Programme Director;
Mr Zamuxolo Peter, Executive Mayor of Makana;
Ms Anja Fourie, Director of SciFest Africa;
HE Dr Horst Freitag, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany;
Prof Laurence Wright, Council Chairperson of the Grahamstown Foundation;
Dr Saleem Badat, Vice-Chancellor, Rhodes University;
Mr Pierre Lemonde, Attaché for Science and Technology, Embassy of France;
Ms Erica Barks Ruggles, Consul-General, US Embassy;
Mr Chris Trott, Consul-General, British High Commission;
Ms Louisa Clayton, Executive Director, Grahamstown Foundation;
Mr Kevin Govender, Vice chair, SciFest Africa Advisory Committee
Firstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Grahamstown Foundation and the Scientific Advisory Committee of Sci-Fest Africa for inviting me to address this gathering. I have had a delightful tour of the exhibitions here at Sci-Fest led by our gracious host, Anja Fourie. What I saw and heard filled me with confidence in the future of science in our country. Well done to everyone responsible for this very impressive and thought-provoking exhibition! I would also like to add my congratulations to those offered by Ambassador Horst Freitag to the winners of the German/SA Year of Science Essay Competition.
The German/SA Year of Science started in May last year, with our respective countries embarking on a number of joint activities in celebration of 16 years of successful scientific co-operation. The intention behind these activities has been to excite and stimulate learners’ interest in scientific research. Learners from selected South African schools were invited to participate in an essay writing competition, thus enabling them to develop and sharpen their research skills. Out of the 135 learners who entered the competition, three winners will join their counterparts in Germany next month, as part of the closing ceremony of the German-South Africa Year of Science.
Ladies and gentlemen, when the Grahamstown Foundation decided in 1996, to establish this science festival, it could not have predicted the success and staying-power of this exciting event, now firmly entrenched on our country’s national science and education calendar.
In that same year - 1996 – the Department of Science and Technology (DST) committed itself in its White Paper on Science and Technology to the promotion of public awareness of and engagement in science, technology and innovation. The intention was to create a society that values and appreciates the importance of science, technology and innovation in helping to achieve national prosperity and a sustainable environment. This is a national effort, requiring the participation of all citizens.
I am confident that, through our collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, and in working with organisations such the Grahamstown Foundation we will succeed in increasing young people’s interest and access to science, engineering and technology related careers.
Given the pressing need to improve citizens’ access to basic services and to create new jobs, funding will always be a challenge. We therefore have great appreciation for those corporate sector organisations that supported – and still support, in spite of a number of competing demands – our science, technology and innovation awareness campaigns, through additional funding or in-kind support for awareness and engagement programmes, or in helping to establish science centres.
As an example, last month we launched the Cape Town Science Centre and next week we are launching the Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre. It is really heart warming how the private sector has come to the party with providing funds and in-kind support for these two centres.
In view of the funding challenges, the growth of SciFest Africa from a festival which in its first year accommodated 28 000 people, to an event that accommodated just over 70 000 people last year, is a remarkable achievement. I would like to thank the United States government for its lecture sponsorships, the French government for its generous donation and also the British High Commission for its support.
The involvement of the German government has also boosted this year’s event.
It is heartening to know that our campaign, led by my department, to promote awareness of and engagement in science, technology and innovation has shown steady growth over the past 14 years in terms of the number of people reached, the number of non-governmental organisations voluntarily supporting the campaign, as well as the number of government-based and higher education institutions that now run permanent awareness and engagement programmes. More than a million people per year are now reached by these and other similar initiatives. We have established 30 science centres in the country and they all have outreach initiatives which target learners in particular.
Furthermore, it has become common practice in South Africa that mega science and technology investment projects funded or led by the DST are accompanied by outreach initiatives, which stimulate learners’ interest in mathematics, science and technology. A case in point is the Square Kilometre Array South Africa Collateral Benefits programme, which has an established astronomy schools programme that targets some schools in the Northern Cape. The promotional materials produced by this programme are distributed throughout the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, young people hold the future of this country in their hands. It is a future in which science and technology will play a massive role in combating disease, slowing the pace of climate change, moving towards a lower carbon economy, and creating a better life for the citizens of the world. We believe that if young people are exposed to exciting science, technology and innovation activities, they will be attracted to Mathematics and Physical Science subject streams when they enter Grade 10.
