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Regional Of fice for
                   Africa




ICSU REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA
    29th ICSU GENERAL ASSEMBLY

                         13–24 October 2008
                         Maputo, Mozambique

                     REPORT
                        on
                ASSOCIATED EVENTS




                                       Halving poverty by 2015 is one of the greatest
                                       challenges of our time, requiring cooperation
                                       and sustainability. The partner countries are
                                       responsible for their own development. Sida
                                       provides resources and develops knowledge and
                                       expertise, making the world a richer place.




                                       SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL
                                       DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY

                                       SE-105 25 Stockholm Sweden
                                       Phone: +46 (0)8 698 50 00
Document Ii  Report  On The Dialogue Between Politicians & Scientists, October 2008
Regional Of fice for
                          Africa

 29th ICSU GENERAL ASSEMBLY
13–24 October 2008, Maputo, Mozambique
   REPORT ON ASSOCIATED EVENTS
Document Ii  Report  On The Dialogue Between Politicians & Scientists, October 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS                                                                                                          4
INTRODUCTION                                                                                                           6


1       SYMPOSIUM: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN AFRICA                                                        6
1.1     Opening Session                                                                                                6
1.2     Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa – Part I                                                          7
1.3     Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa – Part II                                                         9
1.4     Panel Discussion                                                                                              10
1.5     Closing Session                                                                                               14


2       THE DIALOGUE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN AFRICA                                                  15
2.1     The Role of STI in the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals                                         15
2.2     STI Partnership between Africa and Europe, and the Rest of the World                                          16
2.3     Involvement of the African Diaspora in STI and Activities in Africa                                           17
2.4     Funding of Science Research in Africa                                                                         17
2.5     Issues of General Concern                                                                                     18
2.6     The Dialogue on STI in Africa: Proposed Resolutions                                                           19


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                                                                                                      19




                                                  Regional Of fice for
                                                                         Africa
Prepared by:                                                      ICSU Regional Office for Africa
Sospeter Muhongo                                                  P.O. Box 13252 Hatfield
Achuo Enow                                                        0028 Pretoria
Daniel Nyanganyura                                                Republic of South Africa
Bongani Mahlalela                                                 Tel:        +27 (0)12 4814090
Kathy Potgieter                                                   Email:      secretariat@icsu-africa.org; icsuroa@gmail.com
                                                                  Web:        www.icsu-africa.org


                                                                  5 January 2009



29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                          ICSU ROA   3
ABBREVIATIONS
    AfDB        African Development Bank
    AICIMO      Scientific Research Association of Mozambique
                [Associação de Investigação Científica de Moçambique]
    AMCOST      African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology
    ANSTI       African Network of Science and Technology Institutions
    AU          African Union
    AUC         African Union Commission
    CARS        Centre for African Renaissance Studies
    CSIR        Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
    DAAD        German Academic Exchange Service
                [Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst]
    DBSA        Development Bank of Southern Africa
    ESF         European Science Foundation
    EU          European Union
    HCB         Hidroelectrica de Cabora Bassa
    HRST        Human resources, science and technology
    GA          General Assembly
    GDP         Gross domestic product
    ICSU        International Council for Science
    ICSU EB     ICSU Executive Board
    ICSU RCA    ICSU Regional Committee for Africa
    ICSU ROA    ICSU Regional Office for Africa
    ICT         Information and communications technology
    IFS         International Foundation for Science
    IKS         Indigenous knowledge systems
    ISTD        ICT, Science and Technology Division (of UNECA)
    KNAW        Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences
                [Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen]
    MCT         Ministry of Science and Technology (Mozambique)
                [Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia]
    MDGs        Millennium development goals




4    ICSU ROA                                                            29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
NASA            National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASAC           Network of African Science Academies
NEPAD           New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NGO             Non-governmental organization
NRF             National Research Foundation
R&D             Research and development
RD&I            Research, development and innovation
SAMCOST Southern Africa Ministerial Council on Science and Technology
S&T             Science and technology
SET             Science, engineering and technology
SIDA            Swedish International Development Agency
STCPA           Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action
STI             Science, technology and innovation
SWOT            Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
TWAS            Academy of Sciences for the Developing World
UDEBA           Unity for the Development of Basic Education
UN              United Nations
UNECA           United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNESCO          United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
USA             United States of America
WMO             World Meteorological Organization
YEFA            Young Entrepreneurs for Africa




29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                         ICSU ROA   5
INTRODUCTION

    As a tradition, General Assemblies of the International
    Council for Science (ICSU) are normally preceded by a
                                                                      1       SYMPOSIUM: Science,
    one-day forum to discuss science and technology in the                    Technology and
    host country. In this regard, the ICSU Regional Office for                Innovation in Africa
    Africa (ICSU ROA) with the support of its partners, and in
    collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology,        1.1 Opening Session
    Mozambique, and the Scientific Research Association of
    Mozambique (AICIMO), organized pre-General Assembly               WELCOME
    (pre-GA) workshops in various provinces of Mozambique
    on 13–17 October 2008; a Symposium at the Joaquim                 ICSU ROA Director (Professor Sospeter Muhongo)
    Chissano International Conference Centre in Maputo on 20          introduced and welcomed African Ministers of Science and
    October 2008 to discuss science, technology and innovation        Technology and their representatives. He went on to introduce
    (STI) in Africa; and an interactive dialogue at the same venue    representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
    on 21 October 2008. The events brought together more              and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Economic
    than 800 participants from all over the world, including          Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Development
    Nobel Prize awardees, African Ministers of science and            Bank (AfDB), and members of the ICSU Executive Board.
    technology (or their representatives), and representatives of     Professor Muhongo introduced the programme and gave a
    intergovernmental bodies, regional economic commissions,          brief background of the structure of ICSU and its membership.
    non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations             He explained that the purpose of the Symposium was to
    (UN) agencies and the private sector. During the interactive      discuss the achievements and challenges faced by Africa in
    dialogue, scientists and policy-makers (African ministers,        the application of science, engineering and technology (SET)
    representatives of intergovernmental bodies, NGOs and UN          for development, and to map a way forward.
    agencies) discussed in greater detail some of the issues raised
    during the one-day Symposium.                                     OPENING

    The core business of the 29th ICSU General Assembly was           In his opening address, Professor Venancio Massingue, the
    conducted by the members of the organization in plenary           Hon. Minister of Science and Technology of Mozambique,
    and breakaway sessions on 21–24 October 2008.                     expressed his appreciation for the decision of the ICSU
                                                                      Executive Board (ICSU EB) to host the 29th ICSU General
    This report focuses mainly on the pre-GA activities. The          Assembly (GA) in Mozambique. He hoped that this event
    deliberations of the core GA are reported elsewhere (www.         would benefit the science community in this country as well
    icsu.org).                                                        as the entire African continent. The Minister then explained




6     ICSU ROA                                                                            29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
the value of STI in Africa as a whole and Mozambique in               plans, and expressed the value of partnerships with AU/
particular, and hoped that the Symposium would serve as an            NEPAD, ICSU ROA, the African Network of Science and
important step towards strengthening partnerships on the              Technology Institutions (ANSTI), the Academy of Sciences
continent for the implementation of the African Science and           for the Developing World (TWAS), e-forums, and others. An
Technology Consolidated Plan of Action (STCPA) developed              important message for Africa was that the continent needs
by the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for                 nothing less than a science revolution. Specific mention was
Africa’s Development (NEPAD). He also acknowledged                    made of the role of UNECA in promoting STI in Africa,
the support from partners of ICSU and the Government                  which involves engaging and mobilizing multiple stakeholders
of Mozambique in ensuring the success of this event. He               and assisting in capacity building.
declared the Symposium open and wished participants every
success in their deliberations.
                                                                      1.2 Science, Technology and
STATEMENTS                                                                Innovation in Africa – Part I
Africa Union Commission (AUC)                                         A Vision for STI in Africa (Derek Hanekom)
Representing the African Union Commissioner for Human                 Mr Derek Hanekom, the Hon. Deputy Minister of Science and
Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), Dr Chaibi                   Technology, South Africa, presented a vision for STI in Africa. He
Thameur acknowledged the work of the ICSU family in                   reviewed the status of STI on the continent, and outlined the
Africa. He explained the role of science in wealth creation,          major challenges, which are: poverty; disease (including malaria,
and called for intensification of North-South as well as South-       HIV/AIDS, TB); food insecurity; environmental degradation;
South cooperation in STI for development. He explained                low levels of education; political conflict; weak STI institutions;
that the African Union Commission (AUC) was created to                limited STI skills and capacity for research, development and
drive specific key programmes of the AU, and that the HRST            innovation (RD&I); limited funding for STI development; and
Commission is responsible in particular for driving the AU’s          technology gaps. He noted that global competitiveness faces
STI programmes. NEPAD and the African Ministerial Council             the challenge of the innovation chasm between developing
on Science and Technology (AMCOST) are strong arms used               and developed countries. He then presented a vision for the
by the HRST in this endeavour through the implementation              continent that would include an Africa well integrated into
of the STCPA. Dr Thameur pledged the political will of the            the global economy and free from poverty. He further shared
AU in promoting STI for the sustainable development of                South Africa’s vision of a prosperous society with equitable
Africa. As an example, he cited the creation of the African           benefits form science and technology.
Cluster for Science and Technology, which would drive the
implementation of the STCPA. ICSU ROA is a member of                  As a way forward, he proposed that African governments
this cluster. He further emphasized the role of the African           should continue working towards investing 1% of their gross
Diaspora in applying STI for the development of Africa, and           domestic product (GDP) on research, development and
advocated the beneficial use of partnership with the USA,             innovation (RD&I); encouraging regional STI integration;
the European Union (EU) and China.                                    developing    equitable    STI    societies; improving      policy
                                                                      conditions that would enable monitoring and evaluation of
United Nations Economic Commission for                                STI progress; enhancing research and development (R&D)
Africa (UNECA)                                                        capacities and innovation for knowledge production and
Ms Aida Opoku Mensah, Director of the ICT, Science and                product development; and the building of STI infrastructure.
Technology Division (ISTD) of UNECA, stated that STI
features prominently on the agenda of UNECA. She stressed             The Role of African Governments in the
three significant items that drive science in Africa: strengthening   Development of STI in Africa (Francis
scientific unions; the need to engage governments; and                Gudyanga)
the creation of a viable and conducive environment for                In his address on the role of African governments in the
conducting research. She outlined the scientific challenges           development of STI in Africa, Professor Francis Gudyanga,
faced by Africa, guided by previous studies and existing              Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science andTechnology,




29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                                 ICSU ROA         7
Zimbabwe, stressed that governments have an important role          discussed    climate      and    environmental     changes     in
    to play at national, regional and continental levels, as they can   Mozambique, pointing out that climate exerts significant
    influence markets, technology, and behaviour through policies       control on living organisms and on day-to-day socio-
    and regulations. He noted that judicious policy interventions       economic development at regional, local and household
    are required to address pervasive market failures and to            levels. He provided evidence for increasing surface
    ensure that private incentives align with societal imperatives      temperatures and rising sea levels; increased frequency and
    to produce economically and environmentally sustainable             intensity of extreme weather events; increased variation in
    outcomes. Professor Gudyanga recommended a focus on                 wind and rainfall patterns; and increasing risks of hazards and
    the STCPA projects and programmes. He presented the                 disasters. He discussed the consequences of these trends
    various regional protocol objectives and the responsibility         on the degradation of freshwater resources and fragile
    of the Southern African Ministerial Council on Science and          ecosystems, groundwater recharge, agricultural production,
    Technology (SAMCOST).                                               human health and population displacements. Dr Lucio
                                                                        proposed some strategies for mitigation and adaptation
    Is the Mozambican Research System ready                             to environmental and climate changes. These include
    for Development Challenges? (Lídia Brito)                           technological, behavioural, managerial and policy responses.
    Professor Lídia Brito (Eduardo Mondlane Univeristy,                 In this regard, he identified some research priorities and
    Mozambique) discussed the readiness of the Mozambican               explained the contribution of the World Meteorological
    research system for development challenges. She dealt with          Organization (WMO) to addressing these challenges.
    issues related to absolute poverty; the food crisis; the energy
    crisis; the financial crisis; global environmental changes; and     Interventions from Ministers and
    health, particularly in relation to HIV/AIDS, malaria and other     Government Representatives/General
    diseases. Key requirements for addressing these challenges          discussion
    would include strong leadership; the values and principles          The Ministers were asked how they thought the science
    necessary to drive development; good governance and shared          community could expect to get evidence-based decisions
    responsibility; broad ownership; dedicated commitment;              from policy-makers. In response, the Ministers admitted that
    and the development of strong partnerships and networks             advice was needed from the science community to inform
    between Mozambique and the rest of the world.                       policies and decisions. They pointed out that the value
                                                                        of such advice would be influenced by the relevance and
    Funding Mechanisms for STI in Mozambique                            reliability of the research conducted in Africa; the willingness
    (Narciso Matos)                                                     to share scientific knowledge among countries, with a vision
    Professor Narciso Matos (Foundation for Community                   for advancement of the continent as a single, unified entity;
    Development, Mozambique) discussed the challenges of                and proper budgeting and equitable sharing of resources at
    establishing funding mechanisms for STI in Mozambique. He           both community and national levels. The issue of brain drain
    highlighted the fact that most research funding is external         vs. brain gain was also raised. It was concluded that incentives
    and not guided by local priorities. He also noted that most         were required to stimulate brain gain, in addition to
    funding is directed towards training, with very little allocated    promoting indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) development
    for actual research. As a result, although the number of            and prioritizing research to target Africa’s needs.
    research institutions and centres has grown in recent years,
    the focus remains on training rather than on serious scientific     Ministers were also asked to what extent they sought advice
    research.There is only a limited number of researchers in the       from STI institutions to guide their decisions. One of the
    country, and, furthermore, few women are involved in STI.           responses was that Ministries in certain countries do have
    Despite these constraints, however, he reported on some             committees of experts on policy development.
    research achievements in the country.
                                                                        The Ministers raised concerns regarding the mode of
    Environment and Climate Change in                                   communication of scientific findings to beneficiaries. In
    Mozambique (Filipe Lucio)                                           response, the researchers indicated that language remains a
    Dr Filipe Lucio (World Meteorological Organization)                 challenge, especially in early warning systems to mitigate the




