The Conference, which was held from 6-8 February 2006 in Nairobi, , was attended by 127 participants from 40 countries. It was based on three sub-themes: accreditation and quality assurance; recognition of academic and professional qualifications; and brain drain, brain gain and the use of the diaspora in quality assurance mechanisms.

The objectives of the conference included the following:

• To take stock of international, regional and national experiences in order to inform the development of effective mechanisms for accreditation of institutions and programmes, quality assurance and recognition of higher education qualifications in Africa.
• To promote the use of the UNESCO/OECD guidelines in Africa.
• To take stock of progress made in the process of revision of the regional conventions on recognition of qualifications.
• To review existing global and regional initiatives for capacity building in quality assurance, including those offered through cross-border higher education.
• To map out the way forward regarding strengthening of mechanisms for accreditation, quality assurance and recognition of qualifications in Africa.

At the end of thee days of presentations, work groups and open discussion a Framework for Priority Action for HE in Africa was agreed with the aim of providing solutions to the challenges faced by Africa in relation to the conference issues.

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