Africa-EU Summit Science Dialogue Events

This is NOT an event. This page provides Guidelines for Speakers
IntroductionThe AERAP AU-EU Summit Side Events will be held online. You can find the event schedule, a list of registered speakers, partnering organizations as well as other information on this website.
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Once your profile is set up, you can register for individual sessions you wish to attend.
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All sessions are displayed in the main event schedule. Each session has a small white circle in the upper left corner of the colourful session box. By clicking on the circle, a black check will appear as well as a notification that the session has been added to your INDIVIDUAL schedule. An email will be sent to you, verifying that your registration has been successful. By clicking on the icon with your photo (or a black figure if no photo has been uploaded yet) on the very left side of the main event page, you will be able to see as well as edit your own profile and view your individual schedule.
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If you have further questions please contact Jitka Kranz at jitka.kranz@iscintelligence.com

To attend the AERAP Science Summit please register here.

This session will consider how regulations in data protection, medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics influence cooperation in medical science and health research and EU-Africa research cooperation more generally.

The session will initially focus on the European General Data Protection Regulation and its influence globally. Given that its scope already extends beyond the borders of the European Union, it is arguably becoming the template for global data privacy legislation. What are the impacts in Africa?

Therefore, the session is designed to impart up-to-date information on the European Union's GDPR; to look specifically at related research collaboration between South Africa and African and the European Union and the impact of the GDPR on those research activities, particularly in the area of health. The meeting will also raise awareness of the emergence globally of data protection regulations and related future developments in South Africa and, more generally, in the continent of Africa.

The GDPR also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU, including to African nations and developing nations more generally. The GDPR aims to give control to individuals over their personal data, ensure the free flow of personal data between the Member States, and simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU.

Because research involving human health, drug safety and clinical trials requires the processing of personal data, the GDPR has posed particular challenges to the research sector both within the EU and elsewhere.
As the "Africa Initiative" is an integral part of the first Work Programme for 2021-2022 of "Horizon Europe", it is essential to consider how African nations address compliance and prepare for future data protection regulation in Africa.

The discussion will also consider the broader impact of how regulation can advance are otherwise innovation. It will look at The session will maintain a focus on the GDPR but will look at this in the wider geographic context and concerning other regulations, including in-vitro diagnostics, medical devices and so forth. We also plan to visit the issue of biotechnology-related regulation and digital market regulations and the connection between them.

While conscious of the need to avoid a European bias in this discussion, it will be perhaps helpful to look at the plans for the EU digital decade up to 2030, which coincides with the United Nations Agenda 2030and, of course, the SDGs. Some of the issues to the fore include:

• A digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals;
• Secure and sustainable digital infrastructures;
• Digital transformation of businesses;
• Digitisation of public services.

These priorities are also reflected in the United Nations Roadmap for Digital Cooperationwhich prioritises the following five sets of recommendations on how the international community could work together to optimise the use of digital technologies and mitigate the risks:

• Build an inclusive digital economy and society;
• Develop human and institutional capacity;
• Protect human rights and human agency;
• Promote digital trust, security and stability;
• Foster global digital cooperation.

 

The AERAP Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Platform will organise side events at the AU-EU Summit on 14-17 February. The purpose of the meeting will be to promote awareness of the contribution of collaborative research and development as a critical aspect of EU-Africa relations and collaborations, in addressing global challenges together.

In this context, ARUA and The Guild were invited to co-convene a panel discussion on Africa-EU universities and research collaboration. This will be the opportunity to promote the voice of universities as central actors of Europe-Africa’s collaborations in research, publicise our joint policy positions (in particular our recently published Statement), and give visibility to our partnership towards the European and African research community and policymakers. This panel discussion, which will take place just before the EU-AU summit, will also be a good moment to take stock of the progress made over the last years (Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, ARISE Pilot Programme) and reflect on the developments needed to further strengthen African universities in the long-term.

In 2017, the AU-EU summit paved the way for the recognition of science collaborations and the need for strengthening the research and innovation capacity of African universities as key priorities in the African-European partnership. Since then, huge progress has been achieved with regard to these two objectives, with particular momentum developing since late 2019.

At the policy level, key moments were the very first AU-EU research and innovation ministers’ meeting that took place in July 2020, and the launch of the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs in September 2018. At the programme level, new initiatives have been developed such as the African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence (ARISE) Pilot Programme, while existing programmes have been endowed with significant additional investments for collaborations with African universities (Erasmus+, Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), Horizon Europe).

Ahead of the EU-AU summit organised in February 2022, it is time now to take stock of the progress made over the last years and reflect on the developments needed to further strengthen African universities and African-European university collaborations in the long-term: how can these different initiatives be integrated in such a way that they jointly strengthen the capacity of African science in a sustainable way, enabling African universities to enhance their capacity for producing new scientific and socio-economic knowledge, delivering high-quality education, and contributing to innovation?

Why Science Communication is critical both at School and to the Public
Unlike before when Science Communication was at the domain of scientists and research institutions, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of enhancing understating of science and the need to build up schools of community and society around science communication. The session will look into (i) the importance of science communication (ii) techniques required to communicate science (iii) the audience that science communication are targeting (iv) techniques and tactics which community of science teachers can use (v) new formats of science communication (vi) Media and science communication.

Scientists and policy – the role of a civil society forum

14 February 2022: 16:00-18:00 (Belgian time: 15:00-17:00)

The National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF), South Africa, an independent civil society forum, is hosting this side event considering the role of scientists in policy advice, as well as the importance of constructive interaction and discussion between civil society and government on key priority areas. The session will showcase experts in science, engineering, technology (SET) and innovation in South Africa (SA), including researchers in various SET-related fields, to share their insights.

Among the key strategic objectives of the NSTF are:
“To influence and monitor public SET-related policy; and To promote dialogue, among SET stakeholders, between the public and private sectors, and between Government and other stakeholders.”

The NSTF Discussion Forums are one type of platform that provides constructive interaction and discussion with government and stakeholders on key priority areas of concern to the SET community.

Researchers and SET-related professionals are often included in structures and groups that play an advisory role to government. The NSTF membership represents various stakeholders, disciplines and positions and regularly engage with one another from various perspectives and with government on policy-related areas. Excellent SA scientists and related professionals often also make an international impact, by participating in international advisory committees.
The questions are:
•    Are there enough significant opportunities for scientists and professionals to make policy input and reviews?
•    Are there enough such opportunities to participate in international bodies?
•    Are they taken seriously and does their advice make a positive impact?
•    How do scientists and various professionals make their voices heard when they are not asked for their advice?
•    Is it useful to have a civil society forum like the NSTF?
T
he NSTF represents about 120 member organisations. They include statutory bodies and research councils, higher education institutions, companies, non-governmental organisations, and professional societies (the largest sector in the NSTF. Professional and learned societies in SA play an important role as the collective voices of individual scientists, engineers and technologists. The professional societies are, in turn, members of the NSTF. The advisory bodies to the government (e.g. the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) and the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)) are longstanding members of NSTF. NSTF regularly brings together researchers, professionals and practitioners from various disciplines and backgrounds to interact, share knowledge, experiences, and evidence-based opinions, as well as comment on government policies related to a particularly relevant topic. The NSTF discussion forums are widely publicised, and media releases are produced to highlight and explain to the public the issues that were discussed. Comprehensive information is made available on www.nstf.org.za , including lists of recommendations.

