Boost for African sci-technology
Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) will contribute R3.85-million to foster science and technology development in Africa.
The announcement was made during the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology for Development, held in Johannesburg in October.
The contribution is in support of efforts by African leaders to promote the application of science and technology for economic growth and poverty reduction, and will help the African Forum on Science and Technology for Development (AFSTD) to develop and expand its research programmes and activities.
The AFSTD was recently established in South Africa as part of processes of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) to promote the application of science and technology for economic growth and poverty reduction.
The AFSTD will create networks of excellence and programmes across the continent in priority areas such as science and technology policy, technological innovation, science and engineering education, and biotechnology.
"The IDRC believes that Africa can become an important player in science and technology at the international level and in using science and technology to foster social and economic development," said IDRC president Maureen O'Neil.
"This contribution ... adds to Canada's ongoing commitment to the Nepad process, as outlined at the Kananaskis G-8 Summit," O'Neil said, adding that the IDRC hopes that its contribution will be matched by other donors.
Canada's (IDRC) is one of the world's leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development.
For more than 30 years, IDRC has worked in collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, more prosperous societies.
Source:International Development Research Centre
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