Programme Director and Chairperson of the International Programme Committee and Congress Local Organising Committee, Professor Mike Bruton
Saudi Arabian Deputy Minister of Education, His Excellency Eng. Fahad Al-Hammad
Chairpersons and presidents of various networks of science centres and science museums
Members of the International Programme Committee and the Local Organising Committee
Julie Cleverdon, Chair of SAASTEC, the co-hosting science centre network,
Dr Pelle Persson, Founder of the Science Centre World Congresses
Mr Hubertus Kuelps, Head of Global Communications of SAP
Mr David Hamod, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce
Distinguished guests
A warm welcome to Cape Town and to South Africa. It’s a pleasure to be here this morning.
This is the first time that Africa has hosted this prestigious congress, and we are pleased to welcome you home to the Cradle of Humankind.
In South Africa we face a number of challenges in respect of the learning and teaching of mathematics and science. Our performance in international tests like Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) has been poor in the recent past.
While last year’s final grade 12 results show an overall improvement in mathematics performance, there was little overall improvement in physical science. Our public school infrastructure in terms of libraries and laboratories requires considerable attention.
Higher education institutions in South Africa have varying performance-based entry requirements for different programmes, but good performances in mathematics is required for most science programmes.
Consequently, we are actively promoting programmes that encourage young people to follow careers in science and technology.
My Department of Science and Technology is the main sponsor of this congress, as we believe that science centres have a critically important role to play in the development of our human capital, and in strengthening our science and technology culture, not only in South Africa, but also in Africa as a whole.
We have the policies in place, through our ‘Youth into Science’ programme, to establish science centres throughout South Africa.
We have already achieved some success in that 26 science centres have been established in eight provinces, and more are planned.
We have also created an efficient agency, the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), to implement the policies of the department, and to carry out science awareness programmes of their own.
I believe that one of the goals of this Science Centre World Congress is to provide momentum for the establishment of a dynamic science-centre network throughout Africa.
My department is ready to share with other African governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) the experience that we have gained in putting together and implementing policies that promote science-centre development in our region.
The methods used by interactive science centres exactly match Africa’s developmental needs: they offer cost-effective ways of strengthening our science and technology culture, and their relatively language-free exhibits, and hands-on, experiential teaching methods, are ideally suited to multi-cultural, multi-lingual societies with educational imbalances, such as we have in Africa.
Furthermore, the interactive displays and people-centred learning programmes in science centres are designed to have a wide range of access points, and therefore cater for children, and adults, with different levels of skills and knowledge.
Science centres are also capable of developing very effective outreach programmes that extend into the deepest peri-urban and rural communities where they can offer their valuable services.
There are many examples of outreach programmes developed by science centres in South Africa, including the highly successful ‘Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Mobile Science Centre’ operated by the Cape Town Science Centre and funded by the Western Cape Education Department.
Of course, our collaboration with the national and regional education departments in this endeavour is crucial.
My department has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the national Department of Education that clearly spells out our separate and joint responsibilities in promoting non-formal as well as formal education in science and technology in all the provinces.
We also value the role that science centres play in teacher empowerment and in training mathematics, science and technology teachers on the best ways to bring their subjects to life in the classroom. Science centres can also play a major role in encouraging the youth to follow careers in science and technology, and to know which career path would suit them best.
The theme of this Congress is ‘Science across Cultures’, and the sub-themes include ‘Science Centres as Part of Culture’, ‘Building Communities through Science’, ‘Recognising the Multi-Cultural Roots of Science and Technology’, and ‘Acknowledging the Value of Indigenous Knowledge Systems’.
These are all topics that are close to our heart in Africa, and we urge you to take them into account when you design your future programmes and exhibitions.
We are convinced that science centres are one of the most effective means available to help our youth reach their full potential in an informal learning environment. There is no doubt that a network of science centre would unleash the potential of millions of young African people, and promote science awareness on a continent that is rapidly embracing the digital age.
We congratulate you on the initiative to hold a Science Centre World Congress in Africa, and thank you for travelling to Cape Town to share your knowledge and expertise with us. We wish you well in your discussions and debates.
For those who come from outside our borders, enjoy your stay in South Africa and learn more about our beautiful country and our cultures through organised excursions that are part of your congress programme.
Some of the local exhibitions will also expose you to some of the interesting science and technology developments in this country. These include work towards making South Africa an astronomy hub, which you will learn about from the Square Kilometre Array exhibition. We will soon hear whether we have won the bid to host the Square Kilometre Array.
It is now my pleasure to declare the 6th Science Centre World Congress in Cape Town officially open.
I thank you.
Enquiries:Lunga Ngqengelele
Tel: 012 843 6802
Cell: 082 566 0446
E-mail: lunga.ngqengelele@gmail.com
