1.4.4 – Does your university as a body participate in policy making at local, regional, national and/or global level to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions?

University Participation in Policy-Making for Poverty Eradication
The University of El Oued demonstrates its institutional commitment to poverty eradication by actively participating in high-level, multi-sectoral policy formulation platforms. This engagement ensures that academic research and innovation directly influence regional and national strategies aimed at achieving food security, generating sustainable livelihoods, and reducing economic vulnerability—all critical dimensions of combating poverty.
High-Level Policy and Institutional Mechanism
The university’s policy involvement is fundamentally established through the International Forum on Technology and Innovation for the Modernization of Saharan Agriculture (TIMSA’24), held on November 20-21, 2024. This event was sanctioned and inaugurated by the Governor of El Oued Province and included the presence of the University Director, the former Minister of Agriculture, and the heads of several other higher education and research institutions. This assembly of top political, administrative, and academic leadership confirms the forum’s function as a crucial venue for policy discussion and alignment of institutional resources with governmental directives. The University Director’s participation ensures that the institution’s capacity and expertise are integrated into the final policy outcomes.
Strategic Focus and Alignment with Poverty Dimensions
The strategic objectives and thematic focus of the forum directly address the economic and nutritional dimensions of poverty. The stated goals were to modernize Saharan agriculture, which has a massive regional impact, with the express aim of achieving self-sufficiency in grain production. This directly supports the national policy of reducing dependence on imports and strengthening the foundational aspect of food security, a key policy area for reducing vulnerability and poverty. Furthermore, discussions promoted achieving sustainable development and creating permanent job opportunities through the agricultural sector. The policy consensus generated at the forum focused on linking academic research with practical, field-based action to tackle unemployment and structural income poverty in the region.
University’s Direct Policy Contribution and Policy Implementation
The university’s role went beyond mere attendance. The University Director used his address to reaffirm the institution’s mandate to act as a policy partner, dedicating university research and innovation to “treat agricultural issues and achieve sustainable development.” This signaled the university’s technical commitment to providing the intellectual foundation necessary for informed policy implementation.
To ensure the research discussed translated into immediate action, the forum dedicated significant effort to policy implementation strategies:

1. Training and Outreach: Three parallel training workshops were organized alongside the academic sessions, targeting local farmers and investors in practical, high-value agricultural fields such as beekeeping and aquaculture. This action demonstrates the university’s role in disseminating the technical knowledge required to enact policies aimed at increasing productive capacity and income for local community members.
2. Research-to-Policy Pipeline: The organizers agreed to partner with high-ranking scientific journals to publish the best research presented, ensuring that the findings and recommendations from the forum—which included themes like the Political, Social, and Economic Dimensions of Sustainable Agriculture—receive official recognition and are formalized for potential incorporation into future governmental programs and policies.