First Africa Forum on Science, Technology and Innovations

1-3 April 2012, Nairobi. The first Africa Forum on Science, Technology and Innovations highlighted the need to invest in this key sector to foster sustainable growth and development and provide job opportunities for youth and women.

The event was organized by the Government of Kenya, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the African Union Commission (AU), and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in collaboration with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). It featured a two-day Experts’ Meeting, followed by a day-long Ministerial Conference.

The ministerial conference concluded with the signing of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). The declaration includes a range of measures to harness STI for sustainable development.  [Nairobi Ministerial Declaration on Science, Technology and Innovation] [African Union Announcement] [AfDB Announcement] [AfDB Press Release] [UNESCO Event Announcement] [UNESCO Press Release]

Success stories

Kenya’s young to digitalize farming

A group of young graduates in Kenya have introduced a mobile-phone enabled technology which will help farmers in rural Africa to link up with crop researchers, meteorological departments and veterinary scientists to better their farm yields.

Calvins Okello, a science graduate from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and a colleague, Gordon Owiti, have developed the new technology that seeks to digitalize Africa’s agriculture and enable the government agencies to solve the crisis of
poor food distribution. read more

Parallel session 4: Agriculture and Food Security

Chair: Mary Abukutsa, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Provocateur: Moses Osiru, Deputy Executive Secretary, RUFORUM

Rapporteur: Abdou Chakour CHADHOULIATI (Bioscience) Directrice Générale Adjointe de l'Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, la Pèche et l'Environnement (INRAPE), Ministère de l'Agriculture, Pèche, Environnement, Energie, Industrie et Artisanat, Comoros

Facilitator : Christina Golubski, Program Associate, The Global Knowledge Initiative

Interactive Participants:

• Benedict Kanu, Lead Specialist, Agriculture & Agro Industry Dept, AfDB
• El Tayeb Alhag Ali Ahmed, UNESCO Chair in Desertification, the University of Khartoum, Sudan
• Damien Conaré, Secretary- General UNESCO Chair "alimentations du monde", Institut des régions chaudes, Montpellier SupAgro, France
• Ray Elliot, Strategic Project Leader, Syngenta, London, United Kingdom
• Prof Esther Murugi, Deputy Vice Chancellor, JKUAT, Kenya

Interview of Lidia Brito, Director of Science Policy and Capacity Building, UNESCO Science, technology and innovation (STI) are important issues for Africa, an increasingly dynamic continent. On the occasion of the First African Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for Youth Employment, Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth, from 1 to 3 April in Nairobi, Kenya, Lidia Brito talks about the importance of STI in the African context and how it will contribute to sustainable development in Africa in the run up to the Rio + 20 conference in June 2012.