In this Summit session, NSTF will give you a ‘taste’ of the knowledgeable speakers and experts who participate in the NSTF discussion forums and demonstrate the link with policy implications.
This session will address three themes that NSTF Discussion Forums brought to the attention of the SA public and role-players as follows:
1)    Preparing for pandemics in SA –
2)    The future of plant health in SA –
3)    The energy transition in SA

The law has not caught up with the evolution of science and digital innovation – how can legal institutions and structures adapt? As an example implicit historical bias and digital colonization can be recognized explicitly so that the future of scientific research benefits all stakeholders: not just the researchers, but also the local communities in which research is conducted, and lays seeds for local scientists to participate. 
Today scientific data is perceived to be "owned" by the researchers who generate or gather it. We need to investigate new oversight and governance models where all stakeholders have a say in governance and access appropriate to their contribution. When science is done in the traditional way, the scientists collect and keep data closed to develop findings and products independently of the people they are intended for. This creates a huge accessibility gap where the solutions have been created but are inaccessible to the people and systems that both supported their development and urgently need to apply and learn from the findings.

Session title: “Making the green deal a reality in the tropical world”.
 
Session description: “Corporations and policymakers alike are beginning to recognize that business as usual in politics, economics and trade is leading us ever closer to disaster. From the climate crisis to the biodiversity crisis, from accelerating soil degradation to global desertification, and from rising global inequality to the obesity and malnutrition epidemics, the warning signs are everywhere: we must change – or else.

What are the key issues to be tackled to ensure this realization leaves the pages of domm-laden reports and changes everyday behaviour? What tools and insights are available as investors and policymakers seek to make societies and business more sustainable and resilient – at minimum disruption? How can research help bridge the gap between the realization of the challenge and the implementation of solutions?

Our speakers will be exploring these questions from a fascinating range of perspectives. Josef Garvi from Zinder, Niger, is transforming the way we think about food and nutrition in some of the world’s most remote drylands. Dr Phosiso Sola has good news about charcoal. Dr Chandrashekhar Biradar will focus on the system changes we need to make the green deal work for all. And Dr Gonzálz-Aranda will help us understand how the highest of high tech can help this oldest of human technologies, agriculture, step up to the plate to manage the challenges of the Anthropocene.”

European Union-African Union Summit, Science and Innovation side events 
14 – 18 February 2022
AfAS-EAS special session 
Session Title: Africa-Europe Agenda for collaboration and cooperation in Astronomy
Date: 15 February 2022                                        
Time: 09:00 (CET) / 10:00 (CAT)
 
0900 Opening Remarks:
 
Roger Davies President – European Astronomical Society (EAS)
Jamal Mimouni President – African Astronomical Society (AfAS)

0905 The Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
Philip Diamond – Director-General, Square Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO)

0915 Radio Astronomy – An African context (MeerKAT, SKA, AVN)
Carla Sharpe – African Space Development, Strategist and Policy Specialist, South African
Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)

0925 The EHT, Africa Millimetre Telescope – Africa-EU collaboration
Michael Backes – Associate Professor & Head of H.E.S.S. Research Unit, University of Namibia

0935 Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry European Research Infrastructure
Consortium (JIVE)
Francisco Colomer – Director, Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE)

0945 The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S)
Stefan Wagner, Director, H.E.S.S

0955 The European Southern Observatory
Xavier Barcons – Director General, European Southern Observatory (ESO)

1005 Optical Astronomy in Africa, the African Integrated Observation System (AIOS), and the
intelligent observatory at the SAAO
David Buckley – Darragh O'Donoghue Astronomer, South African Astronomical Observatory
(SAAO)

1015 The European Space Agency
Fabio Favata – Head of Science Directorate strategy, planning, and coordination office,
European Space Agency (ESA)

1025 Astronomy for Development
Vanessa McBride – Astronomer, International Astronomical Union - Office of Astronomy for
Development (IAU-OAD)

1035 Astronet - A comprehensive long-term planning for the development of European astronomy
Colin Vincent – Board Chair, Astronet

1045 Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA)
Melvin Hoare – Professor, University of Leeds

1055 South Africa’s contribution to the development of astronomy in Africa and current key Africa-
EU collaborations in Astronomy and how these can be enhanced
Takalani Nemaungani – Acting Chief Director for Astronomy, South African Department of
Science and Innovation (DSI)

1105 The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy at very-high energies.
Corrado Perna – INAF, Italy

1107 Questions and Panel discussion (28 minutes)
Jamal Mimouni – Chair
Roger Davies – Chair
• Facilities and infrastructure
• Digital access in Africa
• Education and Training
• Economic Development
• Mobility
 
Africa and Europe have long had a fruitful relationship, especially through the Africa-EU cooperation agreements. It is through this Africa-EU partnership that work and engagement in political and policy dialogues between Africa and Europe have continued over the years. The partnership was established in 2000 at the first African Union (AU)-EU Summit in Cairo. It is guided by the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), adopted at the 2nd AU-EU Summit in Lisbon in 2007.
Africa has pursued political and economic integration at a continental level since the start of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 and the AU in 2002. At the continental level, institutions, policies and initiatives have been established in areas that are of increasing importance for Africa’s development, as well as being of interest to the EU.

Motivated by the vision of the JAES to provide for future relations between Africa and the EU, by setting out the overarching political framework and seeking to tackle issues of common concern together, the African Astronomical Society (AfAS) and the European Astronomical Society (EAS) have joined forces by organising this session to bring together involvement from major players in Astronomy in both Africa and Europe. These include members from the various sectors of society including policymakers, decision-makers, researchers, and academia, and in turn, deepen and strengthen the relationship between Africa and the EU countries.
Astronomy has developed quite rapidly over the years globally, and a lot of that success can be attributed to the increase in collaborations between various organisations and countries. There are several astronomy infrastructure projects, instruments and training programmes that are of interest to communities in both Africa and the EU and the need for discussions and strengthened collaborations is one way to ensure sustainable development and solutions.

This session offers an opportunity for interactions between existing and potential Africa-EU collaborators to stimulate and explore mutually beneficial opportunities that may arise between Africa and Europe, as well as the opportunity to promote sustained collaborations between partners from the European and African countries and cultivate the expertise that forms a core component of knowledge-based economies. The session also aims at exploring wider socioeconomic benefit implications from such collaborations and efforts by engaging in discussions and projects that include building bridges with industry, government and across academic disciplines and engaging society.

