With the objective is to find practical solutions to prevailing problems in Africa through technology, The African Development Bank and its partners are set to coordinate the second Ministerial Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in Africa. The forum will take place at the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology in Rabat, Morocco from 14 to 17 October 2014.
Hosted by the Government of Morocco, and organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Finland, this Forum will consist of a pre-forum (October 14), two technical conference days (October 15-16) and a Ministerial Forum (October 17).
This upcoming forum comes after the first ministerial conference on Science, Technology and Innovation hosted by the Government of Kenya two years ago. Designed to raise the political awareness of Science and Technology in Africa, it aimed to promote youth employment, human capital growth and development. Successfully putting STI at the center of policy dialogue in Africa, it gathered over 40 Ministers of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.
This years forum aims at engaging African Ministers in charge of Higher Education, Science,Technology and Industry in a dialogue with the private sector, academia, diaspora, civil society and scientific communities globally on how to promote inclusive and green growth through scientific and technological innovation in Africa.
For this upcoming forum, key objectives include assessing the current state of science technology and innovation in Africa, at the same time showcasing global best practices in innovations in water, energy, natural resources, education, health, agriculture and climate change. More so, making informed choices about the applications of ICT to improve development effectiveness while developing skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are two key objectives. Building strategic partnerships to move the STI agenda forward would also be discussed in the forum.
Also in the STI Forum, the best practices from Africa and around the world for addressing technology as a practical solution to problem in development would be showcased in which programs would be explored on how they can be developed and implemented in Africa, so that the African Development Bank and partners can finance.
As such the AfDB has partnered with World Summit Award (WSA) to launch a Special Africa Content Award in mobile technology in 35 African countries, a global initiative in the framework of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that selects best practices in interactive content from all UN member states. For the first time, WSA will organize a special competition across Africa to recognize innovative and creative applications from Africa contributing to an inclusive knowledge society. The African winners will receive their awards during the forum in Rabat, and present their innovations to the public.
The pre-forum will consist of an innovation exhibition organized jointly with the Moroccan Innovation Center to provide an opportunity for African innovators to showcase their work.
The event would also give an opportunity to guests to visit to technoparks, higher education and research institutions preparing graduates for the labor market in partnership with the International University of Rabat will also be organized for interested participants.
For bookings and registration contact the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology in Rabat on +212 537 75 01 79 / 537 63 53 76 / 537 63 53 77.
