The African Development Bank (AfDB) joins forces with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the African Union Commission (AUC), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and UNESCO to organize a Regional Forum on "Education and Training for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)" in Africa, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya from November 7-11, 2011.

Through this regional forum of exchange of knowledge and ideas in STI we hope to achieve the following:

Learn about progress made by African countries since the last Global STI Forum held in 2009;

Present existing knowledge on best practices in promoting STI for inclusive growth and social development in Africa;

Support RMCs by providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge and ideas on STI, bringing together key stakeholders and experts in the field to present latest research and programs;

Build networks between governments, private sector, higher education and research institutions within Africa and globally;

Learn about status of national STI action plans, leverage the work of development partners and prepare the ground to help African countries implement their STI action plans;

Explore possible operations for the promotion of STI that could be funded by AfDB and other development partners;

Foster regional cooperation on STI among higher education institutions to cater to an increasingly demand-driven education system.

Why this forum?

Countries committed to support African youth to take up science, technology and engineering during the 2007 African Union Heads of State Summit on "Science, Technology, Scientific Research and Climate Change in Africa". Specifically, countries supported science and technology teaching, research and innovation, development of African universities and other institutions of higher education in science, technology and engineering education, regional as well as south-south and north-south cooperation in science and technology, centers of excellence, and increase funding for national, regional and continental programs in science and technology.

Target audience

The Regional Forum is expected to gather approximately 160-200 participants comprising of:

Policymakers and senior technical staff from Ministries of education, science and technology, and labor (2 per country in all 53 African countries)

Representatives from Centers of Excellence in Africa

Students and Youth (CSOs, youth organizations)

Practitioners from the Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation and skills development fields (technical institutes, universities, research institutes)

Participants from both the public and private sectors in areas that include ICT, telecom, health, climate change, environment, agriculture, industry, and finance

Regional and international experts involved in the establishment and implementation of STI (development organizations, RECs, AU)

African Diasporas who have distinguished themselves in the field of STI

Nobel Prize and African Union Scientific Awards Laureates.

Contacts

African Union Commission: Masheleni Hambani

ADEA: Ms. Khadija Khoudari

AfDB: Ms. Nawsheen Elaheebocus

UNECA: Mr. Thierry Amoussougbo