8     ICSU ROA                                                                                 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
impact of hazards and disasters, but that there was increasing       1.3 Science Technology and
progress in technology to overcome this barrier.                         Innovation in Africa – Part II
While recognizing the need to conduct research, the                  Growing a Knowledge-based Economy:
Ministers remarked that it is more important to be able to           Evidence from Public Expenditure on
implement the findings of such research. This would require          Education in Africa (Abdul B. Kamara)
the establishment of connectivity between a country’s                Dr Abdul B Kamara (African Development Bank) discussed
production potential and the actual supply of goods and              the importance of knowledge and technology as key drivers
services. This connectivity could be facilitated by motivating       of growth in a knowledge-based economy. He defined such
the researchers and the private sector.                              an economy as one in which knowledge plays a pivotal role
                                                                     in driving production, exchange and distribution; in driving
A further concern raised by the Ministers was the fact that the      economic growth through employment generation and
cost of research in certain areas can be prohibitive, despite        wealth creation; and where knowledge generation and
the potential value of such research; for example, the cost of       utilization are associated with positive externalities that give
research in new energy sources prohibits its implementation,         a competitive edge. In his view, an emerging knowledge-
despite all other favourable conditions.                             based economy requires the following: (i) an economic and
                                                                     institutional regime that provides incentives for efficient use
The scientists felt that it would be ideal if they were given the    of knowledge with a view to enabling entrepreneurship to
opportunity to address parliamentarians/politicians regularly,       flourish; (ii) educated and skilled production, which creates,
to enlighten them on the progress of scientific research in          shares and uses knowledge to innovate and generate
key areas. Research in agriculture is one example of areas           economic value; (iii) a dynamic information infrastructure
that can be used to demonstrate research application at              to facilitate effective communication and processing of
community level, and such opportunities for participatory            information; and (iv) an efficient innovative system of firms,
research need to be exploited. It was also the opinion of            research entities and other organizations that are capable
the scientists that governments should not only be seeking           of tapping into the growing stock of global knowledge and
intergovernmental partnerships, but should also explore              adapting it to local needs.
possibilities of partnerships with relevant institutions. The
need was emphasized for scientists to retain ownership of            He pointed out that public expenditure on education can
the research they conduct and to take the lead in advising           improve economic growth in terms of per capita GDP.
policy. Research results ought to be useful in solving societal      However, due to high population growth rates in Africa
problems.                                                            and the inability of governments to provide the required
                                                                     social services, investment in education may not in practice
It was pointed out that the best advice is obtainable from the       contribute to human capital development and, as a result,
best scientists of each country, and that Science Academies          the impact on economic growth may not be as significant
constituted bodies of knowledge and experience from which            as had been hoped. He referred to a study which revealed
governments could obtain advice and input.                           that, despite the short-term benefits, public expenditure on
                                                                     education in Africa does not contribute to knowledge and
Scientists recognized the need to develop networks and               human capital accumulation on the continent in the long
institutions of excellence in specific disciplines (for example, a   term, owing to the low retention rates of the trained human
network of excellence in dry land biodiversity), as well as the      capital. In conclusion, he pointed out the need to strengthen
need to valorise indigenous knowledge systems, especially            government capacities to retain trained personnel through,
in alleviating problems related to health and in adapting to         for example, attractive remuneration packages. He also
climate change.                                                      recommended structuring financing programmes so as
                                                                     to offer opportunities for talented young people to enter
A further concern raised by scientists was the risk of               tertiary education.
frustrating young scientists through poor working conditions
that could compromise their career ambitions.




29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                              ICSU ROA        9
The IFS Approach for Scientific Capacity                           science education was recognized, and the general feeling
     Strengthening in Africa (Nighisty Ghezae)                          was that development partners could contribute to such
     Dr Nighisty Ghezae, representative of the International            endeavours. The need was expressed for scientists to take
     Foundation for Science (IFS), outlined the background and          the lead in managing partnership cooperation programmes,
     objectives of the IFS. She explained that the IFS is primarily a   and to define the kind of science or research required for
     research granting, scientific capacity enhancement, development    Africa. Such research should be guided by the continent’s
     and support programme that focuses on young promising              identified challenges.
     researchers. It works in all developing countries, supporting
     individual young scientists through their early careers before     It was also noted that human capacity in Africa faces the
     they get established. Supported research areas include projects    dilemma of competing signals between the need for capacity
     that address the sustainable management of biological and          retention and the concept of freedom of movement of
     water resources. She discussed the IFS granting process and        scientists, which allows for migration. A suggestion was made
     criteria, adding that the scientific capacity enhancing support    for IFS to facilitate brain recirculation between Africa and
     programme includes mentorship, travel, scientific paper-writing    Europe. Meanwhile, capacity retention strategies should seek
     courses and thematic workshops. She indicated that the IFS         to link up with initiatives at the level of local communities and
     granting programme strengthens capacity retention strategies to    their respective governments.
     minimize brain drain. IFS support, she said, is measured through
     its monitoring and evaluation system for impact assessment, the
     analysis of data on grantees and through tracer studies.           1.4        Panel Discussion
     UNESCO Perspective on STI in Africa                                The panel discussions were designed to focus on the
     (Joseph Massaquoi)                                                 outcome of the workshops in the Mozambican provinces,
     Professor Joseph Massaquoi (UNESCO Science and                     with reference to the ICSU ROA science plans. Hence,
     Technology Regional Office for Africa) outlined the strategic      the session began with two lead presentations on Global
     objectives of UNESCO for Africa, identifying research, policy      Environmental Change and Desertification in Africa and on
     and capacity building as the major priorities. He indicated        Natural and Human Induced Hazards and Disasters in Africa;
     that, in Africa, the challenges facing the implementation of       followed by a synthesis Report on the workshops in the
     science and technology initiatives include environmental           provinces of Mozambique.
     and resources management, science policies, disaster
     management and mitigation, discrepancies between science           Global Environmental Change and
     and technology, lack of human capital and the low priority         Desertification in Africa (Robert Scholes)
     given to science. UNESCO’s main concerns for STI in                Dr Robert Scholes (Council for Scientific and Industrial
     Africa would, amongst other things, be the need for greater        Research, South Africa)        outlined    the   environmental
     collaboration for science development; the need to identify        challenges faced by Africa, most prominent among which
     clearly the kind of science and technology that Africa             is the fact that the continent experiences a hot, dry and
     requires; the need for African scientists to establish their own   highly unreliable climate that is likely to become hotter
     agendas; dismal government funding; and adapting education         and dryer in some places, and more variable in future. He
     and training to focus on specific country needs.                   illuminated the adverse effects of climate change on African
                                                                        agriculture, human health, water resources and biodiversity.
     He believed that priority should be given to building human        He pointed out that Africa has a rich, iconic, economically
     resources capacity and to the application of science for the       important and often still-intact biodiversity, which is declining
     solving of societal problems. He was also of the view that         at an accelerating rate. He recognized the increasing interest
     intergovernmental organizations could be effective only if         by African researchers to forge partnerships within the
     their member states want them to be.                               global science community and amongst African scientists in
                                                                        addressing the challenges of global environmental change to
     General Discussion                                                 the socio-economic development of the continent.
     The value of role models in encouraging young people in




10     ICSU ROA                                                                              29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
Natural and Human-induced Hazards and                              Professor Almeida Sitoe (Eduardo Mondlane University,
Disasters in Africa (Genene Mulugeta)                              Mozambique) presented an overview of the summary reports
According to Professor Genene Mulugeta (Uppsala                    of these workshops, which covered the following themes:
University, Sweden), the hazards and disasters in Africa           sustainable energy, global environmental change (including
can be categorized into five major types, namely: hydro-           climate change and adaptation, with a focus on water resource
meteorological, geological, biological, technological and          management), marine sciences and fisheries, hazards and
conflict-related. Hydro-meteorological disasters are the           disasters, human health and well-being, and education.
most common and have the highest impact. He noted
that, although this category of disasters is natural in origin,    Two workshops on sustainable energy were held in
they can be exacerbated by human activity. He also noted           Niassa and Tete provinces. The workshops revealed that,
that Africa is the only continent whose share of reported          in Niassa, there is already production of improved stoves
disasters in the world has increased over the past decade.         in Lichinga; improved techniques for charcoal making in
Professor Mulugeta explained that Africa’s high vulnerability      the Muembe district; and solar energy in the districts of
to hazards and disasters is due partly to factors such as high     Mecanhelas (Chiuta), Marrupa (Nungo) and Lago (Cóbuè).
population growth rate, food insecurity, high levels of poverty,   In Tete, there is already the high output Cabora Bassa dam
inappropriate use of natural resources, and failures of policy     serving Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and
and institutional frameworks. He further discussed the need        Swaziland; as well as limited use of solar power (restricted
to assess properly the frequency of hazards and disasters          to mobile phone operators). There is also good potential
and to develop appropriate strategies for awareness-raising        for wind-power generation. However, some districts such as
among African communities, so as to mitigate more effectively      Tsangano still rely on a diesel generator for electricity.
the impact of these events.


Professor Mulugeta drew the audience’s attention to the            The research needs identified at the workshops included:
ICSU ROA science plan on Natural and Human-induced                 •	    Assessing	wind	speed	for	electricity	generation
Hazards and Disasters, in which most of these challenges are       •	    Evaluating	the	costs	of	solar	and	wind	power	generation
addressed. In this regard, he outlined the two mega-projects       •	    Establishing	 an	 industry	 for	 manufacturing	 and	
under preparation – one on hydro-meteorological hazards                  marketing solar panel components and accessories
and the other on geohazards.                                       •	    Evaluating	the	potential	to	build	dams	for	medium-scale	
                                                                         hydro-power generation
Synthesis Report on the Workshops in the                           •	    Improving	 the	 efficiency	 of	 biomass	 use	 as	 energy	
Provinces of Mozambique (Almeida A. Sitoe)                               source
To optimize the impact of the 29th ICSU GA in Mozambique,          •	    Finding	 alternatives	 to	 Jatropha	 as	 raw	 materials	 for	
the country’s government felt that this event would be                   biofuels.
an ideal opportunity to expose international scientists to
Mozambican reality, and to expose young Mozambican                 Two workshops on global and environmental change were
scientists to international and experienced scientists for the     held in Zambezia and Inhambane provinces. In Zambezia, the
purpose of initiating the process of identifying research needs    key challenges encountered were coastal erosion including
in the country. It was thought that the most appropriate way       sea-level rise, river invasion and mangrove destruction; flood
to achieve this was by organizing workshops in different           damage in inhabited flood plains; and wildfires resulting from
provinces of the country. At these workshops, international        agriculture and hunting activities. It was noted that efforts
scientists could interact with both Mozambican scientists and      are being made to control erosion and to sequestrate
the local population to discuss issues of specific importance      carbon through the establishment of forest plantations.
identified by the local community. The workshops were              The actions recommended to address these challenges
attended by more than 60 international scientists in various       included information exchange among government, research
disciplines, as well as by representatives from government         community, NGOs and civil society; research on adaptation
agencies, universities, research institutions, NGOs, the private   and mitigation strategies; media involvement to facilitate
sector and over 500 Mozambican young scientists.                   information dissemination; the involvement of community




29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                             ICSU ROA          11
leaders as the entry point for dialogue with local communities;           •	   Assessing	 the	 vulnerability	 and	 resilience	 of	 socio-
     and the empowerment of communities in problem-solving                          ecological systems to hazards and disasters
     techniques.                                                               •	   Identifying	indigenous	adaptation	strategies	to	mitigate	
                                                                                    the hazards and disasters
     The research needs identified were:                                       •	   Standardizing	data	collection	methods	
     •	     Assessing	saline	intrusion	and	its	effect	on	agriculture           •	   Assessing	the	potential	for	the	use	of	organic	fertilizers	
     •	     Assessing	the	variability	and	occurrence	of	floods	in	the	              and biological control of pests and diseases in agriculture
            Zambezi valley                                                     •	   Developing	 strategies	 for	 community	 education	
     •	     Improving	systematic	observation	and	the	recording	of	                  towards disaster preparedness.
            meteorological data
     •	     Improving	land	use	planning	by	local	authorities                   Some specific actions that need to be taken include:
     •	     Introducing	environmental	education	at	all	levels                  •	   Developing	 a	 framework	 for	 identifying	 national	 and	
     •	     Assessing	 the	 variability	 of	 coastline	 and	 sea-levels	 in	        local disaster risks
            relation to climate change                                         •	   Bridging	 the	 information	 gap	 between	 scientists,	
     •	     Modelling	of	land-ocean-river	dynamics                                  decision-makers and civil society
     •	     Long-term	monitoring	of	climatic	variability.                      •	   Law	enforcement	to	reduce	the	occurrence	of	wildfires.


