SA hailed for strides made in technology and innovation
SOUTH Africa has been hailed at the 2018 Science Forum South Africa (SFSA) for the strides it has made in advancing Science Technology and Innovation (STI) locally and across the continent.
More than 3 000 researchers, scientists, policy-makers and students from all over the world have attended the forum. Its meeting in Pretoria ends today.
Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology Professor Sarah Anyang Agbor said: “We need to change our narrative and make sure our science is for development and does not remain in publications on the shelf, but responds to topical issues and the challenges of our societies.”
Agbor said she looked forward to next year to celebrating concrete actions on new discoveries, innovation and perhaps an African Nobel Prize for distinguished scientists with groundbreaking discoveries.
Agbor lauded South Africa for the strides it had made in advancing STI locally and across the continent.
She praised the Spring Bots, a group of teenagers who won gold at an international robotics competition, and the young scientists who gave a presentation on their work at the MeerKAT project.
She said the example set by South Africa should be emulated by the rest of the continent.
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre director-general Dr Vladimír Šucha said that what South Africa had done in STI in such a short time was impressive.
He said South Africa had seen exponential growth in STI with limited funds because there was drive and energy to succeed.
“Science must be open to the public… it must not be elitist. It must come out of its ivory towers and disciplinary silos to address societal challenges,” Šucha said.
Science and Technology Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane opened the SFSA with a call for people-centred science.
Kubayi-Ngubane said this should be done by drawing on the legacy of all who fought and sacrificed for a free and democratic South Africa.
She encouraged putting science diplomacy into practice by building a better South Africa in a better Africa and a better world.
The SFSA was an instrument to contribute to the attainment of several of the strategic objectives of the Department of Science and Technology, and the goals set out in South Africa’s new draft White Paper on STI, she said. The goals of the forum include stimulating a vibrant debate on the role of STI in society; creating a networking platform for key science, technology and innovation actors, including government leaders, academics, scientists, industry, civil society, and students; promoting international STI partnerships profiling South Africa as a preferred international partner for co-operation in science and innovation.
“We would also like the forum to be a platform for engagements on using STI for the advancement of the AU Agenda 2063 and the STI Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024) which places science, technology and innovation at the epicentre of Africa’s socio-economic development and growth,” Kubayi-Ngubane said.
Science must come out of disciplinary silos to address societal challenges
DR VLADIMIR ŠUCHA
Joint Research Centre Director-General