The discussions are aimed at encouraging collaborative research and innovation in astronomy and related sciences by touching on themes such as astronomy for development and outreach & education programmes, how science can play a role in contributing to society and addressing shared global challenges and how these collaborations can help achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The discussions and presentations will focus on:

• Current and planned projects and initiatives to grow and connect the astronomical community in both Africa and Europe in the fields of optical astronomy and radio astronomy
• Flagship projects and involvement of participating stakeholders in science and outreach/education programmes for the development of society
• Strengthening EU-Africa research collaborations through joint research projects, observations, MSc/PhD student's joint supervisions, joint proposals, etc.

To view the exact program please reffer to the attached document. 

Session organiser(s):
Charles Takalana
African Astronomica

Green Medicines in Africa: Plant Molecular Pharming to fight the COVID-19 pandemic
Cape Biopharms, South Africa and M4F, Austria agree on mutual technology exchange for GMP manufacturing capacity building for the production of COVID-19 medicines

Agenda

Mr Declan Kirrane Moderator
11:00 Ambassador Mag. Martin Hojni Austrian Ambassador to the Political and Security Committee of the EU
11:07 Ambassador Tokozile Xasa South African Ambassador, Brussels (by video)
11:15 Signing ceremony plus Photos (Belinda Shaw and Kurt Zatloukal)
11:20 Dr Paul Ruebig Governing Board Member, European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT)
11:30 Prof Kurt Zatloukal M4F, Austria
11:40 Ms Belinda Shaw Cape Bio Pharms (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
11:50 Prof Eva Stöger University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Austria
12:00 Dr Alexandra Castilho University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Austria
12:10 Dr Amadou Alpha Sall L'Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), Senegal
12:20 Dr Juan Miguel González-Aranda LifeWatch ERIC
12:30 Dr Michael Makanga, EDCTP
12:40 Eudy Mabuza Senior Science and Innovation Representative, US and SA Mission to the EU
12:50 Conclusion 


Cape Bio Pharms, South Africa and Medicines for Future (M4F), Austria will convene a session on "Green Medicines in Africa" within the context of the AERAP science meetings at the EU-Africa Summit. The session will be at 11 AM Brussels time, 15 February 2022. The meeting will be hybrid, with the possibility to participate virtually.

Among the various options to block SARS-CoV-2 infections by drugs, the inhibition of the binding of the virus to its receptor on human cells is one of the most promising approaches for COVID-19 therapy. This is mainly because the emerging virus variants are characterised by increased binding to the ACE2 receptor on the human cells due to natural selection. Consequently, drugs that mimic this receptor (so-called decoys) also show increased binding to the emerging virus variants, making the decoy more potent in neutralising the virus. Therefore, ACE2 decoys are among the few therapeutic options that naturally will become more efficacious in treating COVID-19 caused by new variants.
The drug to be developed by M4F is based on an ACE2 decoy with a markedly increased SARS-CoV-2 neutralising activity, optimized and widely tested in pre-clinical studies performed at the Medical University Graz. The potency of the ACE2 decoy is increased significantly as compared to conventional biotechnological production by its production in glyco-engineered plants, developed by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU).
To quickly build up sufficient production capacities, M4F engages in several multinational partnerships. The first partnership to be signed is with Cape Bio Pharms located in South Africa and foresees mutual technology exchange for GMP production capacity building. This agreement is to be signed in the context of the EU-Africa Summit in February 2022. It should serve as a shining example to further develop the relations and exchange between Europe and Africa, in order to join forces fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cape Bio Pharms licences commercial production to its subsidiary Cape Biologix Technologies, South Africa to produce commercial-scale volumes of a range of plant-based SARS-CoV-2 recombinant proteins for diagnostics and research applications. Cape Biologix Technologies Senegal will be a plant-based cGMP manufacturing facility for vaccine and therapeutic-grade proteins and is expected to come online in early 2024.

In many sub-Saharan African countries, there is a non-conducive environment for research: the legislative framework has not kept pace with new trends in research, such as genetics research, ethical conduct of clinical trials, material exchange, and intellectual property rights. These legislative gaps hamper multi-institutional research such as clinical trials. Governments must appreciate the need to make greater commitments to provide strategic planning, legislative reforms, and funding for effective management of research activities.

Science is a global activity, and some of the best African researchers move to countries where their efforts are better rewarded and appreciated. High-profile advocates are needed to promote science within African society, to ensure that research gets its share of the national budgetary allocation and attracts additional external funding. This could be done by national academies of science—the African Academy of Sciences and the African Union. Politicians and policymakers need to consider how science and technology can contribute to development, including the achievement of the SDGs. African governments should recognise that funds allocated for research are a good investment. More appreciation of the benefits of research might lead to greater commitment to providing dedicated funding to national research budgets. Science can also contribute directly to wealth creation, through product development partnerships with industry and entrepreneurs.

This session will look at the leadership provided by industry in delivering health outcomes in Africa. Health is a priority of the AU-EU Summit meeting in Brussels on the 17th-18th of February 2022. Privatisation isn't enough: this needs to be accompanied by an enabling policy and regulatory environment, combined with a commitment to enable collaboration between industry and academia.

The programme

14h00   Racey Muchilwa Head of Sub Saharan Africa, Novartis, Kenya
14h15   Kurt Zatloukal Medical University of Graz, Austria
14h30   Trish Scanlan Tumaini, Tanzania
14h45   Q&A
15h00    END

1400 Welcome from Dr Pimprikar, Caneus
1402 Mr Declan Kirrane Introduction and Welcome ISC, Chair UNGA Science Summit, Spain
1410 Professor Barry O’Sullivan, School of Computer Science & IT, University College Cork, Ireland Director, Insight SFI Centre for Data Analytics, University College Cork, Director, SFI Centre for Research Training in Artificial Intelligence, Ireland
1420 Dr Rita Lawlor ARC-NET: Centre for Applied Research on Cancer University of Verona, Italy
1430 Dr Cao Hui, Huawei EU Director for Policy to Market, Belgium
1440 Dr Domingos da Silva Barbosa, Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT) Portugal
1450 Discussion
1500 End

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that access to timely, accurate diagnostics is fundamental to effective healthcare. Yet today, almost half the world’s population has little or no access to even the simplest of tests. The problems are most severe and acute in primary and community care – in low- and middle-income countries, basic tests are available in just 1% of primary care clinics. The result is not only blindness to current and emerging health threats, it also puts achievement of the global goal of universal health coverage (UHC) in jeopardy.
Addressing shortfalls in diagnostic testing must be an urgent priority. While deficiencies impact the whole care cascade – affecting medical workforces, education, research, physical infrastructure, supply chain, data collection, and management – the root causes are more straightforward. Lack of political prioritization, resource allocation and finance, and lack of effective regulation for governance and quality are stymying efforts to build sustainable, resilient health systems that can deliver health for all.
A two-pronged approach, focused on both policy and implementation, is critical, and must be underpinned by long-term (>20 year) commitments and funding. Solutions fall into several categories, all of which are aimed at optimizing scant resources.
Establish national diagnostics strategies to support National Health Plans, including the development and implementation of national Essential Diagnostics Lists. Diagnostic testing must be acknowledged as a key enabler for health, and supported by adequate funding, for example through national financing strategies for diagnostics, and coverage of diagnostics for key conditions in UHC benefits packages.