     In Inhambane province, it was observed that over the last ten             The workshop on health and human well-being took place
     years, annual rainfall has been decreasing and temperatures               in Nampula province. The participants observed, during their
     have been rising. This climatic uncertainty has affected the              field visits, that the main economic activities in the province
     agricultural production system, as planting dates can no longer           are fishing, agriculture and tourism. Important lessons learned
     be reliably predicted. These uncertainties, compounded by                 in the province were as follows.
     poor soil fertility, induce low crop yields. As a result, fishing has     •	   The	 private	 sector	 (the	 printing	 press	 in	 Nampula,	
     become the main activity along the coastal zones. Another                      for example), through a good workers welfare policy,
     problem was that of poor water resource management.                            promotes the social well-being of the people.
                                                                               •	   Interactive	training	programme	for	medical	students	at	
     The following research needs were identified:                                  Lurio University, where students regularly interact very
     •	     Assessing	the	impact	of	climate	change	on	fisheries	and	                closely with the population in multidisciplinary teams, is
            agriculture                                                             not just efficient for student training but also increases
     •	     Evaluating	the	potential	for	tourism	as	a	complementary	                confidence within the population and enhances their
            source of income to fishing                                             use of medical services. This practice also facilitates
     •	     Development	 of	 teaching	 modules	 for	 community	                     community education on proper feeding habits for
            education in water resource management                                  healthy nutrition and on best behavioural practices
     •	     Quantitative	 and	 qualitative	 increase	 in	 collection	 of	           with regard to disease prevention, especially in the case
            meteorological data across the province                                 of communicable diseases.
     •	     Developing	 agricultural	 practices	 adapted	 to	 the	             •	   Community	water	supply.	Nampula	has	a	good	water	
            changing climate.                                                       treatment system operating, with modern technology.
                                                                                    The water supply scheme still needs more efforts,
     The workshop on hazards and disasters took place in Sofala                     however, as water supply remains a critical problem
     and Manica provinces. Workshop participants observed that                      in some parts of the province, such as at the newly
     the most common disasters affecting Sofala province were                       established hospital in the outskirts of the Nampula
     floods, wildfires and coastal erosion; while Manica province                   city.
     was mostly hit by wildfires, drought, earthquakes and water
     pollution. The research needs identified in this workshop                 Some challenges identified included the following:
     included:                                                                 •	   Poor	 maintenance	 of	 some	 of	 the	 tourist	 attractions	
     •	     Mapping	 areas	 prone	 to	 natural	 and	 human-induced	                 despite the economic importance of this sector
            hazards and disasters                                              •	   Poor	 use	 of	 available	 medical	 facilities	 (for	 example,	




12        ICSU ROA                                                                                  29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
pregnancies are monitored in the hospital but deliveries       •	    Quality	 control	 should	 be	 effected	 at	 all	 levels	 of	
     mostly take place out of the hospital, so patients are               education
     often rushed to hospital as a last resort after wasting        •	    Bilingual	education	should	be	encouraged,	 to	facilitate	
     time and resources in traditional healing homes)                     access to scientific information.
•	   High	rates	of	absenteeism	from	work	due	to	ill-health	
     of workers or of their family members, and due to the          General Discussion
     deaths of relatives                                            Responding to the presentations for this session, the scientists
•	   High	rates	of	teenage	pregnancy                                pointed out that Africa is very diversified and has problems
•	   Government	policy	to	centralize	certain	services,	which	       as well as capabilities. While it is important to point out the
     frustrates private enterprises (for example, the high          problems, it is also necessary to provide a clear picture of the
     capacity printing press in Nampula is operating below          continent’s capabilities, and to identify what would be needed
     its potential because all school text books have to be         to transform the potentials into products.
     produced in Maputo).
                                                                    It was also noted that much information and many
For their part, the people of Nampula province questioned           technologies are available on the continent, but that these
why scientists have still not been able to produce a vaccine        are not fully utilized. It is therefore necessary to improve the
against HIV. This question was retained as a crucial research       sharing of knowledge and technologies to optimize their
need, in addition to the research areas identified in the ICSU      utilization.
ROA science plan on Health and Human Well-being, which
also addresses most of the concerns of the Mozambican               Concluding Remarks
people.                                                             In her concluding remarks, Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director
                                                                    of ISTD at UNECA, emphasized the role of science and
The workshop on education was held in Gaza province and             technology (S&T) as a necessary tool for socio-economic
it focused on discussing strategies to improve and facilitate       development. She noted that knowledge is at the heart of
education at all levels. The issues discussed included:             development, and that qualified researchers are necessary
•	   Adoption	 of	 the	 Unity	 for	 the	 Development	 of	 Basic	    to produce a broad base of knowledge relevant to the
     Education (UDEBA) approach for school construction             solution of current and future societal problems. She drew
     and rehabilitation                                             the attention of the audience to some crucial questions, such
•	   Distance	learning	for	communities	with	low	population	         as how to strengthen S&T policy linkages with development
     densities                                                      policies; what lessons have been learnt from the past that
•	   Development	of	tools	for	pedagogic	supervision                 can enable effective STI policy implementation; and how
•	   Encouragement	of	entrepreneurship	among	students               to strengthen dialogue between politicians and scientists in
•	   The	 role	 of	 higher	 education	 institutions	 in	 basic	     order to ensure the political leadership required to develop
     professional training                                          and implement appropriate STI policies.
•	   Development	 of	 indicators	 for	 assessment	 of	 quality	
     and performance of the educational system                      Ms Opoku-Mensah remarked that politicians are concerned
•	   The	contribution	of	philosophy	to	education.                   with seeking strategies to solve real-life problems as quickly
                                                                    as possible. For this reason, the scientific knowledge that
Participants at the workshop recommended that:                      interests them has to be relevant and applicable to a particular
•	   Collaboration	 among	 teaching	 institutions	 in	 Africa	      policy problem. Such an approach tends to solve problems in
     should be encouraged and strengthened                          the short term, and places emphasis on quick results. She also
•	   Regional	 integration	 of	 systems	 of	 educational	 should	   noted that scientists often complain about politicians not fully
     be encouraged                                                  appreciating the importance of their work, and that too much
•	   Research	 in	 education	 should	 be	 oriented	 towards	        bureaucracy often slows down planned research activities.
     solving local problems                                         She recommended the creation of more opportunities for
•	   Entrepreneurship	should	be	a	priority	in	education             interaction between the two parties so that the message
•	   The	role	of	technical	training	should	be	strengthened          from scientists can be presented to politicians in language




29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                              ICSU ROA         13
that non-specialists would understand. This would enable          programme in basic sciences, and conferences for young as
     discussions that lead to useful scientific advice to policy, as   well as female scientists
     well as feedback policy guidance to scientific research.
                                                                       Young Entrepreneurs for Africa
                                                                       (Sandra Irobi)
     1.5       Closing Session                                         Ms Sandra Irobi presented the Young Entrepreneurs for
                                                                       Africa (YEFA), an NGO established in The Netherlands
     Remarks by the Chair of ICSU RCA                                  with the main objective of fostering the impact of Africa’s
     The Chair of the ICSU Regional Committee for Africa (ICSU         professionals on the continent. She explained that YEFA
     RCA), Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, expressed appreciation          has the vision to facilitate Africa’s development and
     to the ICSU Executive Board for agreeing to hold its 29th         transformation through its own young students, graduates
     GA in sub-Saharan Africa for the first time in the history        and active entrepreneurs, particularly those in the Diaspora.
     of the organization. He congratulated the Government              This vision would be realized through practical techno-social
     of Mozambique for supporting AICIMO in its bid to host            entrepreneurship engagement. The potential partners in this
     the GA, adding that both ICSU ROA and ICSU RCA had                endeavour include educational institutions, African embassies
     committed themselves to share the challenge to ensure             in host countries, as well as governments, the private sector
     the GA’s success with AICIMO and the government of                and individuals.
     Mozambique. He praised the innovative idea of organizing
     pre-GA workshops, an initiative that gave additional flavour      According to Ms Irobi, YEFA plans to achieve its mission by
     to the activities of the GA.                                      providing information and training aimed at changing current
                                                                       mind-sets; using YEFA’s policy think tank to create awareness
     Professor Ogunmola expressed delight in seeing scientists         and organize debates and relevant actions on Africa’s design
     from the whole world gathered to discuss science in Africa,       and evaluation of investment policies to encourage young
     and cautioned that the continent ought not to be left             professionals; providing platforms and opportunities to
     behind in the global development train. He reminded the           create practical business start-ups; and facilitating peer-to-
     audience that ICSU ROA was the first of four ICSU Regional        peer partnerships, networks, and collaborations with non-
     Offices to be established, and that it is, so far, taking the     African counterparts.
     lead in implementation of the ICSU strategic plan through
     the preparation, publication and implementation of its four       ICSU ROA Book launch (Sospeter Muhongo)
     science plans and the projects therein. He called on Africans     The book, entitled Science, Technology and Innovation for
     to stand united in applying science and technology to solve       Socio-Economic Development: Success stories from Africa,
     Africa’s numerous challenges, pointing out that ICSU ROA          edited by ICSU ROA, was introduced by Professor Sospeter
     serves as the unifying factor for a consolidated scientific       Muhongo, Director of the ICSU Regional Office for Africa.
     community on the continent.                                       The aim of the book is to promote science education and
                                                                       research in Africa, and to showcase Africa’s contribution to the
     Statement from Professor Mohamed Hassan                           world’s development of STI as a legacy of the ICSU General
     (TWAS/AAS)                                                        Assembly. It will be useful to scientists, engineers, technologists,
     Professor Mohamed Hassan presented a brief history of the         educators, and policy- and decision-makers engaged in
     Academy of Sciences for the Developing Countries (TWAS)           socio-economic development programmes in Africa, as well
     and explained the purpose of its creation. He discussed the       as to public and private sectors that have an interest in the
     main focus of TWAS, which is to promote human capacity            sustainable utilization and profitable commercialization of
     development in developing countries. He pointed out that          Africa’s natural resources. Professor Muhongo presented
     many nations need to build a critical mass of scientists, and     the contents of the book and congratulated the contributing
     that this can be achieved by post-graduate training that          authors and the editors. Professor Venancio Massingue,
     involves South-South as well as North-South cooperation.          Minister of Science and Technology, Mozambique, officiated
     In this endeavour, TWAS organizes research capacity building      at this launch.
     programmes such as, amongst others, the research grants




14     ICSU ROA                                                                              29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
Statement from AMCOST Secretariat
(Umar Bindir)
                                                                2        The Dialogue on
Dr Umar Bindir stressed the link between government,                     Science, Technology and
industry, and research and development, on the one hand, and             Innovation in Africa
the recognition and application of attributes of free market,
rule of law and science-based technology on the other           The dialogue was led by a panel composed of the Hon.
hand. This phenomenon has worked for Europe and North           Professor Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, Minister of Science and
America, and is now being applied in Asia and Latin America.    Technology, Sudan (Chair); the Hon. Derek Hanekom, Deputy
It can also work for Africa. He emphasized the opportunities    Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa; the Hon. Dr
presented by the proper functioning of organizations such       Becky Ndjoze-Ojo, Deputy Minister of Education, Namibia;
as the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology    Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, Chair of ICSU Regional
(AMCOST) working closely with partners such as ICSU             Committee for Africa; and Dr Umar Bindir, Secretary General
ROA, UNECA, UNESCO, and others.                                 of AMCOST. Professor Sospeter Muhongo, Director of ICSU
                                                                ROA, introduced the dialogue, explaining that it aimed at
Dr Bindir noted that Africa is increasingly recognizing the     having an in-depth discussion of some of the issue raised
importance of science and technology in addressing the          during the Symposium, and based on the implementation
numerous problems faced by the continent’s communities.         of the ICSU ROA science plans. He outlined the following
He cited, as examples, the adoption of the theme “Science       topics to be covered in the dialogue:
and Technology” for the year 2007 at the 8th Summit of          (i)    The role of STI in the attainment of the Millennium
African Heads of State and Government in January 2007; the             Development Goals (MDGs)
resolution by the African Heads of State and Government         (ii)   STI partnership between Africa and Europe, and the
to commit a minimum of 1% of their GDP to research and                 rest of the world
development; the numerous conferences and workshops             (iii) The involvement of the African Diaspora in STI activities
held recently on the continent focusing on science and                 in Africa
technology; and the dedicated involvement of African            (iv) Funding of science research and development (R&D) in
government representatives in the one-day Symposium in                 Africa.
discussing science, technology and innovation in Africa.


