December (2008)

December (2008)

19 December 2008 - Seasons Greetings From the CAAST-Net Editorial Desk

With Christmas fast approaching, and the summer in full swing for those of us in the South, it's holiday time and an opportunity to rejuvenate in preparation for year two of CAAST-Net, and more exciting developments in the Africa-Europe science and technology landscape.

Should you have any queries about CAAST-Net, click here for information on the project and the contact details of the project coordination team in London and Kenya.

Updates on this page will resume as of 5 January 2009 with an increasing emphasis placed on identifying and targeting a number different readerships (the press, policymakers and public officials, researchers and students, the public).

We look forward to building this platform with you for greater engagement on bi-regional S&T issues in 2009.

Happy holidays!

18 December 2008 - 29th ICSU General Assembly in Mozambique a "Great Success"

More than 270 participants attended the 29th International Council for Science's General Assembly between 21 and 24 October. The event was a "great success," the ICSU reported in their December newsletter. It was the first time an assembly has been held in sub-Saharan Africa, and the first time all three regional offices have participated. In the same newsletter, the ICSU also announced the signing of a "new six-year Framework Agreement with UNESCO for 2008-2013" to "work in partnership with UNESCO to promote international cooperation in science, plan and coordinate international and interdisciplinary research, assist in integrating science into internationalpolicy making, and promote the Principle of the Universality of Science." For coverage of the assembly, click here. For highlights, click here. A book, Science, Technology, and Innovation for Socio-economic Development: Success Stories from Africa, launched at the forum will be available from the ICSU in 2009.

11 December 2008 - The Pathway to Economic Growth

The twenty fifth anniversary of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) was also the occasion for publishing reflections by key thinkers in the field of science, technology and developing world in A World of Science in the Developing World. In an article entitled, "Learn to Earn," Calestous Juma makes explicit the connection between research, innovation, product development and profit. "Leaders in Africa and other developing countries face huge challenges in meeting the basic needs of their people and competing in the global economy. Yet, unlike their predecessors, who had to make do with limited technical knowledge, they have a wealth of scientific and technological knowhow at their disposal. Innovation is at the centre of economic growth. The challenge, however, is not so much to build from scratch as to use expanding technological opportunities to their advantage. This does not mean that developing countries should avoid investing in basic research and development (R&D), but rather that R&D should be guided by the need to adapt existing knowledge to local markets." To read the full article click here.

11 December 2008 - Evidence to Action: The Aids 2008 Impact Report

The Aids 2008 Impact Report is now available for download from the website of the XVII International Aids Conference, which was held in Mexico City from 3 to 8 August 2008. For photographs from the conference, click here.

10 December 2008 - New Recruit For the ASTII

The African Initiative on Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (ASTII) has a new member: Nigeria. According to Research Africa In Brief, last week that country launched the pilot phase of the ASTII, joining a host of African countries in an effort to monitor and evaluate the impact of S&T on the continent.

9 December 2008 - Thousands of Delegates Attend Biggest ICT Event of 2008

ICT 2008 was held in Lyon, France, between 25 and 27 November 2008. The event was attended by as many as 4500 delegates, the ICT 2008 website reports.

Links
Photographs
A speech by Luc Chatel
Video

9 December 2008 - The Latest FP7 Calls

Go direct to the CORDIS website for the latest FP7 calls or visit the CAAST-Net FP7 page. To access the "Practical Guide to to EU Funding Opportunities for Research and Innovation" click here.

9 December 2008 - Environmental Change Experts to Meet at ICSU Africa Workshop

The Regional Office for Africa of the International Council for Science (ISCU) are organising a workshop for experts on global environmental change (to include climate change and adaption). The workshop will be held in Pretoria, South Africa, between 9 and 11 February 2009. To download the call for papers click [here .

5 December 2008 - CODIST-I - The First Session

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has announced that the first session of the Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-I) will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, between 28 April and 1 May 2009. The successor of CODI (Committee on Development Information), CODIST recognises the importance of S&T in meeting global development aims and objectives. The theme for CODIST-I is Scientific Development and the Knowledge Economy, and the workshop will engage multiple stakeholders through amultilevel programme of events, workshops and sessions. For more information, contact the ECA's Alex Tindimubona.

4 December 2008 - Intellectual and Experiential Resources from TWAS, Free

The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) has released a freely accessible issue of A World of Science in the Developing World. The issue includes more than thirty-five articles by various scholars and practitioners on a range of key issues at the nexus of science,technology and the developing world.

4 December 2008 - ICSU Regional Office for Africa Knuckles Down

A non-govermental organisation founded in 1931, the International Council for Science established its Africa regional office (ROA) in 2005. Since then, the ROA has developed four science plans identified by the ISCU Regional Committee for Africa, which it is beginning to implement. These plans include specific projects in energy, hazards and disasters, health and well-being and HIV/Aids, biomedicine, climate change and land, among other fields. Copies of the plans can be attained from Bongani Mahlela. Further information about participation in the implementation of the plans can be sought from Dr. Daniel Nyanganyura (sustainable energy and climate change) or Dr. Andrew Enow (human health and hazards and disasters). To go to the ICSU-Africa website - clic here.

