The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, on the UN Commission on the status of women: Theme: Building resilient futures: Briging the gap between physical science and social science communities to advance gender equality
Your excellencies,
distinguished guests;
ladies and gentlemen.
I greet you all
Let me start by thanking the organizers for successfully putting this important event together. I also want to acknowledge the insightful input from the panel members.
As you know, for a long time, there has been a deep gulf, perceived or real, between physical sciences and social sciences. This has not necessarily been helpful, as the two should not be seen as mutually exclusive. If anything, we should strive to make sure that they reinforce each other so that we can be in a position to fully understand and address pressing public issues from all perspectives.
The gains and discoveries made through physical science can only have meaningful impact if the socio-scientific and technological implications are well understood and embraced by the broader society.
Afterall, these scientific discoveries are meant to benefit humanity. It is also important to highlight that, some of the scientific discoveries calls on human beings to change the way they think and conduct themselves in a fast-changing world. Importantly, humanity has no choice but to adapt to the new reality that we face.
This is true for climate change as it requires us to reimagine the way we live in order to reduce our impacts on climate but also adapt to the lived reality of climate change; including the use/ assimilation/ absorption of new technological endeavors.
With regard to the impact of climate change, we know that climate change affects the poorest the most both from a country and societal perspectives. Africa in particular is most affected by climate change and less capable to deal with its impacts.
This dynamic also raises an important gender parity debate given that most women still remain underprivileged be it economically, politically and otherwise. They also tend to be marginalized in critical decision-making when it comes to climate change; and yet they are the one that are most affected and vulnerable, and unfortunately least capable to respond to climate change.
There is an urgent need to ensure equality when it comes to matters this important, including making sure that women have a meaningful voice in physical and social sciences. This would unleash the great potential that the women have to deal with climate change and contribute significantly in minimizing tits impacts.
In South Africa, as we built our national system of innovation, conscious of this divide, we have put in place two statutory bodies, one that deals with physical science and another that deals with social sciences. These two statutory bodies are overseen by my department to ensure that there is synergy, complementarity and coherence.
In 2019, we adopted a White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation that identified climate change not only as a priority, but also as one of the key global drivers.
This White Paper, given our recent past, also recognizes the urgent need for transformation both in terms of demographics but also gender equity to ensure that the NSI is fully productive, equitable and sustainable.
We also have extensive Global Change Research Plan (GCRP) and associated programmes and interventions; the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas (SARVA); Water and Waste RDI Roadmap; Earth Observation; and renewable energy programme and the Hydrogen and Energy Programme, all of which are designed to support to respond to challenges presented by climate change.
These programmes also support our human capital development endeavours to ensure that we have adequate capacity and become a global leader in climate change while at the same time transforming society and empowering women and youth.
It is precisely for this reason that we support programmes such as the Women in Science initiative.
Through international collaboration and partnership, we have supported and invested in scholarship/ fellowship programmes that focuses on women in various disciplines both nationally and internationally. We also provide support to early-career women scientists to ensure that barriers that might otherwise hinder their progress are addressed.
As I conclude, South Africa will be hosting the seventh edition of the World Science Forum. It will be held from 5 to 9 December 2022 in Cape Town. As you might know, the WSF is an international conference series on global science policy organised biannually that brings together hundreds of leading scientists, researchers, private sector, civil society and global media to discuss the role of science in addressing global challenges facing humanity.
The theme of the forum is Science for Social Justice and will adopt a hybrid model that allows for physical participation and digital connection. This theme demonstrates our desire to intentionally narrow the chasm between physical science and social science. It is billed to have exciting plenary sessions to deal with challenges facing humanity. We are looking forward to meeting you in 2022.
I thank you