• Make key basic diagnostic tests available at primary health centres, as a key step towards UHC. This includes the availability of accurate, reliable point-of-care tests that are linked to radiology and pathology and laboratory medicine (PaLM) systems to provide “see and treat” at one visit, ensure seamless handover between health facilities and tiers, and enable appropriate patient follow up. Digital tools can also support community health workers with tasks that may previously have been restricted to specialized clinics.
• Invest in an expanded workforce with the skilling and upgrading needed to support advances in diagnostics. Training programmes are needed to increase the number of technicians, scientists and pathologists to a base level, and enable task shifting that can reduce both the time and cost of training fully qualified specialists. Regional/transnational networks should be activated to optimize both training and capacity of staff. Technology such as artificial intelligence and digital decision support tools can also support tasks such as image interpretation at lower levels of the health system.
• Commit to enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for diagnostics in Africa. Context-appropriate, simple accreditation processes are needed to ensure affordable, high-quality tests can be made available where they are needed as quickly as possible.
• Improve infrastructure, including supporting the expansion of local and regional manufacturing capacity. This must include initiatives to streamline supply chains, equipment purchase and maintenance, IT and mobile developments to improve data flow and communications, alongside development of robust, affordable and context-appropriate Laboratory Information and Management Systems.

This session will consider how Ethiopian universities, research institutes and centres in collaboration with regional actors can help shape the future of AU-EU common research agenda to promote the collaboration potential with Europe. The session will focus both on policy related issues and on practical collaboration opportunities.
 
Recently, a virtual roundtable conference was held. Both Ethiopian and      European stakeholders highlighted the need for further collaboration.( https://researchethiopia.medium.com/networking-through-the-virtual-conference-on-research-excellence-in-ethiopia-16c8e2c8391b)
 
Conference participants identified collaboration areas both on sectoral basis (such as agriculture, food, education, engineering), and impact basis (job creation, entrepreneurship, skill development, peace and security). The conference served how Ethiopia can build research bridges between Ethiopian and regional research related stakeholders in Africa and in Europe.
 
The upcoming EU-AU research partnership discussion will raise several crucial issues, including climate change and financing climate adaption, energy transition, fairer international tax system, COVID-19 pandemic, and several other topics. The results of the discussions will be reflected in the EU’s policy decisions on EU-AU research collaboration mechanisms. These decisions will become tangible in the funding that will be made available through the Horizon European and the NDICI (Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument) programs.
 
It is essential for Ethiopian universities and research organizations to understand AU-EU collaboration mechanisms and processes. What are the research bridges that Ethiopia has with regional actors and Europe? How can Ethiopia strengthen the existing collaboration and create new ones? What does Ethiopia want to include in the formal agreements of the AU-EU partnership strategic plans?
 
This session aims to provide up-to-date information on the above questions and discuss how the specific research agenda of Ethiopia can be aligned with regional research agendas. The meeting will also extend the awareness about EU-AU partnership programs and collaboration mechanisms from diverse perspectives, including research, innovation, learning, capacity development and networking.

The Ethiopian universities have been affected by the on-going conflict. Inclusive and collaborative research of the universities within Ethiopia, the region and in Europe will bring positive outcome and impact. Support from Horizon EU program and NDICI to enhance research collaboration with Ethiopian universities will bring very tangible and constructive development in the learning, teaching, research and community service spheres altogether. Practical ideas and planshow to create concrete research applications by including Ethiopian with European universities should be explored.

Assessing the hidden assets of the poor – how to measure social resilience in African towns

The World Social Capital Monitor is an open-access survey in 50 languages that is
conducted since 2016 within the UN SDG Partnerships by the Basel Institute of
Commons and Economics.

Social goods and social capital have been a focus of the Social Capital Initiative of the World Bank in 1999 that included three Nobel Laureates, Elinor Ostrom, Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen.
It is only the spread of the smartphone in Africa that it has been possible to measure indicators of social capital today.

The Nigerian researcher Olabisi Obaitor recently wrote: "Social capital is the major asset of slum residents".
In 2021 results from 177 African Cities, including 400 qualitative comments, were published by the UN:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/commitments/3914_11706_commitment_300_Cities_and_their_social_goods_to_achieve_the_SDGs.pdf

The high conversion rate shows the importance of social goods for people living in poverty.
In this session, panellists will explain that knowing the level and the distribution of local social goods in Africa is essential to address the major challenges in climate change, migration, security and health.

How the Social Capital Monitor works:
In the Social Capital Monitor, the participants assess indicators of local social goods on a scale between 10 (high) and 1 (low) without any registration and have the opportunity to give a qualitative comment on the following:

• The local social climate
• Mutual trust
• Willingness to co-finance public goods
• Willingness to invest in local SME
• Acceptance of minorities
• Acceptance of environmental measures
• Helpfulness
• Friendliness
• Hospitality

The Monitor is available in 50 languages: https://trustyourplace.com/, including, for example, Afan Oromo, Kiswahili and Tigrinya. We recommend offering more African languages to enhance local inclusion. The Monitor, therefore, is the first digital service allowing to include African culture and tradition broadly.

Africa-Europe Science and Innovation Summit
ABSTRACT Partnering for the development of sustainable clinical research infrastructures and a skilled workforce in Africa

Health research and innovation (R&I) are fundamental for health – one of the major determinants of economic growth and poverty reduction, and a centrepiece in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The COVID-19 crisis underscored once again the vital importance of global health research preparedness and response. Accelerated basic and clinical research carried out in real-time by consolidated infrastructures provided prevention and therapeutic tools within unprecedented timelines. Despite record achievements, access remains a key issue to ensure the provision of the standard of care globally. Gaps in cross-border ethical and regulatory harmonization, quality sample and data collection, data sharing and repurposing mechanisms remain to be addressed in order to enable multinational clinical research capacities in Africa.
Establishing a robust clinical research infrastructure coupled with scientific excellence and leadership is a key development step to addressing health challenges on the continent. Governments should capitalize on the momentum from the response to COVID-19 to coordinate efforts by all stakeholders, including private actors as well as development banks, and provide sustainable governance and funding mechanisms for tackling global health challenges.

This session on Partnering for the development of sustainable clinical research infrastructures and a skilled workforce in Africa, co-chaired by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN), brings together key global health actors to collectively discuss the next steps towards the comprehensive mobilization of all the stakeholders necessary for building sustainable clinical research infrastructure, skills development, and strengthening of institutions for the development and uptake of safe and effective R&I products in Africa. A set of recommendations on clinical trial infrastructure and capacity building in Africa arising from a session hosted by ECRIN and EDCTP on 17 June 2021 at the Africa-Europe Science and Innovation Summit will also be further discussed.
EDCTP is a public-public partnership between 14 European and 16 African countries, supported by the European Union. EDCTP’s vision is to reduce the individual, social and economic burden of poverty-related infectious diseases affecting sub-Saharan Africa. EDCTP’s mission is to accelerate the development of new or improved medicinal products for the identification, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, including emerging and re-emerging diseases, through pre-and post-registration clinical studies, with emphasis on phase II and III clinical trials. EDCTP’s approach integrates the conduct of research with the development of African clinical research capacity and networking.