4 December 2008 - European Commission Assistance for ACP Countries

The European Commission has dedicated 24.5 million euros to the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIFF), in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change and other catastrophes on beneficiaries in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Payments will be made once conditions have exceeded those of a predetermined index - for example, rain fall, wind speed, seismic activity - and will be directed at, among others, those living in low-income and rural households, as well as smallholders. To find out more click here. To download the GIFF concept note click here.

3 December 2008 - Greece and Sweden Lead by Example in NIP Training and Development

Greek coordinator for INCONTACT, Help-Forward's Epaminondas Christofilopoulos, alongside Karin Hjorth-Rybbe, a representative from Sweden's VINNOVA (the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems), produced a massive effort to relay key information and lessons to the various African representatives on day two of the INCONTACT (Network of National Contact Points for International Scientific Cooperation Activities) workshop, held in Pretoria on 1 and 2 December.

The workshop was aimed at building the capacity of African National Information Points (providers of information and advice to potential participant's in the European Commission's Framework Programmes) in order to stimulate greater participation in FP7 specifically, but also future programmes.

Both Christofilopoulos and Hjorth-Rybbe shared experience and best practices from their respective organisations, which have been involved in the FPs since the early 1990s.

Many excellent strategic but also practical suggestions were tabled for building NCP capacity, including the importance of establishing vast networks and maintaining up-to-date, effective advisory services.

The workshop paves the way for the development of an already emergent African continental NCP network, though it is clear that much remains to be achieved to increase the number of successful African FP proposals.

Up until now, some of the difficulties to participation in the Framework Programme cited by African representatives were of a practical nature - the availability of time, unreliable Internet connectivity, power interruptions and shortages, as well as difficulty in telephone communications - while other difficulties were of a technical nature, and concerned the "complex" nature of FP7 and its associated instruments.

What is encouraging, nonetheless, is that a wide pool of resources and expertise does exist from which African NCPs can draw assistance from.

The afternoon session saw CAAST-Net representative from Kenya's Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Joseph Odhiambo, outline the objectives of CAAST-Net, with further input from South Africa's Department of Science and Technology representative Mmboneni Muofhe. Odhiambo and Muofhe emphasised the "high-level" role that CAAST-Net aims to play in identifying areas of mutual interest in science and technology between the EU and Africa.

With a shift in the way in which S&T priorities were understood -that is, as global in nature - there would be many thematic areas in which synergies would be possible, Yasser Elshayeb, a representative from Egypt argued further. Like South Africa, Egypt has also developed a strong network of NCPs.

Perhaps the key point that emerged out of the workshop more generally was this: while national S&T priorities remain important and pressing, finding ways to align these priorities with those of the EU will forge new crucibles of opportunity for both the EU and Africa; and realising the fruits of these new opportunities therefore remains both the challenge and the imperative. Here, NIPs have a vital role to play.

The case is therefore strong for continued training and development of African NIPs.

For more information about INCONTACT contact Epaminondas Christofilopoulos.

2 December 2008 - Workshop Encourages Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa FP Participation

The first day of the INCONTACT workshop was informative and detailed. A range of presentations were delivered by INCONTACT partners on various aspects of the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme, including a broad overview of FP7 and its four facets (People, Ideas, Cooperation, Capacities), a summary of the key legal and financial aspects of participation, and a targeted presentation on FP7's People programme.

Mmboneni Muofhe, General Manager of International Resources from South Africa's Department of Science and Technology, who is also a representative of CAAST-Net, opened the workshop. He stressed the strategic importance of South Africa's participation in the Framework Programmes since the mid-1990s, and the possibilities for greater participation going forward. However, Muofhe also emphasised the low success rate of FP7 applicants from Sub-Saharan Africa - between ten and 25 percent - though South Africa has recently experienced a greater success rate relative to its early FP involvements.

This success was an indication, he said, of the value of modest but consistent efforts at participation over time, citing South Africa as an example that Sub-Saharan African countries - many of whose FP proposals have not been successful - could draw experience from.

FP7 is by far the largest European research platform since the emergence of the EU, with a total value of over 50 million euros.

Michel Genovese, representative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research, who spoke after Muofhe, complemented South Africa's efforts to engage in FP projects, but also argued that much work remains to be done to increase the participation of Sub-Saharan African countries in FP7 and future programmes.

Genovese said he was positive, however, that the factors inhibiting this growth can be overcome with greater information sharing and strategic alignment of European and African research priorities.

Workshop participants showed positive signs of critical engagement with the workshop organisers and with each other, with more useful exchanges expected the second day.

1 December 2008 - INCONTACT Workshop Kicks Off

The INCONTACT workshop kicked off today at the Centurion Lake Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa. The workshop is aimed at building the capacity of national information points for the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme. The hosts are South Africa's Department of Science and Technology in conjunction with CAAST-Net.