The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, will hold high-level meetings with her counterparts in Denmark next week at the biennial EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) in a bid to further strengthen cooperation on science and technology (S&T) between South Africa and Europe.
ESOF 2014, taking place from 21 to 26 June in Copenhagen, is an open platform to showcase global research and to promote dialogue on the role of S&T in society and public policy.
Hosted by the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education, the forum is an opportunity for South Africa to showcase its science, technology and innovation (STI) activities and achievements and strengthen S&T partnerships between South Africa and the European Union (EU).
It presents an opportunity for South Africa scientists, researchers and media to participate in the discussion of topical international STI issues alongside world-renowned scientists. Two young South African researchers will be among the thousands of scientists attending the event.
The Minister is expected to address certain sessions at the forum on various topics, including "Science building bridges – the South African experience", "Building global partnerships" and "Resolving our greatest public health challenges via science diplomacy".
The Minister will also visit the Technical University of Denmark and its renowned marine research vessel, Dana. The university engages in extensive cooperation with South African institutions such as the University of Cape Town, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the South African Weather Service.
South Africa and the EU enjoy cordial partnerships on many fronts, including trade, development, politics and S&T.
South Africa signed an S&T cooperation agreement with the EU in 1996, and has benefited immensely since. The country is one of the most successful participants outside Europe in the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. Under the seventh programme, more than R400 million of EU funding was allocated to various organisations in South Africa.
Minister Pandor praised what such initiatives were doing to advance STI policy dialogue and cooperation between Africa and the EU.
"The African Union views South Africa as a key partner in harnessing EU support for the implementation of Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action," she said.
Newly appointed President of the Medical Research Council of South Africa, Prof. Glenda Gray, will deliver a presentation on how health diplomacy drives business and innovation. Prof. Gray, a National Research Foundation A-rated scientist, trained as a medical doctor and paediatrician at the University of the Witwatersrand. She co-founded and led the internationally renowned Perinatal HIV Research Unit, based at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
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Lunga Ngqengelele
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082 566 0446