ECRIN-ERIC is a not-for-profit intergovernmental organization that supports the conduct of multinational clinical trials in Europe. ECRIN works with national networks of clinical trial units (CTUs), as well as numerous European and international stakeholders involved in clinical research. ECRIN is also a founding member of the Clinical Research Initiative for Global Health (CRIGH) which brings together more than 40 member and observer institutions across the globe to establish a framework for international cooperation in non-commercial clinical trials and to promote evidence-based medicine through various activities focused on infrastructure and funding, global core competencies, research ethics, patient involvement, comparative effectiveness research and socio-economic impact, and data management and sharing.

The running order is:

Declan Kirrane Chair SSUNGA76, AERAP
Maria Cristina Russo Director for Global Approach and International Cooperation in R&I at European Commission, European Commission
Sherry Ayittey Ghana
Solomon Benor Director General for Science and Research Affairs, Ethiopian Ministry of Education
Professor Intisar Soghayroun Professor, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Rahma Rachdi Correspondent - Head of Bureau, USPA, France
Svein Stølen Rector, University of Oslo, Norway
Souad Aden-Osman Executive Director, the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA)


The general topics for this session will include:
1. The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, NDICI, also known as Global Europe. The Communication from the Commission on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation is a key paper: ....to serve as a guide in implementing the international dimension of the new EU programme for civil research and innovation, Horizon Europe, and its synergies with other EU programmes, in particular the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe.

2. How to accelerate an inclusive approach to collaborative research, recognising African leadership and the untapped potential of women and girls to contribute to science and innovation.

3. Consider how to leverage synergies between funding mechanisms led by the EU and others including development finance provided by the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and others.

4. Raise awareness of the unforeseen and unintended impact of regulations on potential research collaborations with Africa. These include data privacy, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the In-vitro Diagnostics Regulation (IVDR), the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and the Clinical Trials Regulation. Good regulation cannot act as a barrier between African and EU and other researchers. African nations need to build their enabling regulatory environment and regulatory compliance with the EU.

5. Indigenous knowledge can be a force for good and part of the equation when promoting Africa-Europe science collaboration, including developing relevant information services and linking indigenous knowledge to data capacities; patent data. WTO TRIPS Art. 66.2 is critical to supporting technology transfer.   

6. The meeting will also consider the importance of the SDGs in this context, including enabling local and community (UN Local 2030) science as part of the global response.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) met in Kigali, Rwanda, on 26 October 2021, took stock of progress regarding the priority areas adopted during the last AU–EU Summit held in 2017, in Abidjan. The Communique provides some guidance on priorities for the AU-EU Summit on 17-18 Feb 2022.

Mutual Bridges from basic to higher education: The role Universities play in universal-quality education. 
Basic and secondary level education is undisputable to higher education and national science training and policies. A recent study with African potential star scientists who outperform in the world centres of learning, attain achievements well beyond established scientists in their home countries and universities abroad, show that the fellows built the talents at an early age in Africa. Besides being gifted they demonstrate different approaches and factors which influenced them from childhood in their home African countries. The majority state that the funding and excellent research environment in the centres of excellence were merely facilitation. While this “context-based” research merely confirms other previous ones and it is known that universities and science and technology build on the previous levels, the bridging especially for developing countries remain under-researched, unattended to in policy and development cooperation and funding discourses.

One of the success factors for renowned education systems like Finland is the extent to which these three levels are connected, integrated into the national policies and feedback on each other. While the unidirectional upward input from basic to tertiary education remains clear and obvious, the feedback influence of the university to the basic and secondary education are unclear and unattended. Universities train and build capacities for the lower levels, talk less of an entirely quality education system, the cited case of Finland where primary and secondary school teachers hold at least a master degree obtained from universities. Universities conduct research on basic and secondary education which feed into the system. In the most integrated systems, universities provide mentoring, review primary and secondary education policies, and make recommendations.

Despite the above, the past half a century have witnessed similar repeated errors in international education and science agenda setting. Up to early 2000, the World Bank rate of return analysis influenced under-investment in developing countries’ higher education, in favour of basic education. This was the case for many development cooperation agencies and even national governments for close to two decades. Though subsequently, there was a theoretical and policy reversal following demonstrations of the new knowledge economies (South Korea, Finland, North Carolina etc), in favour of holistic and balanced education policymaking and financing, the Millennium Development Goal understated the role of higher education. This is similar to the SDGs, not least as a reinforcer of SDG4 and vehicle of SDG9 (innovation) and a cross-cutting and transversal sector for all the 17 SDGs. Ever since the covid19 a lot of multilateral donor partnerships have been initiated. Perhaps a lot of funds were deployed to university-related organisations and laboratories in the industrialised countries, given the urgency to find vaccines and other solutions to the effects of the pandemic.

A large majority of the partnership mostly focus on basic and secondary education in developing countries.
This panel brings together higher education and education experts to identify different channels and how to bridge the already existing bridge between basic, secondary and tertiary education in development cooperation policymaking. On the other hand, panellists will examine the different roles, channels and pathways in which universities support the development of a robust and quality basic and secondary education. At the end of the debate, participants highlight the different channels and make a case towards a more holistic and bridging education and science capacity-building funding in the EU-Africa partnerships

The Sustainability, Research and Innovation (SRI) Congress: Creating a shared community and shared language/vocabulary around societally inclusive science for global environmental change.

Words and language have power - and one of the challenges at the science-society interface is in finding a shared language that we can all relate to, particularly as we struggle to identify ways to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, work to address the sustainable development goals, and tackle other internationally identified global change priorities that will have tangible impacts on our communities world wide.  By looking at problems holistically - with a full life cycle, or systems approaches, and bringing together all of the interested research parties and stakeholders we can more effectively co-create, co-develop and co-deliver solutions to shared societal problems.  This allows us to build trust between actors, all of whom are investing in the solution, create a sense of ownership among all parties, and hopefully result in solutions that will be more readily accessible, acceptable and easily implementable in a societal context.  This is what we are aiming for through fostering of transdisciplinary projects to help understand, adapt and mitigate the impacts of global environmental change. That being said, working between and across sectors and disciplines is not something that comes naturally to many of our societies - where we have built institutions in silos, delimited by many different factors, including (but not limited to): funding envelopes; jurisdictional boundaries; thematic area; sector or discipline.  With this panel we will explore the concept of co-developed and co-implemented research - or transdisciplinarity as some of us refer to it - and explore case studies from Africa where the language used to describe this may be different, but it has been happening effectively for a long time.  What can we learn from the African experience? How can we co-develop language that will allow us all to have common understanding of this collaborative way of working, so that we can learn from one another and rally our respective communities, and global communities together towards our common grand challenges.