Closing Remarks (Hon.Venancio Massingue)                        2.1 The Role of STI in the
The Minister of Science and Technology of the Republic of           Attainment of the Millennium
Mozambique, Professor Venancio Massingue, expressed his             Development Goals
appreciation for the smooth organization of the Symposium,
and the enthusiasm with which both scientists and policy        From the discussion on this topic, the
makers engaged in valuable discussions. He thanked ICSU         following points emerged.
ROA for creating the opportunity for such a discussion          (i)    The MDGs were conceived in the “dire need of
forum, which benefited from the presence of renowned                   emergency solutions to address Africa’s problems”, but
scientists from around the world. The Minister expressed               it is important to recognize that African countries need
great satisfaction with the proceedings of the Symposium, and          more than emergency solutions to problems. They
recommended the adoption of developmental approaches                   need actions towards sustainable development. The
that would target the grassroots’ population to improve their          MDGs do not completely cover the desired drivers of
livelihoods. He then declared the Symposium closed.                    development. For example, energy is not among the
                                                                       MDGs but it is an essential driver of all other aspects
                                                                       of development. The MDGs and the infrastructure
                                                                       required to achieve them were never discussed with
                                                                       the people targeted in the goals. A holistic approach,
                                                                       where science becomes the driver, is required for these
                                                                       goals to be achieved.




29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                        ICSU ROA        15
(ii)   Achievement of the MDGs follows a linear progression           2.2 STI Partnership between Africa
            that needs to be dealt with professionally. For example,           and Europe, and the Rest of
            poverty cannot be alleviated when the people are not               the World
            educated. Universal education, therefore, constitutes
            the starting point to achieve the goal of reducing             From the discussion on this topic the
            poverty.                                                       following points were raised.
     (iii) Science and technology development needs to be                  (i)    There are numerous openings for partnership
            established systematically at all levels, including research          between Africa and the industrialized countries.
            in basic and applied sciences, and the commercialization              The Blair convention for example, advocates for EU
            of the products of science, engineering and technology.               funding to support research and development in Africa.
     (iv) Governments know the “real” objectives of the MDGs,                     However, some pressure is required from the African
            but have failed to recognize the essential drivers                    governments to get such plans implemented.
            required to achieve these goals. These drivers include         (ii)   There are some partnership projects already in operation,
            adaptation of science and technology in order to                      such as the Europe–Africa partnership for capacity
            reduce dependence and to create jobs; protection                      building workshops in the basic sciences. This initiative
            of intellectual property rights; and development of                   is driven by the European Science Foundation (ESF), the
            country-specific models synergized by the AU through                  Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW), the
            NEPAD and AMCOST.                                                     Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) and
     (v)    It is necessary to encourage multi-stakeholder and                    ICSU through its Regional Office for Africa.
            multidisciplinary partnerships to leverage outputs             (iii) African research groups and universities have benefited
            towards meeting the MDGs.                                             from funding from European countries such as Sweden,
     (vi) Experts and specialized institutions with expertise in                  but most African countries lack organized research
            specific fields need to be engaged by governments at                  groups with which such funded partnerships can be
            national and regional scales to address the relevant                  established. In some cases, partnership funds are
            MDGs pertaining to their expertise.                                   diverted through corrupt practices.
     (vii) The diversity of Africa and the wide variation in individual    (iv) There are many uncoordinated programmes in Africa,
            country specificities must be considered in designing                 and the AU should be the nucleus through which
            programmes to meet the MDGs. Implementation of                        efforts may be channelled. However, it should be
            the programmes also requires mobilizing and involving                 recognized that strategies for partnership in research
            the targeted local communities. Such programmes                       support vary from one country to another, based on
            should have well defined measurable impacts on the                    the specific country priorities. Therefore, continent-
            population.                                                           scale partnership frameworks may be difficult to
     (viii) National governments need to set visible milestones to                achieve.
            assess the level of implementation and achievements of         (v)    Partnership initiatives should not focus only on Europe,
            development programmes.                                               but also look elsewhere. For example, cooperation
     (ix) Agriculture is the main economic activity in Africa                     between Africa and other leading developing countries
            and should be given priority in most development                      such as China, India, South Korea and Brazil needs to be
            programmes.                                                           strengthened. South-South cooperation should exploit
     (x)    The UN Millennium report by the Task Force on                         the potential within the continent before going abroad.
            Science, Technology and Innovation under the                          Tri-lateral (South-South-North) partnerships should
            leadership of Professor Calestus Juma, “Innovation:                   also be encouraged. Success stories in any African
            applying knowledge in development”, needs to be                       country should be identified and replicated in other
            systematically analysed to see how it can be applied to               countries facing similar problems.
            meet the MDGs. The report deals mainly with issues             (vi) It is important for African countries to get their houses
            of infrastructure development, energy and transport in                in order first, interact more with each other, and share
            Africa.                                                               their experiences and challenges, before reaching out
                                                                                  for partnership.




16      ICSU ROA                                                                                29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
(vii) Partnership programmes should aim at transfer and                   studies (CARS), which is hosted at the University of
       domestication of science and technology.                           South Africa (UNISA). Other potential partners in this
(viii) Partnership requires equal strength of negotiation                 project are AU/NEPAD, the Development Bank of
       and equal knowledge, but this is not usually the case.             Southern Africa (DBSA) and UNESCO.
       Partnership programmes should be relevant to the            (iv) The CARS, in collaboration with its partners, is currently
       African agenda. African governments should engage                  conducting a study on the establishment of centres of
       development partners on specific terms as equal                    excellence involving African experts in the Diaspora.
       partners, and not on giver–taker arrangements.              (v)    Some African experts in the Diaspora have become
       Opportunities need to be created for foreign interests             significant icons in the world of STI. Such individuals, as,
       to match local interests on the challenges identified.             for example, the Malian IT engineer working for NASA,
(ix) Equal strength in partnership negotiations requires                  should specifically be targeted to develop STI in Africa.
       experts in the field, and this may call for training of     (vi) The African Diaspora can be involved through
       scientists to be policy advisers and to represent their            partnership projects, whereby a project in Africa is
       governments in partnership negotiations. Such scientists           funded by a foreign institution hosting the Diaspora.
       need to be informed about the issues where advice is               Such projects will provide the opportunity for
       needed and should focus on the set goals.                          members of the African Diaspora to employ their skills
(x)    Partnership initiatives are often frustrated by the fact           to develop STI on the continent.
       that government officials have to face such challenges      (vii) Expertise of the African Diaspora can already be
       as finding compromises between local political agendas,            exploited by involving its members in relevant on-going
       geo-politics, and conflicting donor interests.                     development programmes.



2.3 Involvement of the African                                     2.4 Funding of Science Research
    Diaspora in STI and Activities                                     and Development in Africa
    in Africa
                                                                   From the discussion of funding mechanisms for science
With regard to involvement of the African Diaspora in              research and development (R&D) in Africa the following
STI activities on the continent, it was admitted that several      points were raised.
initiatives have been made and that there is now a strong          (i)    African researchers operate in a vicious cycle of no
recognition of the need to harmonize the efforts and drive                research funding ↔ no output. Governments need to be
the process forward, building from the ongoing activities                 sensitized by scientists to break this cycle by providing
while learning from lessons of the past. The following specific           dedicated funding for research, with the budget for
issues were raised.                                                       salaries separated from that for conducting research.
(i)    The concept of the African Diaspora is evolving and         (ii)   Each country needs to get its R&D programme right
       there is no specificity on how to tackle it.                       before considering how to fund it. Local funding should
(ii)   The initiative of the African Diaspora plough-back                 be exploited first before supplementary funding is
       came from members of the Diaspora themselves in                    sought from elsewhere. Donor funding goes with the
       the first place, so it is not necessary to discuss how to          risk of compromising Africa’s independence, as donor
       engage them, but rather to discuss the frameworks that             interest may conflict with and compromise the interest
       need to be put in place to facilitate this engagement.             and agenda of the recipient.
       The AU report on the Diaspora initiative has indicated      (iii) Most S&T funding from government is limited to the
       what each party ought to do.                                       payment of salaries, while the actual research has to rely
(iii) One ongoing initiative that should be built upon is                 on external funding. AU/NEPAD should re-orientate its
       that of establishing a database of African experts in              plans to focus more on funding research to solve local
       the Diaspora. This is an elaborate project run by ICSU             problems.
       ROA, the National Research Foundation (NRF) of              (iv) There seems to be a conflict of interest in the AU/
       South Africa, and the Centre for African Renaissance               NEPAD STCPA, whereby governments and the




29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                              ICSU ROA         17
research community are divided on the governance of              2.5 Issues of General Concern
           the implementation of the plan. This conflict may be
           resolved by developing a hybrid plan.                            (i)    Capacity building remains a big challenge on the
     (v)   Africa needs to know how to deploy its resources. This                  continent. One step towards resolving the issue could
           requires setting priorities and developing a regional                   be to match African higher education institutions
           strategy. With such a strategy, donor funding can be                    with those in developed countries for collaboration
           requested and obtained through a unitary structure                      in research and training through staff and student
           rather than through fragmented requests from                            exchange programmes.
           individual institutions or governments. It is necessary          (ii)   Vocational training needs to be reinforced and incentives
           to understand the operational modalities of global                      created for science students at all educational levels.
           conventions that fund development projects in order              (iii) Functioning     ICT     infrastructure    needs     to     be
           to be able to benefit from such funding.                                strengthened on the continent as this constitutes an
     (vi) Big endowment funding is needed, which, if properly                      essential tool for linkages among scientists, as well as
           invested, should be able to generate further funding in                 for broader connectivity among various role players in
           future. Governments can raise substantial endowment                     socio-economic development.
           funds through simple and easily applicable taxation,             (iv) Each country needs to carry out stringent self-
           such as, for example, a minimal tax on telephone calls.                 examination through a SWOT analysis, and then design
     (vii) Research funding needs to be distributed between                        its way forward. Sometimes available technologies
           fundamental or basic research (to keep pace with the                    cannot be applied because of governance constraints.
           rest of the world) and applied research to solve local           (v)    It is important to develop local facilities for training, so
           problems.                                                               as to curb brain drain.
     (viii) African policy-makers seem to have submitted to foreign         (vi) The concept of centres of excellence does not seem
           forces for the development of the continent. Both                       to be a priority for Africa. It might be more useful to
           government and the private sector need imperatively                     deploy efforts for attainment of excellence at various
           to contribute to research and development. Proper                       levels than simply to designate institutions as centres of
           legislation is required to enforce such obligatory                      excellence.
           contributions. Governments need to create incentives             (vii) Application of science and technology for sustainable
           for the private sector to invest in R&D.                                development requires the deployment of simple but
     (ix) There is too much bureaucracy in science and                             tangible solutions to common societal problems.
           technology, whereby the bulk of the budget goes into             (viii) There is a need to improve communication among
           administration, with too little trickling down to fund                  government, R&D communities or agencies, and the
           research.                                                               private sector on issues relating to the application of
     (x)   To attract research funding, projects need to be                        S&T for development.
           designed to have a visible impact on the glaring                 (ix) Outstanding scientists are often withdrawn from
           problems facing local communities. Standards need to                    practicing science and, instead, are loaded with
           be set for identifying ‘first class’ research in Africa, which          administrative responsibilities, which reduce the capacity
           can attract private sector buy-in and funding.                          to conduct science. Such senior scientists deployed to
     (xi) Some foreign donors have lost faith in African                           administration need to continue to be available for
           institutions because of poor accountability for research                the development of science and for training a new
           grants. Sometimes the funds are diverted to other uses                  generation of scientists.
           and nothing is left to implement the R&D projects.
     (xii) Africa lacks organized research groups that can attract
           the interest of foreign donors. There is no proper
           coordination of efforts within or among African
           countries.




