Speech by Naledi Pandor MP, Minister of Science and Technology, at the International Conference on Particle Induced X-Ray Emission, Lord Somerset Hotel, Somerset West
Conference Chair: W Przybylowicz
Acting NRF CEO Dr B Damonse
Chairman of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) (for the PIXE Conference): Dr Miguel Reis (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
Delegates
Good morning. I'm honoured to have the opportunity to speak to you.
All of you are aware that Africa is grappling with many difficult challenges and that many in government, academic institutions and non-government organisations are pooling resources to devise effective responses to our most pressing challenges.
The truth is that we will resolve pressing problems faster if we use opportunities for continental and global partnerships effectively.
We need to find durable solutions that hold the promise for long-term change and development. This implies that we should intensify our human-resource development efforts and ensure that Africa has the intellectual capacity to devote sustained attention to developing effective solutions.
We need to ensure that we have the institutional, administrative and resource infrastructure to provide a secure base from which to carry out our search for responses.
We need to create a framework of opportunity that will attract scientists with international experience to Africa and develop a solutions and development-oriented African and Africa diaspora link.
We must be selective and focused in our choices so that we attend to ‘real’issues of change that will make a fundamental difference to the people of Africa.
The reality is that all these worthy objectives require the active presence of democracy, the rule of law, and academic freedom. Science can only flourish free of authoritarian scrutiny and guided purely by the ethical and philosophical principles.
In Africa scientists have not yet developed science projects on the scale that is needed to tackle global challenges.
The foundations have been laid. All countries on the continent have committed to enhancing science, technology and innovation. Our action plan for science clearly sets out the objectives we wish to pursue.
The health sciences are a priority focus area for Africa. We bear a massive disease burden. We have to invest in research that provides answers and solutions through African initiatives, such as the African Network for Drug and Diagnostic Innovation (ANDI) and the NEPAD Biotechnology Network that already has four different hubs.
Building successful multi-disciplinary teams is not easy. We know. In South Africa we have been able to build on knowledge and location comparative advantages.
South Africans have long been concerned with the question of identity and research into the ancestors of humankind and the origins of our species in Africa.
We have made significant advances in trans-disciplinary research - linking specialists in philosophy, psychology, neurology, linguistics and information technology - to understanding the interplay between history, culture, genes and context.
This has been supported by the rich history of research into our origins and identity, including the palaeontological discoveries of the last century, archaeology, anatomy, the transformation of South African historiography, spreading to sociology, literary studies and most of the human sciences.
Recent leaps in the explanatory power of genetics through the Human Genome project have made South Africa a distinguished contributor to global knowledge.
The establishment of the Cradle of Humankind as a World Heritage Site, and the value of Museum Afrika, the Apartheid Museum and the Vredefort Dome, now also declared a World Heritage Site —have all contributed to “shifting our consciousness and perspective on the customs and traditions of our ancestors”.
South Africans have also long been concerned with understanding of the universe through research into astronomy and the cosmos.
We will host the Square Kilometre Array project, a giant radio telescope developed by scientists in 17 countries.
The Southern African Large Telescope at Sutherland is a truly multinational project that will shed light on some of the oldest questions astronomers have asked.
We undertake collaborative space physics research and the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory.
Research undertaken within the disciplinary fields of nuclear physics, geology, geography, ecology and the earth and environmental sciences have led to a range of ecological, solar and renewable energy projects.
As the examples I have mentioned illustrate, our research varies greatly. Yet fundamental to all is a knowledge base generated within and across disciplinary boundaries, making possible innovation and multiple forms of collaboration —national, regional and international.
Global knowledge-based activities demand a strong research and innovation capacity. It is dependent on new forms of knowledge production and dissemination, and requires research contexts that are “network enabled”.
I am particularly proud of the Materials Research Department at iThemba LABS that works very closely with other research networks, universities and colleges around the world and in particular African countries [ASDA (Accelerators for Sustainable Development in Africa) and the NANOAFNET (Nano African Network) networks].
Through such networks over the years a number of bilateral cooperations between South Africa and a range of African countries has been fostered, including Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, Senegal, Zambia, and many others. In some instances, such as with Nigeria, these co-operations have also led to technological transfer, from South Africa, of ion beam analytical techniques including PIXE.
iThemba LABS itself has played, and will to continue to play, a strong role within the greater African continent, lending technical know-how to other countries to develop accelerator-based Ion beam infrastructure.
We hope that our international collaborators will contribute to this effort via the interactions that have already started with many European and international laboratories. We would like to thank you all for accepting our invitation to share the latest developments in PIXE here in South Africa, a goal that we surely think will be of most benefit for the creation of cutting-edge research using PIXE as a tool to create economic wealth.
I wish I could be here to listen to Professor Campbell talk about Mars and of course the use of PIXE to analyse the chemical composition of Martian rocks.
Ladies and gentlemen, may we continue to stimulate each other in the creation of new ideas with the ultimate purpose being able to improve the quality of life for all Africans.