16 Feb Development Financing for Space Research", 16 Feb. 2022 2pm-
Milind Pimrpikar
Mr Declan Kirrane AERAP, ISC, Chair UNGA Science Summit
Dr Mirjana Povic ESSTI, Ethiopia and IAA, Spain
Dr Niall Smith, Munster Technological University, Ireland
Dr Barbara Cavalazzi, PHD President of EANA --European Astrobiology Network and Association, Università di Bologna
Dr Corado Perna National Institute of Astrophysics INAF, Italy
Dr Erik Ruuth Chief Scientific Officer. IMiBio. Argentina

EU-AU Summit. ESFRI side event.
The European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructure, ESFRI, is a forum of funders and policymakers with expertise in Research Infrastructures. Its mandate is defined by the Council of the European Union and acts as an informal body advising the Competitiveness Council. It consists of representatives of national authorities of Member States, Associated Countries and the EC responsible for political decision-making and funding of Research Infrastructures.

Its primary role is to provide a shared, long-term strategic vision for an effective, efficient and sustainable RI ecosystem in Europe, maximising the impact of national and European investments.
In this session, we would have the opportunity to learn a bit more about ESFRI Mission and Vision, priorities, procedures and tools, focusing on those aspects related to global approach and internationalisation. Also, to this aim, we will count on representatives of RI-VIS. The H2020 project is designed to increase the visibility of European research infrastructures to new communities in Europe and beyond, RI-VIS has produced a white paper on recommendations towards cooperation between African and European research infrastructures and communication guidelines for European research infrastructures: engaging with stakeholders in African countries.

Moreover, as part of ESFRI and one of the most important mobilisers for the internationalisation of Research Infrastructures, the European Commission's DG RTD will present what Horizon Europe programme offers for International collaboration on Research Infrastructures.
The core of the session will be devoted to showcasing EU-AU collaboration. To this end, a panel bringing together a range of ESFRI research infrastructures will be dedicated to presenting current initiatives in different areas:

• Werner Kutsch, the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) ERIC Director-General will present concepts for developing necessary observations, the best available science and science-based services in Africa that are needed to sharpen our joint action on climate change mitigation and adaptation as outlined in the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is a user-base facility that welcomes around 9,000 researchers annually, on-site or through remote access. ESRF owes its success to the international cooperation of 22 partner nations. We will have the opportunity to learn about the work of the ESRF with South Africa and the relevant research developed that is particularly strong in palaeontology and cultural heritage. Moreover, we will take stock of the efforts towards a light source for Africa, in Africa.
• Finally, EuroBioimaging ERIC DG will discuss African health challenges, the need for African life science researchers to have better opportunities to engage with international advanced scientific training and advanced research infrastructures, and how the European infrastructures offer possibilities to strengthen African scientists and science both in terms of training and technologies.

The ESFRI event will conclude with a question-and-answer session where we will have the opportunity to deepen into the EU-AU collaboration from the perspective of African partners.
ESFRI invites you all to join us.

The Africa IP SME Helpdesk is an EU-funded project set up to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the European Union (EU) in the process of creating, protecting, utilising, administering and enforcing intellectual property rights (IPR) across Africa, in line with international and European best practice and in support of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The EU and African countries share a common interest in facilitating trade and investment among themselves. African countries offer EU SMEs a diverse market with a wide spectrum of economic, cultural and geographical features, as well as varying degrees of development of their IP systems.

Cooperation between the EU and African countries in the Africa IP SME Helpdesk project will provide a unique opportunity for European SMEs to invest in Africa and, in that process, enable African countries to access global business value chains while, at the same time, contributing to sustainable development and economic growth in Africa. Please check our website http://africaiphelpdesk.eu

https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/regional-helpdesks/africa-ip-sme-helpdesk_en

Using Assistive Technology to Promote Inclusion for People with Disability through Collaboration and Partnership between Europe, Africa, and the United States.

One billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience forms of disabilities. Among those, one-fifth of the estimated global total, or between 110 million and 190 million people, experience significant disabilities. Disability prevalence is even higher for developing countries and those with disabilities are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes such as less education, poorer health and employment outcomes, and higher poverty rates.

The European Commission’s European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 had identified social exclusion as one of the grand challenges that people with disabilities in Europe are facing. People with disabilities are the most disadvantaged in society exacerbating many inequity issues. For instance, people with disabilities may have limited access to basic education, which can largely reduce their chances to obtain meaningful and gainful employment as adults. Globally, the employment rates of people with disabilities is significantly lower than their peers without disabilities. In addition to the socio-economic implications, social exclusion impacts negatively on self-esteem, mental health and quality of life. Thus, social Inclusion is an important element of well-being for people with disabilities and a key component of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Research has highlighted that social inclusion can be promoted through access to education and employment.

Research has also demonstrated that assistive technology (AT) can be a meaningful way to improve access to education, employment and independence among people with disabilities. AT, include both high-end and low-end devices, equipment and systems, apps and other products. While AT can be useful in improving the life of people with disabilities, the World Health Organization have identified that only 10% of the population in need of AT products have access to them.

While AT provision varies across countries, the intent to support people with disabilities should be a global priority with a focus on removing barriers and providing facilitators to independent living, community participation, and transition from education to employment settings. The rapid pace of technological advancement can leave behind the most vulnerable in society especially those with disabilities. There are low rates of AT adoption by service providers, educators, employers and policymakers as well as high rates of AT abandonment. Building global capacity for AT provision and applications will provide a unique opportunity to support independence and inclusion for people with disabilities through the use of AT.

In collaboration with different stakeholders and through the voices of researchers, practitioners, individuals with disabilities, and caregivers, we will highlight the critical role of partnerships between Europe, the US and Africa in increasing inclusion and improving lives for people with disabilities. Using an international project, we will describe the challenges faced by inclusive education programs for transition-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Mali and Malawi. We will also share innovative strategies in improving the situations by capacity building as well as guidelines and program development. Finally, we will discuss the importance of promoting interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaborations between all stakeholders and placing the person with a disability at the centre of the program and resources development, deployment and dissemination

Advances in engineering and science have run ahead of our organizational structures and societal norms. Can we continue to innovate while provide scaffolding to allow our scientists and engineers to raise flags without risking their careers and livelihoods? How can society writ large gain visibility into the consequences and unforeseen consequences of artificial intelligence and machine learning? How can we do this globally working with professional associations? And can regulators and funders benefit from tools developed in Digital Finance? 

Innovating and promoting R&D addressing priority needs in antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to be one of the major global challenges of our times, representing an ever-increasing threat to human, animal, and environmental health, and an ever-present and growing socio-economic burden.Recent work has shown that AMR is a leading cause of death worldwide, directly attributable to an estimated 1.27 million deaths in 2019, a figure that is similar to the global death toll of HIV and malaria combined. Although AMR is a complex and dynamic multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral challenge that transcends geographical boundaries, the burden of its impact is felt disproportionately in low and middle-income countries with reported rates of death attributable to resistance highest in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa.
 