18     ICSU ROA                                                                                   29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
2.6 The Dialogue on STI in Africa:                                       funded the participation of more than 25 South African
                                                                         participants.
    Proposed Resolutions
                                                                   (iii) The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
                                                                         provided ICSU ROA with funds to facilitate the
The following resolutions were proposed.
                                                                         participation of DAAD alumni in Africa.
(i)    Create national, regional and international research
                                                                   (iv) The International Foundation for Science (IFS) provided
       groups to address specific problems by applying
                                                                         funds to ICSU ROA to facilitate the participation of IFS
       science, technology and innovation.
                                                                         grantees in Africa.
(ii)   Create a research fund under the umbrella of AU/
                                                                   (v)   The World Bank provided funds to the Ministry of
       UNECA/ICSU ROA to guide appropriate funding of
                                                                         Science and Technology (MCT), Mozambique, to
       targeted problem-solving research into burning issues
                                                                         support local organizational expenses.
       on the continent.
                                                                   (vi) The Mozambican Airport Authority (Aeroportos de
(iii) Create linkages of research groups with the private
                                                                         Moçambique) provided funds to the Government
       sector to fund research for business promotion and
                                                                         of Mozambique through MCT, to facilitate travel
       poverty alleviation.
                                                                         arrangements for government invitees.
(iv) Set up research standards for first-class research in
                                                                   (vii) Millennium BIM and Ernst & Young provided funds to
       Africa so that the results can be taken up as investments
                                                                         MCT to support local organizational expenses.
       by the business sector.
                                                                   (viii) The Mozambican Electricity Corporation (Electricidade
(v)    Adopt existing success stories in Africa and apply them
                                                                         de Moçambique) supported the MCT in paying some
       in other countries with similar problems.
                                                                         of the bills.
(vi) Hold frequent dialogues between researchers and
                                                                   (ix) Mcel (a Mozambican cell phone company) supported
       policy-makers to enable better understanding of the
                                                                         the MCT in paying some bills, in addition to offering
       roles played by each party and the challenges faced,
                                                                         free starter packs to members of the Local Organizing
       and to enable them, jointly, to map a sustainable and
                                                                         Committee.
       impact-yielding research and development agenda.
                                                                   (x)   Hidroelectrica de Cabora Bassa (HCB) pledged
(vii) Create an enabling environment for African human
                                                                         a financial donation to MCT to facilitate some
       resources, including those in the Diaspora, to contribute
                                                                         organizational expenses.
       to STI development on the continent.




Acknowledgements
The ICSU Regional Office for Africa and the Ministry of
Science and Technology, Mozambique, are profoundly
grateful to the following institutions for financial and/or
material donations that have been vital for the successful
organization of the 29th ICSU General Assembly and its
Associated Events.
(i)    The Swedish International Development Agency
       (SIDA) provided funds to ICSU ROA to facilitate the
       participation of African scientists, including those in
                                                                   Published by:
                                                                   ICSU Regional Office for Africa
       the Diaspora, and government officials (Ministers).
                                                                   P.O. Box 13252 Hatfield
       SIDA also provided funds to the Government of
                                                                   0028 Pretoria
       Mozambique (Ministry of Science and Technology) to
                                                                   Republic of South Africa
       defray certain local organizational expenses.
                                                                   Tel: +27 (0)12 4814090
(ii)   The National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa,
                                                                   Email: secretariat@icsu-africa.org; icsuroa@gmail.com
       provided all the stationery and publicity material for
                                                                   www.icsu-africa.org
       the 29th ICSU GA and its Associated Events, and



29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events                                                                          ICSU ROA        19
Notes




20   ICSU ROA   29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
ICSU ROA
Regional Of fice for
                       Africa
        ICSU ROA
      Contact Details


ICSU Regional Office for Africa
       PO Box 13252
      0028 HATFIELD
         PRETORIA
   Republic of South Africa


     Tel: +27 12 481 4090
    Fax: + 27 12 481 4273
     Fax: +27 86 518 0907
  secretariat@icsu-africa.org

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Document Ii Report On The Dialogue Between Politicians & Scientists, October 2008

