South Africa, Mr Mosibude Mangena, during South AfricaâUnited Kingdom Day
hosted by the Royal Society in London, UK
31 January 2006
Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister,
Professor Julia Higgins, Foreign Secretary, Royal Society,
Richard Catlow, the Royal Institution and the University College of
London,
Professor Michael Brown, Vice Chancellor, Liverpool John Moores
University,
Dr John Rowett, Secretary-General, the Association of Commonwealth
Universities,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen
This day marks a special date in the history of our two countries as we
celebrate the South Africa Day in the United Kingdom. It is a day where we
celebrate the many achievements of our Science, Technology and Innovation
partnership. More importantly, we want this day to mark a point of inflection,
a day which takes our already good relationship to a higher and even more
vibrant level. In all our endeavours, we should never lose sight of the need to
use our collective capacities, energies and goodwill to contribute towards the
improvement of the lives of both our citizens and the global community,
especially those living in the developing world.
Science and technology (S&T) often exists in a "disembodied form" in
public consciousness. It seems to happen in a strange world where the linkage
with humanity is minimised or lost. Popular culture also reinforces this
dissonance by creating a stronger association between science and "aliens"
rather than between science and the wellbeing of humanity. We must work harder
to strengthen the public face of science. The S&T community also needs to
be much more overt in demonstrating the contribution of Science, Technology and
Innovation to the socio-economic improvement of peopleâs lives. While we have
made some inroads in creating an international following around the core role
of S&T in improving competitiveness, we clearly need to do much more to
develop an international commitment to invest in S&T as a core instrument
for tackling poverty in a sustainable manner.
The signing of the SA-UK bilateral S&T Agreement in 1995 marked a joint
commitment to intensify our science and technology collaboration. The
establishment of the Joint Research Fund fuelled our partnership at researcher
level. Our work in Biomedicine, Biotechnology, Environmental Protection and
more effective use of Natural Resources have benefited from this co-operation.
A number of lasting research collaborations has been established and many young
scientists and engineers have had rich experiences of international exposure
with the resultant benefits of developing relevance and excellence in research.
And in December 2002, we signed a Networking Agreement that brought together
researchers from our countries to develop partnerships in natural sciences,
mathematics and engineering. We are pleased that a growing number of
researchers are utilising this instrument.
South Africa continues to seek innovative solutions to everyday challenges.
We continue to explore strategic partnerships at governmental level in a broad
global context to strengthen our human and institutional capacity. It is
pleasing to note that our Science and Technology partnership operates in other
international spheres as well. We have an increasingly significant partnership
in the European Union (EU) Framework Programme context; we are both key players
in the African Union AU/New Partnership for Africaâs Development (NEPAD)
context and are often allies in many multilateral forums on S&T issues.
Over the last decade African leaders have substantially moved towards the
realisation of increased cooperation within the continent. The adoption of a
New Partnership for Africaâs Development ushered in a new era in the advances
of Africa towards responding to challenges faced by Africans.
The 2003 African Ministerial Conference for Science and Technology adopted a
Plan of Action for Science and Technology. This Plan of Action outlines
priority areas in scientific research and technology that will respond to
grassroots social and economic needs.
This Plan of Action has already borne fruits in prominent continental
initiatives. The African Laser Centre (ALC), a network of research laboratories
in Africa that collaborate on programmes to stimulate innovation in laser
technologies, has already been launched. This network continues to develop
research capacity in laser technologies, which resonates with our collective
vision for NEPAD.
The African Biosciences initiative is demonstrating strength through focal
points in every region of the continent. The hub for Southern Africa is hosted
at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa.
The International Livestock Research Institute based in Nairobi, continues to
be the focal point for Biosciences in East and Central Africa. In West Africa,
the Senegalese agricultural research institute is pivotal to regional research.
The core of North African Biosciences research is strategically located at the
National Research Centre in Egypt. Nodes to the hub in Egypt have already been
identified and they include the Techno park of Borji Cedria of Tunisia,
Biotechnology Research Centre of Libya, Mentouri University of Algeria and the
University of NâDjamena of Chad. These nodes are forging networks of
cooperation in life sciences and biotechnology, emphasising on agriculture,
health, environment and industrial manufacturing. The African Institute for
Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) continues to develop human resources from across
Africa. We are now seeing AIMS gearing itself to expand into a network of
regional centres throughout Africa.
These African initiatives do not only lead to a climate within which trade
across borders can flourish, but they also provide a platform for human
resources circulation. The Consolidated African Science and Technology Plan of
Action is a demonstration of science capacity development on the continent.
The launch of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in November 2005
marked a key historical moment in the development of Astronomy Geographical
Advantage Programme. President Mbeki refers to SALT as the âGigantic African
Eyeâ through which we can observe our earliest stars. Central to achieving the
construction of this elegant instrument in a quiet and remote Karoo town of
Sutherland, is the global collaboration which includes the United Kingdom as
one of the key partners. The Astronomy Geographical Advantage Programme aims to
establish Southern Africa as a multi-wavelength hub for Astronomy research. The
completion of the first phase of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) and
the imminent construction of the Karoo Array Telescope, which is a Square
Kilometre Array Science and Technology Demonstrator, are significant steps in
the establishment of the Astronomy Geographical Advantage Programme.
Science and Technology continue to evolve at an astonishing pace. For the
SA-UK collaboration to build from the solid foundation laid in our history, we
need to invest at all levels of human capital development. It is within this
context that we can continue to explore increased collaboration in areas such
as indigenous knowledge systems, advanced manufacturing, energy and climate
change research.
The South African Centres of Excellence are forging ahead with research
collaboration with the international research community. More specifically,
South Africa and the UK are exploring partnerships of equivalent research
centres. This development resulted from recent discussions during Sir David
Kingâs visit to South Africa.
The South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis
(SACEMA), established in 2003, is another example of our dynamic partnership.
SACEMA has effectively drawn on the South African âmathematical Diasporaâ -
Professor Ekkehard Kopp from Hull University, Dr Brian Williams of the World
Health Organisation and Professor Wayne Getz from Berkley, played key roles in
establishing this new capacity in South Africa. We commend the passion and
leadership of all those who are involved in the development of the scientific
programme, building of networks in South Africa and the development of a new
generation of young researchers in this field.
Today we are faced with new challenges in developing the next generation of
scientists and engineers to take us on new journeys of discovery. The
attractiveness of being in managements of multinational corporations and the
demand by the business world for scientifically trained managers, has increased
the number of potential scientists being lost from the natural sciences and
engineering fields.
Consequently, the need to replenish our SET population at adequate rates can
never be overemphasised. The importance of our meeting here to explore further
practical measures of mutually addressing this challenge, is bound to create
sustainable platforms for knowledge generation and human resource development
to our mutual benefit. We expect that through such collaborative efforts and
partnerships, practical solutions to our common challenges will emerge.
Our human capital challenges need to be associated with sustained programmes
to build a viable science and engineering infrastructure in African
Universities. Indeed the challenge of producing engineers for the development
of the African continent is not a small one. We need imaginative career
pathways and post-graduate programmes that can produce graduates in applied
sciences to offset the deficit of engineering skills, while still focussing on
excellence and leadership for the knowledge economy in which we
participate.
May I, in closing, take this opportunity to thank you for your unwavering
interest in the programme and its objectives. We look forward to future
engagements that will infuse us all with a will to make science and technology
a positive life force for addressing global challenges and answering profound
questions that have engaged humanity for all time.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
31 January 2006
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)