Given the urgency of the situation, there is a need for coordinated efforts in AMR across the value chain from research and development (R&D) efforts to the incentives being implemented globally that aim to improve the functioning of markets responsible for the development and distribution of priority health technologies for addressing AMR. Realising the critical nature of AMR has invigorated international and national efforts at the community, organisational and governmental level to fund R&D in the AMR field, especially over the last decade. Investments in R&D are crucial for developing solutions in terms of effective interventions and products resulting in the prevention, containment or reduction of AMR. However, the translation of this funding into outcomes and benefits for those with the highest priority needs remains challenging.
  
 The Global AMR R&D Hub aims to further improve the coordination of international efforts and initiatives to tackle AMR while further increasing investments into R&D for AMR. In order to promote the development of health technologies and strategies addressing AMR, resources need to be employed even more effectively than at present.
This session aims to gain insight into the country-specific, economic, social and environmental factors facing AMR-related R&D within Africa and Europe, and the translation of investments into tools, products and policies that could meaningfully impact AMR.
We explore development and access to priority antimicrobials gaining a wide variety of perspectives from researchers, clinicians, policymakers and other key opinion leaders, sharing lessons learned and exploring the potential for synergies for translating AMR R&D into impact.

Moderation/Chair: Representative of the Global AMR R&D Hub

The Schools Satellite Project (SSP) is intended to enable a cohort of high schools worldwide to design, construct, launch and fly a small satellite – also called a Nano Satellite or Cube Satellite.
Access to space has never been more accessible than it is today. We live in a truly exciting era in which space is no longer the preserve of a few space-faring nations. Satellites are becoming smaller and less expensive, yet more powerful in what they can do. Rockets to launch them are becoming greener, using cleaner fuels with consequent lower impact on the Earth’s environment. This is the era of Space 4.0 where all nations can now help to solve problems they face using new satellite and rocket technologies.
The SSP project takes advantage of these developments and adds one critical extra element into the mix – the wonderfully creative minds of young people across the globe. Harnessing your collective thoughts and ideas, we will push the boundaries of what’s possible with a small satellite and inspire the next generation of humans who will use space for the good of us all.
The project will allow high school students to have direct experience building and flying a small satellite and using satellites to collect data for analysis. By creating this enabling environment, students will have the opportunity to gain some experience in the design, construction and operation of a satellite. This will include designing the mission objectives, including designing the instrumentation on the satellite which will collect data to fulfil the mission objectives. A key component of the project will be to allow students to design the projects but the broad domain areas will include satellite navigation and earth observation.
In pursuing its objectives, SSP will engage with key enabling stakeholders including universities, industry bodies including satellite manufacturers and space agencies and others involved in the operation of satellites

Africa and agriculture
Approx.  23 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP comes from agriculture

Agriculture is by far the single most important economic activity in Africa. It provides employment for about two-thirds of the continent’s working population, especially women, and for each country, it contributes an average of 30-60% of GDP and about 30% of the value of exports.

Unfortunately, 50-70% of those who make a living from farming, live in extreme poverty, especially among smallholder farmers, who manage 80% of the continent’s farmland.

Although climate-smart technologies, improvements in land, water, seed and pest management have improved crop harvests, commercial banks and underwriters do not provide the necessary financial support and credit, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises.

In this session, we will speak with leaders from the emergent agriculture fintech sector and see how their solutions provide financial inclusion and how it is impacting African farmers and rural communities at large.

Panellists will include:

Dozy Mmbuosi -CEO and Cofounder of Tingo and Tingo Mobile - Nigeria
Dakshesh Patel - CFO Tingo and Tingo holdings - Zimbabwe
Barry Palte - Chairman ImpactRooms
Daniella Kwayu- CEO and Founder PhemaAgri - Tanzania
Sandra Boafo Agyiri - CEO and Cofounder Agra Circa - Ghana
Nixon Gecheo- Chief Digital Officer, AGRA (Alliance Green Revolution Africa) - Kenya
Gibson Muriuki - Managing Director Feather Hub - Kenya

  
Personalised medicine (PM) has been defined by the EC as “a medical model using characterisation of individuals’ phenotypes and genotypes (e.g. molecular profiling, medical imaging, lifestyle data) for tailoring the right therapeutic strategy for the right person at the right time, and/or to determine the predisposition to disease and/or to deliver timely and targeted prevention “. PM addresses the challenges of i) common medicines not being effective in treating large numbers of patients and ii) rising healthcare costs due to more prevalent chronic diseases and an ageing population. It does this through dedicated diagnostics, tailor-made prevention and treatment strategies for individuals or groups, so patients receive the specific therapies that work best for them, and no money is lost on trial-and-error treatments.

African countries are undergoing a demographic transition leading to increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs,) that together with the infectious diseases burden represent a big challenge for the near future. To cope with this, Africa urgently needs to take full advantage of transformative new medical models and tools, such as the ones offered by PM, that can be used to improve medical efficiency and help health systems to become more effective. Incorporating African topics in the global PM research agenda can contribute to shortening the existing health disparities between developed and developing countries, as well as facilitating the access of African countries to new tools and technologies that have the potential to make healthcare more efficient and equitable.

The session is convened by EU-Africa PerMed, an ongoing coordinating and support action funded by the European Commission H2020 programme, that seeks to facilitate and strengthen collaboration between Europe and Africa in PM at both scientific and policy level. The project is identifying and engaging with African stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities that PM can offer to improve the health of the population. Together, they will identify areas of mutual benefit for collaboration and set up an action plan for future collaborations between both regions in PM.

During the session, together with a presentation of the EU-Africa PerMed project, invited panellist from different African regions and stakeholder groups (policy makers, researchers, funding agencies) will present and discuss about aspects such as:

• What is the scientific landscape of PM in Africa?
• How does Africa pursue developing a continental agenda for personalised medicine with a regional focus?
• How would international collaboration between Africa and Europe or rather inter-African regional collaboration be useful to increase the level of awareness and understanding of PM among policy makers?
• How can African countries prioritise PM in national health/research strategies and what role can international research funding programmes play?

Structure of the session 

Opening
Chair: Evelyn Gitau (APHRC)
 
The EU-Africa Per Med project                     
Erika Sela, Innovatec (coordinator of EU-Africa PerMed)

Section 1: Personalised Medicine

Integrating PM in the Health research and innovation strategy for Africa (HRISA 2018-2030)
Paul Tanui, AUDA-NEPAD

Understanding the scientific landscape of PM in Africa results from the EU-Africa PerMed mapping
Amr Radwan, Egyptian Center for Innovation & Technology Development (Egypt)

The South African personalised medicine programme
Rizwana Mia, South African Medical Research Council (S. Africa)
 
Questions and Answers
Moderator: Evelyn Gitau
 
Section 2 EU-Africa collaboration in PM
 
How can participating in the EU-Africa PerMed project be a driving force towards the development of PM in Kenya?
Teresia Nyawira, National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (Kenya)
 
The vision from the EC, future outlook for international collaboration in PM
Jean Luc Sanne. Policy Officer, DG Research and Innovation, EC
 
International collaboration for capacity building and training in PM.
Souleymane Mboup /Badara Cisse, Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (Senegal) TBC
Patrice Debre. French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (France)
 
Questions and answers
Moderator: Evelyn Gitau TBC
 

 
 

Policy development that is inclusive, participatory and leads to a concrete practical implementation that is sustainable is a key priority for all who participate in the AERAP AU-EU Science Summit.
How do we establish an enabling environment for the dialogue to take place, so we can engage in an effective process to achieve that priority? The UN has been engaged in Africa and has on-the-ground networks and decades of lessons learned. How can we build and evolve a Global Europe approach to the development process so that assets and knowledge can be harnessed? This can create new and innovative ways to build on existing knowledge and know-how.

