Yamoussoukro - Cote d'Ivoire — The 2nd Conference of ECOWAS Ministers responsible for Science and Technology ended on Saturday, 24th March, 2012 in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast with the adoption of the an ECOWAS policy on science and technology (ECOPOST) and its action plan.
The ministers, who also approved and adopted the criteria for centers of excellence in ECOWAS and endorsed the conclusions of the experts meeting, made a series of recommendations to the Member States and ECOWAS Commission. Thus it was particularly requested that the Commission creates a Directorate for Science, Technology and innovation because of the key role and importance of these sectors for the socioeconomic development of the sub-region. Ministers also called for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of regional ECOPOST.
They also called on the Commission to create a one-stop "science and technology" in its Solidarity Fund to finance research and development in science and technology, on the one hand, and to facilitate the provision of external funding for research for specific sectors, on the other. They also called the Commission to extend the identification of centers of excellence for doctoral schools. Ministers also called the Community institutions to organize a bi annual forums on science, technology and innovation (STI) as the Conference of ECOWAS Ministers in charge of ITS. They also endorsed the proposal of Benin to host the next conference of ministers.
With regard to ECOWAS Member States, their recommendation was made to develop national policies for ITS, to create a fund to finance research and development in science and technology and above all their commitment to devote 1% of their GDP to finance the TSI, according to the Lagos Accord. Member states are also invited to work with the ECOWAS Commission in collecting data for the development of indicators on ITS at regional level. They are also asked to align their initiatives with the existing ITS activities at regional, continental and international levels.
In making the closing ceremony, the Ivorian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Ibrahim Cisse Bacongo, expressed satisfaction with the adoption of ECOPOST in that it presents, in his a comparative advantage for ECOWAS member states who will use it as a model to adjust or formulate national policy on STI, at least for those who do not yet have. "My fervent wish is that ECOPOST either ECOWAS compass for the improvement of the existing concepts for implementing a high-performance in science, technology and innovation," said Cisse Bacongo while recognizing that any policy is only meaningful if it is effectively implemented and accompanied by a system of ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Commissioner for Human Development and Gender of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Adrienne Diop, also appreciated the true value of the adoption ECOPOST.
The implementation of this policy, she said, will be projected to the sub-region economic growth accelerated development. On the sidelines of the conference, the two winners respectively in the fields of life and earth science and basic sciences, technology and innovation of the 2011 competition organized by the African Union and whose component "Women Scientists" is implemented by the ECOWAS Commission, were presented to the audience. These teachers Mireille Dosso and Carmen Rita Kakou Carolina Yao.
Other distinction, that of Marie Madeleine Coulibaly Nahaclan Mikan, won the second prize of the promotion of African languages in the sixth edition of the Excellence Award of ECOWAS to promote research and creativity. She received from the hands of the Commissioner for Human Development and Gender of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Adrienne Diop, a budget of 5,000 dollars.
