Science for Development: Seminar in advance of the AU-EU Summit

27 September 2017. Brussels. Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union. The aim of the seminar was to discuss the relevant research infrastructures and examples of capacity building for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to examine the enabling policy and regulatory environment for facilitating sharing of data and knowledge between practitioners in Europe and Africa and enhancing science cooperation on a global level.

The seminar also considered agriculture and food security, and how Africa and Europe can cooperate. Research and innovation are pivotal to realisation of the goals of Africa’s transformative agenda. Food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA) was identified as the first priority by the EU-Africa High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on Science, Technology and Innovation.

Extract of the programme:

• Perspectives on Science with Africa, Triona McCormack, Director of Research, University College Dublin, Ireland
• European Open Science Cloud, Jean-Claude Burgelman, Head of Unit, Directorate General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
• Africa Data Intensive Research Cloud (ADIRC), Vinny Pillay, Minister Counsellor, South African Mission to the European Union, Department of Science and Technology

Setting the Scene for Science at the AU-EU Summit

• Joe Costello, Former Minister for Trade and Development, Ireland
• Jonathan Van Meerbeeck, Pan African Programme, Directorate-General for International Co-operation and Development, European Commission
• John Fred Kakule, Expert in charge of Science and Technology, Africa Caribbean Pacific Group of States