Debating role of science in SA
PRETORIA: How research and innovation can be used best to promote Africa’s growth and development will be one of the topics discussed at the Science Forum South Africa, which starts at the CSIR International Convention Centre today.
Under the theme, Igniting Conversations About Science , the two-day conference will see about 1500participants from 45 countries exchanging ideas on the interface between science, technology and innovation for a better society.
South Africa is widely expected to utilise the conference as a vehicle to strengthen its strategic international science, technology and innovation partnerships.
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said the intention of the host nation was to make the conference a regular feature of the science calendar.
Pandor has pushed repeatedly for greater investment in research and development, as well as human capital in South Africa.
During her budget vote earlier this year, she warned that inadequate resources for research and innovation would deny government the opportunity to “realise the full potential of the difference science and innovation can make in a society”.
The conference is inspired by other “open science” conferences such as the European Science Open Forum, American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as Science, Technology and Society Forum in Japan, and Pandor’s belief that to lead in innovation, countries have to form partnerships.
Among the talking-points will be challenges associated with developing human capital for the knowledge economy and a topic on how research and innovation can best be used to promote the continent’s growth and development. Climate change, agriculture will also feature.
Lectures will be given on a variety of subjects including large-scale research infrastructure, with focus on the Russian perspective on mega science projects such as the Square Kilometre Array: Big Telescope, Big Science, Big Data.
“Public health will again be in the spotlight, with a lecture focussing on what the guidelines for the development are, and the effective use of point of care diagnostic tools when managing diseases in poor resource clinics in South Africa,” said Pandor, who is deliver the opening address at the event.
More than 50 South African and international organisations, including a number of embassies, will showcase their work at an exhibition forming part of the forum.
As part of the conference, there will be the first South African Science Diplomacy Awards hosted to celebrate partnerships that have made a significant contribution towards making the world a better place.
The new Science International partnership involving the International Council for Science Union, World Academy of Sciences, Inter-Academy Panel, and the International Social Science Council will be launched.
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