struggle, Bangura called for building alliances rooted in mutual respect and shared agency — and questioned the continued use of the term “Global South” altogether.
The lecture drew attention to the expanding role of China in global infrastructure and research, the influence of Russian and Chinese information campaigns, and Europe’s shifting academic identity. These changes, Bangura said, demand a rethinking of how academic diplomacy operates and who benefits from it.
Kyambogo University’s launch of the Future Is Global series signals a commitment to fostering critical dialogue and reshaping the narratives around inter-university engagement. According to organizers, the series will serve as a platform for reimagining academic futures beyond traditional North-South binaries.
“This is not just an event — it’s a shift in mindset,” one organizer said. “We’re asking tough questions about power, purpose, and what meaningful global collaboration actually looks like.”
With a provocative start and a bold intellectual tone, the Future Is Global series sets the stage for an overdue conversation in global academia — one that’s as much about rebalancing power as it is about producing knowledge.