  • 1. Regional Of fice for Africa ICSU REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA 29th ICSU GENERAL ASSEMBLY 13–24 October 2008 Maputo, Mozambique REPORT on ASSOCIATED EVENTS Halving poverty by 2015 is one of the greatest challenges of our time, requiring cooperation and sustainability. The partner countries are responsible for their own development. Sida provides resources and develops knowledge and expertise, making the world a richer place. SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY SE-105 25 Stockholm Sweden Phone: +46 (0)8 698 50 00
  • 3. Regional Of fice for Africa 29th ICSU GENERAL ASSEMBLY 13–24 October 2008, Maputo, Mozambique REPORT ON ASSOCIATED EVENTS
  • 5. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS 4 INTRODUCTION 6 1 SYMPOSIUM: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN AFRICA 6 1.1 Opening Session 6 1.2 Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa – Part I 7 1.3 Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa – Part II 9 1.4 Panel Discussion 10 1.5 Closing Session 14 2 THE DIALOGUE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN AFRICA 15 2.1 The Role of STI in the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals 15 2.2 STI Partnership between Africa and Europe, and the Rest of the World 16 2.3 Involvement of the African Diaspora in STI and Activities in Africa 17 2.4 Funding of Science Research in Africa 17 2.5 Issues of General Concern 18 2.6 The Dialogue on STI in Africa: Proposed Resolutions 19 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 19 Regional Of fice for Africa Prepared by: ICSU Regional Office for Africa Sospeter Muhongo P.O. Box 13252 Hatfield Achuo Enow 0028 Pretoria Daniel Nyanganyura Republic of South Africa Bongani Mahlalela Tel: +27 (0)12 4814090 Kathy Potgieter Email: secretariat@icsu-africa.org; icsuroa@gmail.com Web: www.icsu-africa.org 5 January 2009 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 3
  • 6. ABBREVIATIONS AfDB African Development Bank AICIMO Scientific Research Association of Mozambique [Associação de Investigação Científica de Moçambique] AMCOST African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology ANSTI African Network of Science and Technology Institutions AU African Union AUC African Union Commission CARS Centre for African Renaissance Studies CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research DAAD German Academic Exchange Service [Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst] DBSA Development Bank of Southern Africa ESF European Science Foundation EU European Union HCB Hidroelectrica de Cabora Bassa HRST Human resources, science and technology GA General Assembly GDP Gross domestic product ICSU International Council for Science ICSU EB ICSU Executive Board ICSU RCA ICSU Regional Committee for Africa ICSU ROA ICSU Regional Office for Africa ICT Information and communications technology IFS International Foundation for Science IKS Indigenous knowledge systems ISTD ICT, Science and Technology Division (of UNECA) KNAW Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences [Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen] MCT Ministry of Science and Technology (Mozambique) [Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia] MDGs Millennium development goals 4 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 7. NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASAC Network of African Science Academies NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NGO Non-governmental organization NRF National Research Foundation R&D Research and development RD&I Research, development and innovation SAMCOST Southern Africa Ministerial Council on Science and Technology S&T Science and technology SET Science, engineering and technology SIDA Swedish International Development Agency STCPA Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action STI Science, technology and innovation SWOT Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats TWAS Academy of Sciences for the Developing World UDEBA Unity for the Development of Basic Education UN United Nations UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation USA United States of America WMO World Meteorological Organization YEFA Young Entrepreneurs for Africa 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 5
  • 8. INTRODUCTION As a tradition, General Assemblies of the International Council for Science (ICSU) are normally preceded by a 1 SYMPOSIUM: Science, one-day forum to discuss science and technology in the Technology and host country. In this regard, the ICSU Regional Office for Innovation in Africa Africa (ICSU ROA) with the support of its partners, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology, 1.1 Opening Session Mozambique, and the Scientific Research Association of Mozambique (AICIMO), organized pre-General Assembly WELCOME (pre-GA) workshops in various provinces of Mozambique on 13–17 October 2008; a Symposium at the Joaquim ICSU ROA Director (Professor Sospeter Muhongo) Chissano International Conference Centre in Maputo on 20 introduced and welcomed African Ministers of Science and October 2008 to discuss science, technology and innovation Technology and their representatives. He went on to introduce (STI) in Africa; and an interactive dialogue at the same venue representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific on 21 October 2008. The events brought together more and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Economic than 800 participants from all over the world, including Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Development Nobel Prize awardees, African Ministers of science and Bank (AfDB), and members of the ICSU Executive Board. technology (or their representatives), and representatives of Professor Muhongo introduced the programme and gave a intergovernmental bodies, regional economic commissions, brief background of the structure of ICSU and its membership. non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations He explained that the purpose of the Symposium was to (UN) agencies and the private sector. During the interactive discuss the achievements and challenges faced by Africa in dialogue, scientists and policy-makers (African ministers, the application of science, engineering and technology (SET) representatives of intergovernmental bodies, NGOs and UN for development, and to map a way forward. agencies) discussed in greater detail some of the issues raised during the one-day Symposium. OPENING The core business of the 29th ICSU General Assembly was In his opening address, Professor Venancio Massingue, the conducted by the members of the organization in plenary Hon. Minister of Science and Technology of Mozambique, and breakaway sessions on 21–24 October 2008. expressed his appreciation for the decision of the ICSU Executive Board (ICSU EB) to host the 29th ICSU General This report focuses mainly on the pre-GA activities. The Assembly (GA) in Mozambique. He hoped that this event deliberations of the core GA are reported elsewhere (www. would benefit the science community in this country as well icsu.org). as the entire African continent. The Minister then explained 6 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 9. the value of STI in Africa as a whole and Mozambique in plans, and expressed the value of partnerships with AU/ particular, and hoped that the Symposium would serve as an NEPAD, ICSU ROA, the African Network of Science and important step towards strengthening partnerships on the Technology Institutions (ANSTI), the Academy of Sciences continent for the implementation of the African Science and for the Developing World (TWAS), e-forums, and others. An Technology Consolidated Plan of Action (STCPA) developed important message for Africa was that the continent needs by the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for nothing less than a science revolution. Specific mention was Africa’s Development (NEPAD). He also acknowledged made of the role of UNECA in promoting STI in Africa, the support from partners of ICSU and the Government which involves engaging and mobilizing multiple stakeholders of Mozambique in ensuring the success of this event. He and assisting in capacity building. declared the Symposium open and wished participants every success in their deliberations. 1.2 Science, Technology and STATEMENTS Innovation in Africa – Part I Africa Union Commission (AUC) A Vision for STI in Africa (Derek Hanekom) Representing the African Union Commissioner for Human Mr Derek Hanekom, the Hon. Deputy Minister of Science and Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), Dr Chaibi Technology, South Africa, presented a vision for STI in Africa. He Thameur acknowledged the work of the ICSU family in reviewed the status of STI on the continent, and outlined the Africa. He explained the role of science in wealth creation, major challenges, which are: poverty; disease (including malaria, and called for intensification of North-South as well as South- HIV/AIDS, TB); food insecurity; environmental degradation; South cooperation in STI for development. He explained low levels of education; political conflict; weak STI institutions; that the African Union Commission (AUC) was created to limited STI skills and capacity for research, development and drive specific key programmes of the AU, and that the HRST innovation (RD&I); limited funding for STI development; and Commission is responsible in particular for driving the AU’s technology gaps. He noted that global competitiveness faces STI programmes. NEPAD and the African Ministerial Council the challenge of the innovation chasm between developing on Science and Technology (AMCOST) are strong arms used and developed countries. He then presented a vision for the by the HRST in this endeavour through the implementation continent that would include an Africa well integrated into of the STCPA. Dr Thameur pledged the political will of the the global economy and free from poverty. He further shared AU in promoting STI for the sustainable development of South Africa’s vision of a prosperous society with equitable Africa. As an example, he cited the creation of the African benefits form science and technology. Cluster for Science and Technology, which would drive the implementation of the STCPA. ICSU ROA is a member of As a way forward, he proposed that African governments this cluster. He further emphasized the role of the African should continue working towards investing 1% of their gross Diaspora in applying STI for the development of Africa, and domestic product (GDP) on research, development and advocated the beneficial use of partnership with the USA, innovation (RD&I); encouraging regional STI integration; the European Union (EU) and China. developing equitable STI societies; improving policy conditions that would enable monitoring and evaluation of United Nations Economic Commission for STI progress; enhancing research and development (R&D) Africa (UNECA) capacities and innovation for knowledge production and Ms Aida Opoku Mensah, Director of the ICT, Science and product development; and the building of STI infrastructure. Technology Division (ISTD) of UNECA, stated that STI features prominently on the agenda of UNECA. She stressed The Role of African Governments in the three significant items that drive science in Africa: strengthening Development of STI in Africa (Francis scientific unions; the need to engage governments; and Gudyanga) the creation of a viable and conducive environment for In his address on the role of African governments in the conducting research. She outlined the scientific challenges development of STI in Africa, Professor Francis Gudyanga, faced by Africa, guided by previous studies and existing Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science andTechnology, 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 7
  • 10. Zimbabwe, stressed that governments have an important role discussed climate and environmental changes in to play at national, regional and continental levels, as they can Mozambique, pointing out that climate exerts significant influence markets, technology, and behaviour through policies control on living organisms and on day-to-day socio- and regulations. He noted that judicious policy interventions economic development at regional, local and household are required to address pervasive market failures and to levels. He provided evidence for increasing surface ensure that private incentives align with societal imperatives temperatures and rising sea levels; increased frequency and to produce economically and environmentally sustainable intensity of extreme weather events; increased variation in outcomes. Professor Gudyanga recommended a focus on wind and rainfall patterns; and increasing risks of hazards and the STCPA projects and programmes. He presented the disasters. He discussed the consequences of these trends various regional protocol objectives and the responsibility on the degradation of freshwater resources and fragile of the Southern African Ministerial Council on Science and ecosystems, groundwater recharge, agricultural production, Technology (SAMCOST). human health and population displacements. Dr Lucio proposed some strategies for mitigation and adaptation Is the Mozambican Research System ready to environmental and climate changes. These include for Development Challenges? (Lídia Brito) technological, behavioural, managerial and policy responses. Professor Lídia Brito (Eduardo Mondlane Univeristy, In this regard, he identified some research priorities and Mozambique) discussed the readiness of the Mozambican explained the contribution of the World Meteorological research system for development challenges. She dealt with Organization (WMO) to addressing these challenges. issues related to absolute poverty; the food crisis; the energy crisis; the financial crisis; global environmental changes; and Interventions from Ministers and health, particularly in relation to HIV/AIDS, malaria and other Government Representatives/General diseases. Key requirements for addressing these challenges discussion would include strong leadership; the values and principles The Ministers were asked how they thought the science necessary to drive development; good governance and shared community could expect to get evidence-based decisions responsibility; broad ownership; dedicated commitment; from policy-makers. In response, the Ministers admitted that and the development of strong partnerships and networks advice was needed from the science community to inform between Mozambique and the rest of the world. policies and decisions. They pointed out that the value of such advice would be influenced by the relevance and Funding Mechanisms for STI in Mozambique reliability of the research conducted in Africa; the willingness (Narciso Matos) to share scientific knowledge among countries, with a vision Professor Narciso Matos (Foundation for Community for advancement of the continent as a single, unified entity; Development, Mozambique) discussed the challenges of and proper budgeting and equitable sharing of resources at establishing funding mechanisms for STI in Mozambique. He both community and national levels. The issue of brain drain highlighted the fact that most research funding is external vs. brain gain was also raised. It was concluded that incentives and not guided by local priorities. He also noted that most were required to stimulate brain gain, in addition to funding is directed towards training, with very little allocated promoting indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) development for actual research. As a result, although the number of and prioritizing research to target Africa’s needs. research institutions and centres has grown in recent years, the focus remains on training rather than on serious scientific Ministers were also asked to what extent they sought advice research.There is only a limited number of researchers in the from STI institutions to guide their decisions. One of the country, and, furthermore, few women are involved in STI. responses was that Ministries in certain countries do have Despite these constraints, however, he reported on some committees of experts on policy development. research achievements in the country. The Ministers raised concerns regarding the mode of Environment and Climate Change in communication of scientific findings to beneficiaries. In Mozambique (Filipe Lucio) response, the researchers indicated that language remains a Dr Filipe Lucio (World Meteorological Organization) challenge, especially in early warning systems to mitigate the 8 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 11. impact of hazards and disasters, but that there was increasing 1.3 Science Technology and progress in technology to overcome this barrier. Innovation in Africa – Part II While recognizing the need to conduct research, the Growing a Knowledge-based Economy: Ministers remarked that it is more important to be able to Evidence from Public Expenditure on implement the findings of such research. This would require Education in Africa (Abdul B. Kamara) the establishment of connectivity between a country’s Dr Abdul B Kamara (African Development Bank) discussed production potential and the actual supply of goods and the importance of knowledge and technology as key drivers services. This connectivity could be facilitated by motivating of growth in a knowledge-based economy. He defined such the researchers and the private sector. an economy as one in which knowledge plays a pivotal role in driving production, exchange and distribution; in driving A further concern raised by the Ministers was the fact that the economic growth through employment generation and cost of research in certain areas can be prohibitive, despite wealth creation; and where knowledge generation and the potential value of such research; for example, the cost of utilization are associated with positive externalities that give research in new energy sources prohibits its implementation, a competitive edge. In his view, an emerging knowledge- despite all other favourable conditions. based economy requires the following: (i) an economic and institutional regime that provides incentives for efficient use The scientists felt that it would be ideal if they were given the of knowledge with a view to enabling entrepreneurship to opportunity to address parliamentarians/politicians regularly, flourish; (ii) educated and skilled production, which creates, to enlighten them on the progress of scientific research in shares and uses knowledge to innovate and generate key areas. Research in agriculture is one example of areas economic value; (iii) a dynamic information infrastructure that can be used to demonstrate research application at to facilitate effective communication and processing of community level, and such opportunities for participatory information; and (iv) an efficient innovative system of firms, research need to be exploited. It was also the opinion of research entities and other organizations that are capable the scientists that governments should not only be seeking of tapping into the growing stock of global knowledge and intergovernmental partnerships, but should also explore adapting it to local needs. possibilities of partnerships with relevant institutions. The need was emphasized for scientists to retain ownership of He pointed out that public expenditure on education can the research they conduct and to take the lead in advising improve economic growth in terms of per capita GDP. policy. Research results ought to be useful in solving societal However, due to high population growth rates in Africa problems. and the inability of governments to provide the required social services, investment in education may not in practice It was pointed out that the best advice is obtainable from the contribute to human capital development and, as a result, best scientists of each country, and that Science Academies the impact on economic growth may not be as significant constituted bodies of knowledge and experience from which as had been hoped. He referred to a study which revealed governments could obtain advice and input. that, despite the short-term benefits, public expenditure on education in Africa does not contribute to knowledge and Scientists recognized the need to develop networks and human capital accumulation on the continent in the long institutions of excellence in specific disciplines (for example, a term, owing to the low retention rates of the trained human network of excellence in dry land biodiversity), as well as the capital. In conclusion, he pointed out the need to strengthen need to valorise indigenous knowledge systems, especially government capacities to retain trained personnel through, in alleviating problems related to health and in adapting to for example, attractive remuneration packages. He also climate change. recommended structuring financing programmes so as to offer opportunities for talented young people to enter A further concern raised by scientists was the risk of tertiary education. frustrating young scientists through poor working conditions that could compromise their career ambitions. 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 9
