Africa Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Forum 2022

The fourth African Science, Technology and Innovation Forum will be held from 1 to 2 March 2022, in a hybrid format, in Kigali. The Forum is co-organized with UNESCO, the African Union Commission and the Department of Science and Innovation of South Africa. Other key partners include the Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the African Materials Research Society and the African Biomedical Engineering Consortium. The Forum is designed to fulfil both global and continental mandates.

As noted above, the theme of the eighth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development is “Building forward better: a green, inclusive and resilient Africa poised to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063” with a focus on Goals 4, 5, 13, 14 and 17. To ensure an effective contribution by science, technology and innovation, efforts are needed to strengthen the appropriate institutional arrangements. Such institutional arrangements may include, among others, those relating to the governance, policy formulation and implementation of science, technology and innovation; technology development and deployment; the funding of research and development; and promoting or facilitating partnership between all the key players in science, technology and innovation.

The overall objective of the fourth African Science, Technology and Innovation Forum is to conduct the regional follow-up and review of progress made, in order to identify potential mechanisms and measures that countries can deploy to scale up actions, facilitate peer learning and advance transformative solutions to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of Agenda 2063. These include:

 

(a) Conducting a regional follow-up to, and review of, the implementation of the key messages and measures recommended at the previous Forum;

(b) Providing a platform for peer learning and sharing experiences, approaches, good practices and lessons learned, in order to accelerate the realization of the aspirations of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063;

(c) Identifying the technological opportunities, gaps and challenges, and also the institutional voids, with a view to driving innovation and development;

(d) Identifying realistic mechanisms for collaboration and matchmaking, to strengthen regional and international partnerships and investments in science, technology and innovation, to accelerate implementation of the two agendas over the decade 2020–2030.

The fourth Forum is expected to generate the following key outputs:

 

(a) Report of the fourth African Science, Technology and Innovation Forum, which will inform the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development and the multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation;

(b) Outcome documents of special sessions and events, such as the youth bootcamp;

(c) General guide for implementing regional networks and platforms facilitating technology transfer, collaboration and the formulation and implementation of policy on science, technology and innovation.

The fourth African Science, Technology and Innovation Forum is specifically designed to foster collaboration, the diffusion of technology and innovation, and scaling up of policy and operational efforts needed to accelerate the contribution of science, technology and innovation to fulfil the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In particular, the following will be the key tangible and intangible outcomes of the Forum:

 

(a) Report of key outcomes that could guide member States, the private sector and non-State stakeholders in improving their science, technology and innovation policies and amplify the impact of science, technology and innovation on measures to accelerate fulfilment of the two agendas;

(b) Strategies to strengthen science, technology and innovation institutional arrangements that can drive policy implementation, improve funding mechanisms for research and development, innovation and entrepreneurship identified and documented to help member States to build a sound scientific, technological and innovation foundation;

(c) Regional networks and platform for exchanging information on funding, innovations and institutions launched to accelerate technology transfer, collaboration and co-creation among key science, technology and innovation partners in Africa.

The meeting will be attended by representatives of all African member States of the United Nations, the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, the regional economic communities, civil society, business and industry organizations, academic and research institutions, agencies and organizations of the United Nations system, and other international agencies and organizations, together with all development partners.

The meeting will be conducted in English and French, with simultaneous interpretation in both languages.

The fourth African Science, Technology and Innovation Forum will be held in Kigali, in a hybrid format, on 1 and 2 March 2022.

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