Similarly, school-leavers with good passes in Mathematics and Physical Science will be well equipped to pursue science, engineering and technology studies at tertiary level. Our country needs high-level science, engineering and technology skills to enhance our chances of improving our global competitiveness. These skills will also enable us to benefit fully from international partnership projects such as the Square Kilometre Array.
And speaking of the SKA, if ever young people needed encouragement to study science, then this is it. Just some brief statistics: the total collecting area of all the 3 000 receivers that will make up the SKA will be approximately one square kilometre, making it the largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever built. It will be 50 times more sensitive, and will survey the sky 10 000 times faster, than any other telescope. Its data rates will far exceed the data rates of current internet traffic.
The SKA will probe distant galaxies and help us understanding the origins of and the physical forces operating in the universe. Effectively, it will be observing what happened billions of years ago, close to the beginning of everything. Our country’s palaeontologists have at their disposal a wealth of evidence of how plant and animal life evolved and how modern humans originated. More than two thirds of the earth's story can be narrated through South Africa's fossils and unique geological features.
A big moment for palaeontology in South Africa was the discovery of four partial skeletons belonging to a species not yet known, at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, in August 2008. This new species which was called Australopithecus sediba, which was dated to just under two million years ago gives us strong clues about our own evolution as a species. It certainly confirms what is now commonly accepted by all scientists – that there is overwhelming evidence that humankind originated on the African continent.
In order to create an environment conducive for science and technology to shed some light on human evolution by studying the fossils our scientists find, the DST’s Palaeo sciences strategy incorporates various disciplines that collectively help us to understand life on earth, including palaeontology, palaeo-anthropology, and archaeology. When fully implemented, the Strategy will make it even easier for science festivals such as this one to feature palaeo science activities.
But it is not just fields of palaeontology and astronomy that provide excellent career opportunities in science. The South African government is embarking on a massive infrastructure development programme which includes a major investment component in rail and port infrastructure. The programme will have major engineering requirements, which confirms our call to young people to seriously consider engineering as a career option.
The theme of Scifest 2013: Science on the move focuses on modes of transport and transport infrastructure, the physics of movement, the human body, communications, exploration, the universe, and anything else that moves. The programme also celebrates the decision to launch The Bloodhound Project in its attempt to break the World Land Speed Record of 1,227km/h on Hakskeenpan, Northern Cape, next year.
The bloodhound is a supersonic car, powered by a jet engine and it is designed to reach a speed of over 1600 km/h!
We have to think about ways in which science, technology and innovation can grow and sustain our economy. In this regard, my department is leading efforts to gradually transform our resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. It is important that the nation becomes aware of this future strategic direction, and it is equally important that events such as this one highlight this fact.
I would like to encourage everybody, particularly learners and students who are participating in Sci-Fest Africa 2013, to ensure that their presence here this week enhances their positive attitude towards science, technology and innovation. Our country’s successful transformation to a knowledge-based economy will require citizens who understand and appreciate the importance and reach of science, engineering and technology.
To our aspiring young scientists and innovators here today, I urge you to make full use of the Sci-Fest’s exhibitions, workshops, lectures, talk-shops and a range of demonstrations. Enjoy your experiences and your experiments. Engage with our scientists who are recognised as amongst the best in the world. This Sci-Fest could be a big, big moment in your young careers. Remember the words of the American physician and researcher, Lewis Thomas, who said, and I quote: “It is in our genes to understand the universe if we can, to keep trying even if we cannot, and to be enchanted by the act of learning all the way.” I am sure that the festival-goers at this event will all be enchanted by what they learn here.
I sincerely hope that you will find these few days inspirational and unforgettable, and that this Sci-Fest will strengthen your resolve to continue exploring the wonders of science and sharing your knowledge with others.
I now have great pleasure in declaring the oldest and biggest science festival in South Africa, Scifest Africa 2013, officially open.
I thank you.