  • 12. The IFS Approach for Scientific Capacity science education was recognized, and the general feeling Strengthening in Africa (Nighisty Ghezae) was that development partners could contribute to such Dr Nighisty Ghezae, representative of the International endeavours. The need was expressed for scientists to take Foundation for Science (IFS), outlined the background and the lead in managing partnership cooperation programmes, objectives of the IFS. She explained that the IFS is primarily a and to define the kind of science or research required for research granting, scientific capacity enhancement, development Africa. Such research should be guided by the continent’s and support programme that focuses on young promising identified challenges. researchers. It works in all developing countries, supporting individual young scientists through their early careers before It was also noted that human capacity in Africa faces the they get established. Supported research areas include projects dilemma of competing signals between the need for capacity that address the sustainable management of biological and retention and the concept of freedom of movement of water resources. She discussed the IFS granting process and scientists, which allows for migration. A suggestion was made criteria, adding that the scientific capacity enhancing support for IFS to facilitate brain recirculation between Africa and programme includes mentorship, travel, scientific paper-writing Europe. Meanwhile, capacity retention strategies should seek courses and thematic workshops. She indicated that the IFS to link up with initiatives at the level of local communities and granting programme strengthens capacity retention strategies to their respective governments. minimize brain drain. IFS support, she said, is measured through its monitoring and evaluation system for impact assessment, the analysis of data on grantees and through tracer studies. 1.4 Panel Discussion UNESCO Perspective on STI in Africa The panel discussions were designed to focus on the (Joseph Massaquoi) outcome of the workshops in the Mozambican provinces, Professor Joseph Massaquoi (UNESCO Science and with reference to the ICSU ROA science plans. Hence, Technology Regional Office for Africa) outlined the strategic the session began with two lead presentations on Global objectives of UNESCO for Africa, identifying research, policy Environmental Change and Desertification in Africa and on and capacity building as the major priorities. He indicated Natural and Human Induced Hazards and Disasters in Africa; that, in Africa, the challenges facing the implementation of followed by a synthesis Report on the workshops in the science and technology initiatives include environmental provinces of Mozambique. and resources management, science policies, disaster management and mitigation, discrepancies between science Global Environmental Change and and technology, lack of human capital and the low priority Desertification in Africa (Robert Scholes) given to science. UNESCO’s main concerns for STI in Dr Robert Scholes (Council for Scientific and Industrial Africa would, amongst other things, be the need for greater Research, South Africa) outlined the environmental collaboration for science development; the need to identify challenges faced by Africa, most prominent among which clearly the kind of science and technology that Africa is the fact that the continent experiences a hot, dry and requires; the need for African scientists to establish their own highly unreliable climate that is likely to become hotter agendas; dismal government funding; and adapting education and dryer in some places, and more variable in future. He and training to focus on specific country needs. illuminated the adverse effects of climate change on African agriculture, human health, water resources and biodiversity. He believed that priority should be given to building human He pointed out that Africa has a rich, iconic, economically resources capacity and to the application of science for the important and often still-intact biodiversity, which is declining solving of societal problems. He was also of the view that at an accelerating rate. He recognized the increasing interest intergovernmental organizations could be effective only if by African researchers to forge partnerships within the their member states want them to be. global science community and amongst African scientists in addressing the challenges of global environmental change to General Discussion the socio-economic development of the continent. The value of role models in encouraging young people in 10 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 13. Natural and Human-induced Hazards and Professor Almeida Sitoe (Eduardo Mondlane University, Disasters in Africa (Genene Mulugeta) Mozambique) presented an overview of the summary reports According to Professor Genene Mulugeta (Uppsala of these workshops, which covered the following themes: University, Sweden), the hazards and disasters in Africa sustainable energy, global environmental change (including can be categorized into five major types, namely: hydro- climate change and adaptation, with a focus on water resource meteorological, geological, biological, technological and management), marine sciences and fisheries, hazards and conflict-related. Hydro-meteorological disasters are the disasters, human health and well-being, and education. most common and have the highest impact. He noted that, although this category of disasters is natural in origin, Two workshops on sustainable energy were held in they can be exacerbated by human activity. He also noted Niassa and Tete provinces. The workshops revealed that, that Africa is the only continent whose share of reported in Niassa, there is already production of improved stoves disasters in the world has increased over the past decade. in Lichinga; improved techniques for charcoal making in Professor Mulugeta explained that Africa’s high vulnerability the Muembe district; and solar energy in the districts of to hazards and disasters is due partly to factors such as high Mecanhelas (Chiuta), Marrupa (Nungo) and Lago (Cóbuè). population growth rate, food insecurity, high levels of poverty, In Tete, there is already the high output Cabora Bassa dam inappropriate use of natural resources, and failures of policy serving Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and and institutional frameworks. He further discussed the need Swaziland; as well as limited use of solar power (restricted to assess properly the frequency of hazards and disasters to mobile phone operators). There is also good potential and to develop appropriate strategies for awareness-raising for wind-power generation. However, some districts such as among African communities, so as to mitigate more effectively Tsangano still rely on a diesel generator for electricity. the impact of these events. Professor Mulugeta drew the audience’s attention to the The research needs identified at the workshops included: ICSU ROA science plan on Natural and Human-induced • Assessing wind speed for electricity generation Hazards and Disasters, in which most of these challenges are • Evaluating the costs of solar and wind power generation addressed. In this regard, he outlined the two mega-projects • Establishing an industry for manufacturing and under preparation – one on hydro-meteorological hazards marketing solar panel components and accessories and the other on geohazards. • Evaluating the potential to build dams for medium-scale hydro-power generation Synthesis Report on the Workshops in the • Improving the efficiency of biomass use as energy Provinces of Mozambique (Almeida A. Sitoe) source To optimize the impact of the 29th ICSU GA in Mozambique, • Finding alternatives to Jatropha as raw materials for the country’s government felt that this event would be biofuels. an ideal opportunity to expose international scientists to Mozambican reality, and to expose young Mozambican Two workshops on global and environmental change were scientists to international and experienced scientists for the held in Zambezia and Inhambane provinces. In Zambezia, the purpose of initiating the process of identifying research needs key challenges encountered were coastal erosion including in the country. It was thought that the most appropriate way sea-level rise, river invasion and mangrove destruction; flood to achieve this was by organizing workshops in different damage in inhabited flood plains; and wildfires resulting from provinces of the country. At these workshops, international agriculture and hunting activities. It was noted that efforts scientists could interact with both Mozambican scientists and are being made to control erosion and to sequestrate the local population to discuss issues of specific importance carbon through the establishment of forest plantations. identified by the local community. The workshops were The actions recommended to address these challenges attended by more than 60 international scientists in various included information exchange among government, research disciplines, as well as by representatives from government community, NGOs and civil society; research on adaptation agencies, universities, research institutions, NGOs, the private and mitigation strategies; media involvement to facilitate sector and over 500 Mozambican young scientists. information dissemination; the involvement of community 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 11
  • 14. leaders as the entry point for dialogue with local communities; • Assessing the vulnerability and resilience of socio- and the empowerment of communities in problem-solving ecological systems to hazards and disasters techniques. • Identifying indigenous adaptation strategies to mitigate the hazards and disasters The research needs identified were: • Standardizing data collection methods • Assessing saline intrusion and its effect on agriculture • Assessing the potential for the use of organic fertilizers • Assessing the variability and occurrence of floods in the and biological control of pests and diseases in agriculture Zambezi valley • Developing strategies for community education • Improving systematic observation and the recording of towards disaster preparedness. meteorological data • Improving land use planning by local authorities Some specific actions that need to be taken include: • Introducing environmental education at all levels • Developing a framework for identifying national and • Assessing the variability of coastline and sea-levels in local disaster risks relation to climate change • Bridging the information gap between scientists, • Modelling of land-ocean-river dynamics decision-makers and civil society • Long-term monitoring of climatic variability. • Law enforcement to reduce the occurrence of wildfires. In Inhambane province, it was observed that over the last ten The workshop on health and human well-being took place years, annual rainfall has been decreasing and temperatures in Nampula province. The participants observed, during their have been rising. This climatic uncertainty has affected the field visits, that the main economic activities in the province agricultural production system, as planting dates can no longer are fishing, agriculture and tourism. Important lessons learned be reliably predicted. These uncertainties, compounded by in the province were as follows. poor soil fertility, induce low crop yields. As a result, fishing has • The private sector (the printing press in Nampula, become the main activity along the coastal zones. Another for example), through a good workers welfare policy, problem was that of poor water resource management. promotes the social well-being of the people. • Interactive training programme for medical students at The following research needs were identified: Lurio University, where students regularly interact very • Assessing the impact of climate change on fisheries and closely with the population in multidisciplinary teams, is agriculture not just efficient for student training but also increases • Evaluating the potential for tourism as a complementary confidence within the population and enhances their source of income to fishing use of medical services. This practice also facilitates • Development of teaching modules for community community education on proper feeding habits for education in water resource management healthy nutrition and on best behavioural practices • Quantitative and qualitative increase in collection of with regard to disease prevention, especially in the case meteorological data across the province of communicable diseases. • Developing agricultural practices adapted to the • Community water supply. Nampula has a good water changing climate. treatment system operating, with modern technology. The water supply scheme still needs more efforts, The workshop on hazards and disasters took place in Sofala however, as water supply remains a critical problem and Manica provinces. Workshop participants observed that in some parts of the province, such as at the newly the most common disasters affecting Sofala province were established hospital in the outskirts of the Nampula floods, wildfires and coastal erosion; while Manica province city. was mostly hit by wildfires, drought, earthquakes and water pollution. The research needs identified in this workshop Some challenges identified included the following: included: • Poor maintenance of some of the tourist attractions • Mapping areas prone to natural and human-induced despite the economic importance of this sector hazards and disasters • Poor use of available medical facilities (for example, 12 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 15. pregnancies are monitored in the hospital but deliveries • Quality control should be effected at all levels of mostly take place out of the hospital, so patients are education often rushed to hospital as a last resort after wasting • Bilingual education should be encouraged, to facilitate time and resources in traditional healing homes) access to scientific information. • High rates of absenteeism from work due to ill-health of workers or of their family members, and due to the General Discussion deaths of relatives Responding to the presentations for this session, the scientists • High rates of teenage pregnancy pointed out that Africa is very diversified and has problems • Government policy to centralize certain services, which as well as capabilities. While it is important to point out the frustrates private enterprises (for example, the high problems, it is also necessary to provide a clear picture of the capacity printing press in Nampula is operating below continent’s capabilities, and to identify what would be needed its potential because all school text books have to be to transform the potentials into products. produced in Maputo). It was also noted that much information and many For their part, the people of Nampula province questioned technologies are available on the continent, but that these why scientists have still not been able to produce a vaccine are not fully utilized. It is therefore necessary to improve the against HIV. This question was retained as a crucial research sharing of knowledge and technologies to optimize their need, in addition to the research areas identified in the ICSU utilization. ROA science plan on Health and Human Well-being, which also addresses most of the concerns of the Mozambican Concluding Remarks people. In her concluding remarks, Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director of ISTD at UNECA, emphasized the role of science and The workshop on education was held in Gaza province and technology (S&T) as a necessary tool for socio-economic it focused on discussing strategies to improve and facilitate development. She noted that knowledge is at the heart of education at all levels. The issues discussed included: development, and that qualified researchers are necessary • Adoption of the Unity for the Development of Basic to produce a broad base of knowledge relevant to the Education (UDEBA) approach for school construction solution of current and future societal problems. She drew and rehabilitation the attention of the audience to some crucial questions, such • Distance learning for communities with low population as how to strengthen S&T policy linkages with development densities policies; what lessons have been learnt from the past that • Development of tools for pedagogic supervision can enable effective STI policy implementation; and how • Encouragement of entrepreneurship among students to strengthen dialogue between politicians and scientists in • The role of higher education institutions in basic order to ensure the political leadership required to develop professional training and implement appropriate STI policies. • Development of indicators for assessment of quality and performance of the educational system Ms Opoku-Mensah remarked that politicians are concerned • The contribution of philosophy to education. with seeking strategies to solve real-life problems as quickly as possible. For this reason, the scientific knowledge that Participants at the workshop recommended that: interests them has to be relevant and applicable to a particular • Collaboration among teaching institutions in Africa policy problem. Such an approach tends to solve problems in should be encouraged and strengthened the short term, and places emphasis on quick results. She also • Regional integration of systems of educational should noted that scientists often complain about politicians not fully be encouraged appreciating the importance of their work, and that too much • Research in education should be oriented towards bureaucracy often slows down planned research activities. solving local problems She recommended the creation of more opportunities for • Entrepreneurship should be a priority in education interaction between the two parties so that the message • The role of technical training should be strengthened from scientists can be presented to politicians in language 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 13
  • 16. that non-specialists would understand. This would enable programme in basic sciences, and conferences for young as discussions that lead to useful scientific advice to policy, as well as female scientists well as feedback policy guidance to scientific research. Young Entrepreneurs for Africa (Sandra Irobi) 1.5 Closing Session Ms Sandra Irobi presented the Young Entrepreneurs for Africa (YEFA), an NGO established in The Netherlands Remarks by the Chair of ICSU RCA with the main objective of fostering the impact of Africa’s The Chair of the ICSU Regional Committee for Africa (ICSU professionals on the continent. She explained that YEFA RCA), Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, expressed appreciation has the vision to facilitate Africa’s development and to the ICSU Executive Board for agreeing to hold its 29th transformation through its own young students, graduates GA in sub-Saharan Africa for the first time in the history and active entrepreneurs, particularly those in the Diaspora. of the organization. He congratulated the Government This vision would be realized through practical techno-social of Mozambique for supporting AICIMO in its bid to host entrepreneurship engagement. The potential partners in this the GA, adding that both ICSU ROA and ICSU RCA had endeavour include educational institutions, African embassies committed themselves to share the challenge to ensure in host countries, as well as governments, the private sector the GA’s success with AICIMO and the government of and individuals. Mozambique. He praised the innovative idea of organizing pre-GA workshops, an initiative that gave additional flavour According to Ms Irobi, YEFA plans to achieve its mission by to the activities of the GA. providing information and training aimed at changing current mind-sets; using YEFA’s policy think tank to create awareness Professor Ogunmola expressed delight in seeing scientists and organize debates and relevant actions on Africa’s design from the whole world gathered to discuss science in Africa, and evaluation of investment policies to encourage young and cautioned that the continent ought not to be left professionals; providing platforms and opportunities to behind in the global development train. He reminded the create practical business start-ups; and facilitating peer-to- audience that ICSU ROA was the first of four ICSU Regional peer partnerships, networks, and collaborations with non- Offices to be established, and that it is, so far, taking the African counterparts. lead in implementation of the ICSU strategic plan through the preparation, publication and implementation of its four ICSU ROA Book launch (Sospeter Muhongo) science plans and the projects therein. He called on Africans The book, entitled Science, Technology and Innovation for to stand united in applying science and technology to solve Socio-Economic Development: Success stories from Africa, Africa’s numerous challenges, pointing out that ICSU ROA edited by ICSU ROA, was introduced by Professor Sospeter serves as the unifying factor for a consolidated scientific Muhongo, Director of the ICSU Regional Office for Africa. community on the continent. The aim of the book is to promote science education and research in Africa, and to showcase Africa’s contribution to the Statement from Professor Mohamed Hassan world’s development of STI as a legacy of the ICSU General (TWAS/AAS) Assembly. It will be useful to scientists, engineers, technologists, Professor Mohamed Hassan presented a brief history of the educators, and policy- and decision-makers engaged in Academy of Sciences for the Developing Countries (TWAS) socio-economic development programmes in Africa, as well and explained the purpose of its creation. He discussed the as to public and private