The Senior Experts Dialogue on “Science, Technology, and Innovation and the African Transformation Agenda: Making New Technologies work for Africa's Transformation” is Jointly organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Government of Federal Republic of Nigeria Ministry of Communications Technology (FMCT), and Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST).  ECA acknowledges the kind support of the Governments of Norway and Finland.

Objectives and expected outcomes of the Senior Experts Dialogue

Our objective in organizing this SED is to bring together senior policy makers, technology and innovation leaders from academia, the private and public sectors, the international development community and other opinion makers and leaders (from within and outside Africa) to examine collectively the directions in which science, technology and innovation can be carefully and deliberately deployed to support and accelerate the African transformation agenda and contribute to agreed societal priorities.

More precisely, the SED will:

• Surface the leading issues hindering the development, transfer and diffusion of technologies in Africa to identify short term, medium term and long-term actions to address them;

• Contribute to a deeper understanding of how new technologies and innovation can contribute much more effectively to the transformation of Africa’s economies and the impediments to harnessing technologies and innovation for Africa’s development;

• Facilitate dialogue between African policy makers, researchers and leading academics, the private sector and stakeholders working on STI on the pathways and modalities to accelerate the transfer to, and development and diffusion of technologies in Africa;

• to build sustainable partnerships among participants to advance STI policy making in Africa in general and the promotion of the application of technology to deal with Africa's multifarious challenges;

• Propose a set of ideas and issues that will guide and inform ECA’s future programme of work; and

• Result in a set of recommendations for consideration and adoption by African countries, their regional organizations and institutions, development partners and the international community.

Structure and organization of the SED

There will be eight sessions over the two days. The SED will be declared opened by a senior official of the host government with the Deputy Executive Secretary of ECA and representatives from the AUC making welcoming remarks). There will be 8 panels/sessions. Each panel will consist of 5 panelists and be a moderated dialogue among the panelists and a moderated dialogue between the panelists and the audience. At the end of the Dialogue, the major policy implications will be distilled into a report and subsequently submitted to ECA oversight bodies, African governments, the AUC and RECs and disseminated to policy makers and other stake-holders in African development.

Opening Session:

• Address by ECA DES
• Welcome Address by Nigeria Government Representative
• Remarks AUC
• Opening/keynote – TBD

Contacts

Questions or requests for further need information, should be directed to Kasirim Nwuke of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) by telephone on +251.11.544.3375 or by email at nwuke@un.org and Gideon Adogbo of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST), Nigeria by telephone on +2348037052246 or by email: adogbogm@yahoo.com

Click here for the Concept Note

Click here for the Provisional Programme of Work