sectors that have an interest in the main focus of TWAS, which is to promote human capacity sustainable utilization and profitable commercialization of development in developing countries. He pointed out that Africa’s natural resources. Professor Muhongo presented many nations need to build a critical mass of scientists, and the contents of the book and congratulated the contributing that this can be achieved by post-graduate training that authors and the editors. Professor Venancio Massingue, involves South-South as well as North-South cooperation. Minister of Science and Technology, Mozambique, officiated In this endeavour, TWAS organizes research capacity building at this launch. programmes such as, amongst others, the research grants 14 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 17. Statement from AMCOST Secretariat (Umar Bindir) 2 The Dialogue on Dr Umar Bindir stressed the link between government, Science, Technology and industry, and research and development, on the one hand, and Innovation in Africa the recognition and application of attributes of free market, rule of law and science-based technology on the other The dialogue was led by a panel composed of the Hon. hand. This phenomenon has worked for Europe and North Professor Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, Minister of Science and America, and is now being applied in Asia and Latin America. Technology, Sudan (Chair); the Hon. Derek Hanekom, Deputy It can also work for Africa. He emphasized the opportunities Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa; the Hon. Dr presented by the proper functioning of organizations such Becky Ndjoze-Ojo, Deputy Minister of Education, Namibia; as the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, Chair of ICSU Regional (AMCOST) working closely with partners such as ICSU Committee for Africa; and Dr Umar Bindir, Secretary General ROA, UNECA, UNESCO, and others. of AMCOST. Professor Sospeter Muhongo, Director of ICSU ROA, introduced the dialogue, explaining that it aimed at Dr Bindir noted that Africa is increasingly recognizing the having an in-depth discussion of some of the issue raised importance of science and technology in addressing the during the Symposium, and based on the implementation numerous problems faced by the continent’s communities. of the ICSU ROA science plans. He outlined the following He cited, as examples, the adoption of the theme “Science topics to be covered in the dialogue: and Technology” for the year 2007 at the 8th Summit of (i) The role of STI in the attainment of the Millennium African Heads of State and Government in January 2007; the Development Goals (MDGs) resolution by the African Heads of State and Government (ii) STI partnership between Africa and Europe, and the to commit a minimum of 1% of their GDP to research and rest of the world development; the numerous conferences and workshops (iii) The involvement of the African Diaspora in STI activities held recently on the continent focusing on science and in Africa technology; and the dedicated involvement of African (iv) Funding of science research and development (R&D) in government representatives in the one-day Symposium in Africa. discussing science, technology and innovation in Africa. Closing Remarks (Hon.Venancio Massingue) 2.1 The Role of STI in the The Minister of Science and Technology of the Republic of Attainment of the Millennium Mozambique, Professor Venancio Massingue, expressed his Development Goals appreciation for the smooth organization of the Symposium, and the enthusiasm with which both scientists and policy From the discussion on this topic, the makers engaged in valuable discussions. He thanked ICSU following points emerged. ROA for creating the opportunity for such a discussion (i) The MDGs were conceived in the “dire need of forum, which benefited from the presence of renowned emergency solutions to address Africa’s problems”, but scientists from around the world. The Minister expressed it is important to recognize that African countries need great satisfaction with the proceedings of the Symposium, and more than emergency solutions to problems. They recommended the adoption of developmental approaches need actions towards sustainable development. The that would target the grassroots’ population to improve their MDGs do not completely cover the desired drivers of livelihoods. He then declared the Symposium closed. development. For example, energy is not among the MDGs but it is an essential driver of all other aspects of development. The MDGs and the infrastructure required to achieve them were never discussed with the people targeted in the goals. A holistic approach, where science becomes the driver, is required for these goals to be achieved. 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 15
  • 18. (ii) Achievement of the MDGs follows a linear progression 2.2 STI Partnership between Africa that needs to be dealt with professionally. For example, and Europe, and the Rest of poverty cannot be alleviated when the people are not the World educated. Universal education, therefore, constitutes the starting point to achieve the goal of reducing From the discussion on this topic the poverty. following points were raised. (iii) Science and technology development needs to be (i) There are numerous openings for partnership established systematically at all levels, including research between Africa and the industrialized countries. in basic and applied sciences, and the commercialization The Blair convention for example, advocates for EU of the products of science, engineering and technology. funding to support research and development in Africa. (iv) Governments know the “real” objectives of the MDGs, However, some pressure is required from the African but have failed to recognize the essential drivers governments to get such plans implemented. required to achieve these goals. These drivers include (ii) There are some partnership projects already in operation, adaptation of science and technology in order to such as the Europe–Africa partnership for capacity reduce dependence and to create jobs; protection building workshops in the basic sciences. This initiative of intellectual property rights; and development of is driven by the European Science Foundation (ESF), the country-specific models synergized by the AU through Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW), the NEPAD and AMCOST. Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) and (v) It is necessary to encourage multi-stakeholder and ICSU through its Regional Office for Africa. multidisciplinary partnerships to leverage outputs (iii) African research groups and universities have benefited towards meeting the MDGs. from funding from European countries such as Sweden, (vi) Experts and specialized institutions with expertise in but most African countries lack organized research specific fields need to be engaged by governments at groups with which such funded partnerships can be national and regional scales to address the relevant established. In some cases, partnership funds are MDGs pertaining to their expertise. diverted through corrupt practices. (vii) The diversity of Africa and the wide variation in individual (iv) There are many uncoordinated programmes in Africa, country specificities must be considered in designing and the AU should be the nucleus through which programmes to meet the MDGs. Implementation of efforts may be channelled. However, it should be the programmes also requires mobilizing and involving recognized that strategies for partnership in research the targeted local communities. Such programmes support vary from one country to another, based on should have well defined measurable impacts on the the specific country priorities. Therefore, continent- population. scale partnership frameworks may be difficult to (viii) National governments need to set visible milestones to achieve. assess the level of implementation and achievements of (v) Partnership initiatives should not focus only on Europe, development programmes. but also look elsewhere. For example, cooperation (ix) Agriculture is the main economic activity in Africa between Africa and other leading developing countries and should be given priority in most development such as China, India, South Korea and Brazil needs to be programmes. strengthened. South-South cooperation should exploit (x) The UN Millennium report by the Task Force on the potential within the continent before going abroad. Science, Technology and Innovation under the Tri-lateral (South-South-North) partnerships should leadership of Professor Calestus Juma, “Innovation: also be encouraged. Success stories in any African applying knowledge in development”, needs to be country should be identified and replicated in other systematically analysed to see how it can be applied to countries facing similar problems. meet the MDGs. The report deals mainly with issues (vi) It is important for African countries to get their houses of infrastructure development, energy and transport in in order first, interact more with each other, and share Africa. their experiences and challenges, before reaching out for partnership. 16 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 19. (vii) Partnership programmes should aim at transfer and studies (CARS), which is hosted at the University of domestication of science and technology. South Africa (UNISA). Other potential partners in this (viii) Partnership requires equal strength of negotiation project are AU/NEPAD, the Development Bank of and equal knowledge, but this is not usually the case. Southern Africa (DBSA) and UNESCO. Partnership programmes should be relevant to the (iv) The CARS, in collaboration with its partners, is currently African agenda. African governments should engage conducting a study on the establishment of centres of development partners on specific terms as equal excellence involving African experts in the Diaspora. partners, and not on giver–taker arrangements. (v) Some African experts in the Diaspora have become Opportunities need to be created for foreign interests significant icons in the world of STI. Such individuals, as, to match local interests on the challenges identified. for example, the Malian IT engineer working for NASA, (ix) Equal strength in partnership negotiations requires should specifically be targeted to develop STI in Africa. experts in the field, and this may call for training of (vi) The African Diaspora can be involved through scientists to be policy advisers and to represent their partnership projects, whereby a project in Africa is governments in partnership negotiations. Such scientists funded by a foreign institution hosting the Diaspora. need to be informed about the issues where advice is Such projects will provide the opportunity for needed and should focus on the set goals. members of the African Diaspora to employ their skills (x) Partnership initiatives are often frustrated by the fact to develop STI on the continent. that government officials have to face such challenges (vii) Expertise of the African Diaspora can already be as finding compromises between local political agendas, exploited by involving its members in relevant on-going geo-politics, and conflicting donor interests. development programmes. 2.3 Involvement of the African 2.4 Funding of Science Research Diaspora in STI and Activities and Development in Africa in Africa From the discussion of funding mechanisms for science With regard to involvement of the African Diaspora in research and development (R&D) in Africa the following STI activities on the continent, it was admitted that several points were raised. initiatives have been made and that there is now a strong (i) African researchers operate in a vicious cycle of no recognition of the need to harmonize the efforts and drive research funding ↔ no output. Governments need to be the process forward, building from the ongoing activities sensitized by scientists to break this cycle by providing while learning from lessons of the past. The following specific dedicated funding for research, with the budget for issues were raised. salaries separated from that for conducting research. (i) The concept of the African Diaspora is evolving and (ii) Each country needs to get its R&D programme right there is no specificity on how to tackle it. before considering how to fund it. Local funding should (ii) The initiative of the African Diaspora plough-back be exploited first before supplementary funding is came from members of the Diaspora themselves in sought from elsewhere. Donor funding goes with the the first place, so it is not necessary to discuss how to risk of compromising Africa’s independence, as donor engage them, but rather to discuss the frameworks that interest may conflict with and compromise the interest need to be put in place to facilitate this engagement. and agenda of the recipient. The AU report on the Diaspora initiative has indicated (iii) Most S&T funding from government is limited to the what each party ought to do. payment of salaries, while the actual research has to rely (iii) One ongoing initiative that should be built upon is on external funding. AU/NEPAD should re-orientate its that of establishing a database of African experts in plans to focus more on funding research to solve local the Diaspora. This is an elaborate project run by ICSU problems. ROA, the National Research Foundation (NRF) of (iv) There seems to be a conflict of interest in the AU/ South Africa, and the Centre for African Renaissance NEPAD STCPA, whereby governments and the 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 17
  • 20. research community are divided on the governance of 2.5 Issues of General Concern the implementation of the plan. This conflict may be resolved by developing a hybrid plan. (i) Capacity building remains a big challenge on the (v) Africa needs to know how to deploy its resources. This continent. One step towards resolving the issue could requires setting priorities and developing a regional be to match African higher education institutions strategy. With such a strategy, donor funding can be with those in developed countries for collaboration requested and obtained through a unitary structure in research and training through staff and student rather than through fragmented requests from exchange programmes. individual institutions or governments. It is necessary (ii) Vocational training needs to be reinforced and incentives to understand the operational modalities of global created for science students at all educational levels. conventions that fund development projects in order (iii) Functioning ICT infrastructure needs to be to be able to benefit from such funding. strengthened on the continent as this constitutes an (vi) Big endowment funding is needed, which, if properly essential tool for linkages among scientists, as well as invested, should be able to generate further funding in for broader connectivity among various role players in future. Governments can raise substantial endowment socio-economic development. funds through simple and easily applicable taxation, (iv) Each country needs to carry out stringent self- such as, for example, a minimal tax on telephone calls. examination through a SWOT analysis, and then design (vii) Research funding needs to be distributed between its way forward. Sometimes available technologies fundamental or basic research (to keep pace with the cannot be applied because of governance constraints. rest of the world) and applied research to solve local (v) It is important to develop local facilities for training, so problems. as to curb brain drain. (viii) African policy-makers seem to have submitted to foreign (vi) The concept of centres of excellence does not seem forces for the development of the continent. Both to be a priority for Africa. It might be more useful to government and the private sector need imperatively deploy efforts for attainment of excellence at various to contribute to research and development. Proper levels than simply to designate institutions as centres of legislation is required to enforce such obligatory excellence. contributions. Governments need to create incentives (vii) Application of science and technology for sustainable for the private sector to invest in R&D. development requires the deployment of simple but (ix) There is too much bureaucracy in science and tangible solutions to common societal problems. technology, whereby the bulk of the budget goes into (viii) There is a need to improve communication among administration, with too little trickling down to fund government, R&D communities or agencies, and the research. private sector on issues relating to the application of (x) To attract research funding, projects need to be S&T for development. designed to have a visible impact on the glaring (ix) Outstanding scientists are often withdrawn from problems facing local communities. Standards need to practicing science and, instead, are loaded with be set for identifying ‘first class’ research in Africa, which administrative responsibilities, which reduce the capacity can attract private sector buy-in and funding. to conduct science. Such senior scientists deployed to (xi) Some foreign donors have lost faith in African administration need to continue to be available for institutions because of poor accountability for research the development of science and for training a new grants. Sometimes the funds are diverted to other uses generation of scientists. and nothing is left to implement the R&D projects. (xii) Africa lacks organized research groups that can attract the interest of foreign donors. There is no proper coordination of efforts within or among African countries. 18 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 21. 2.6 The Dialogue on STI in Africa: funded the participation of more than 25 South African participants. Proposed Resolutions (iii) The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) provided ICSU ROA with funds to facilitate the The following resolutions were proposed. participation of DAAD alumni in Africa. (i) Create national, regional and international research (iv) The International Foundation for Science (IFS) provided groups to address specific problems by applying funds to ICSU ROA to facilitate the participation of IFS science, technology and innovation. grantees in Africa. (ii) Create a research fund under the umbrella of AU/ (v) The World Bank provided funds to the Ministry of UNECA/ICSU ROA to guide appropriate funding of Science and Technology (MCT), Mozambique, to targeted problem-solving research into burning issues support local organizational expenses. on the continent. (vi) The Mozambican Airport Authority (Aeroportos de (iii) Create linkages of research groups with the private Moçambique) provided funds to the Government sector to fund research for business promotion and of Mozambique through MCT, to facilitate travel poverty alleviation. arrangements for government invitees. (iv) Set up research standards for first-class research in (vii) Millennium BIM and Ernst & Young provided funds to Africa so that the results can be taken up as investments MCT to support local organizational expenses. by the business sector. (viii) The Mozambican Electricity Corporation (Electricidade (v) Adopt existing success stories in Africa and apply them de Moçambique) supported the MCT in paying some in other countries with similar problems. of the bills. (vi) Hold frequent dialogues between researchers and (ix) Mcel (a Mozambican cell phone company) supported policy-makers to enable better understanding of the the MCT in paying some bills, in addition to offering roles played by each party and the challenges faced, free starter packs to members of the Local Organizing and to enable them, jointly, to map a sustainable and Committee. impact-yielding research and development agenda. (x) Hidroelectrica de Cabora Bassa (HCB) pledged (vii) Create an enabling environment for African human a financial donation to MCT to facilitate some resources, including those in the Diaspora, to contribute organizational expenses. to STI development on the continent. Acknowledgements The ICSU Regional Office for Africa and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mozambique, are profoundly grateful to the following institutions for financial and/or material donations that have been vital for the successful organization of the 29th ICSU General Assembly and its Associated Events. (i) The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) provided funds to ICSU ROA to facilitate the participation of African scientists, including those in Published by: ICSU Regional Office for Africa the Diaspora, and government officials (Ministers). P.O. Box 13252 Hatfield SIDA also provided funds to the Government of 0028 Pretoria Mozambique (Ministry of Science and Technology) to Republic of South Africa defray certain local organizational expenses. Tel: +27 (0)12 4814090 (ii) The National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa, Email: secretariat@icsu-africa.org; icsuroa@gmail.com provided all the stationery and publicity material for www.icsu-africa.org the 29th ICSU GA and its Associated Events, and 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events ICSU ROA 19
  • 22. Notes 20 ICSU ROA 29th ICSU GA – Report On Associated Events
  • 24. Regional Of fice for Africa ICSU ROA Contact Details ICSU Regional Office for Africa PO Box 13252 0028 HATFIELD PRETORIA Republic of South Africa Tel: +27 12 481 4090 Fax: + 27 12 481 4273 Fax: +27 86 518 0907 secretariat@icsu-africa.org