The session will look at how cities play a role in their own journey to achieve local aspirations and by sharing and learning speed up the process for all cities?

Africa is urbanizing at a rate of 4% per year, according to UN-Habitat, the United Nations agency tasked with assisting national programmes relating to human settlements through the provision of capital and technical assistance, particularly in developing countries. Population shifts from rural to urban areas lead to a number of challenges such as overcrowding, pollution and crime, among others. Urbanization in the Africa of today is an untapped tool for development and economic growth. Over the next 15 years, cities in Africa will experience higher growth rates than other regions of the world, with Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg and Luanda becoming Africa’s major economic giants.

A recent article published by Nature News (17 September 2021) reported that “a large proportion of research on economic development does not involve any researchers who are based in the global south … and . . . it is relatively common for southern scholars to contribute with [North-based] authors, because they are not as familiar with datasets etc, only to be rewarded with a line in the acknowledgements instead of co-authorship . . .”. The only way to reverse the situation is to build new Innovation Systems and transform existing Innovation Systems with the South-South-North collaborations. It is important to build platforms for intensified South-South cooperation with the collaboration and support of the global North. It is with this objective that Prof. Mammo Muchie with the board directors founded the Association for South-South Cooperation in Innovation Systems Transformation ASSIST (https://assistsarchi.wixsite.com/assist).

In the current EU-AU Science, Technology Summit, the South-South Cooperation in Innovation Systems Transformation ASSIST will present the vision, mission and objectives to bring about sustainable and enduring collaboration between South-South quadruple helices-to deliver excellence in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation by aligning the productivity of universities, governments, industries and communities in education, health, economics, all services, governance, leadership, institutions and systems. ASSIST can create with research excellence holistically integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation systems by linking the Global North to appreciate and value the Global South-South Collaboration to interconnect all fully by using and applying the principles of mutual benefit with no one losing and all in the South-South with the North winning.

ASSIST will work to produce outputs, outcomes and impacts by developing research projects to bring trust anchored South–South–North unity anchored relations in order to create one humanity as one community. ASSIST will develop scientific research to promote the humanistic path to save all people in the world and the planet in this not easy Covid-19 pandemic time the world is in.

It is important for the South-_South researchers to get up, stand up and build up scientific research capacity and intensify South-South scholarly networking with collaboration in the North. There is online communications opportunity for research-capacity building and mentoring through a comparatively inexpensive means globally applying digital technology.

ASSIST will work to create a science paradigm shift with both the ontology and epistemology of innovation to bring the post-covid 19 world. re-order A new appreciative reorientation in anchoring the South-South-North holistically integrated and unified health and social innovation system would require the innovative approach to be open to go from the current dominant validation from narrow economistic, market, commercial to wider unification of health, economy, social and environmental all-inclusive gains. There is a need to re-work, re-design, re-engineer and unlearn to learn and re-learn the way to deal with Covid 19 by increasing R & D to create the life-saviour the ASSIST driven holistic social innovation system.

Efforts are required to synergize social capital, human capital, natural capital, physical and financial capital with ccapability and productive power in order to move from narrow commercially measured validation success criteria to achieve unified, wider and tangible social, environmental, knowledge and economic success simultaneously.

Presentations are most welcome on the research that ASSIST can promote in science, technology and innovation by including the South-South full collaboration with the North to produce tangible and high quality output and outcomes with impact to accelerate with speed of light square the a post-covid 19 world-re –order opportunity by removing the gravity burden current challenges.

The digitisation of the economy, as well as of the whole society, is changing the way we work, learn and lead our everyday lives. Digital transformation, along with market globalisation and demographic change, are dominating a profound transformation which will result in a major swift of the labour market, and the way people work. This paradigm shift represents a critical challenge for employers, workers, investors and public authorities, and the challenge needs to be fully understood and embraced in order to identify the most appropriate policy options to transform them into opportunities for all.

Although it remains crucial to develop a range of specific digital skills which respond to the needs of the digital economy, wider skills for the whole population should be embedded in a broader and comprehensive skills strategy in which other transversal skills relevant to employers such as entrepreneurial skills, communication skills, critical thinking and active citizenship, are also included. Evidence shows that the most effective means of improving employability and closing skills gaps are more generic measures aimed at improving the capacity of workers to acquire new skills and learn in an evolving economy and society. Skills and lifelong learning are crucial for long-term and sustainable growth, productivity and innovation and therefore a key factor for the competitiveness of businesses of all sizes. Providing people with the right skills allows them to work more effectively and take advantage of advanced technologies [1], eliminates the major obstacle identified to business investment [2], prevents labour market mismatches [3] reduces the risks of social and economic inequalities, contributing to high levels of social discontent, exclusion and poverty and [4], lays the ground for research and development (R&D) and firm-based innovation.

In order to respond effectively to the demands of a changing society and labour market, focus has to be put on synergies between education, research, innovation and employment, creating links between higher education institutions and industry groups in order to identify their current and future skills needs, encompassing not only technical but transversal and cognitive skills. This skills assessment strategy has to reflect the local environment and the variegated realities of the African continent in order to be effective and representative of committed action. 

In addition, strong connections within the education sector and Government agencies will ensure engagement from all stakeholders as partners in their up/re-skilling development initiatives.
Finally, designing a digital and a broader skills strategy or any other type of initiative to help all stakeholders to access the required skills, diversity needs to be clearly addressed through a tailored approach.

Using Science Diplomacy as a powerful instrument to foster European-African cooperation
 
Science can play an important role in providing a basis for political decisions and can build bridges between science, society and politics – including science policy and development policy. Covid-19 pandemic made this very clear to us: never before had so many research activities to be mobilized internationally so quickly, which became the basis for international political action. Science diplomacy`s (SD) potential as a tool for Africa has not been widely raised so far. Many African countries have made significant progress toward meeting some of their ambitious objectives for development and political integration, the need remains to further progress the link between science interacting with diplomacy. Science diplomacy should, therefore, be recognized as a priority in shaping continental as well as national policy and development agendas. Science Diplomacy in Europe, on the other hand, has been on the rise over that last few years. It already plays a role in the new EU Global Approach and the Global Gateway Initiative of the European Commission. 
 
The EU-AU Summit in February will be the occasion for raising the awareness of SD’s potential in overcoming political tensions and to cast a light on it in the future cooperation of the two continents. The DLR Projektträger, active member of the EU Science Diplomacy Alliance is, therefore gathering policy-makers, scientists and stakeholders for an interactive exchange on the following questions: 
 
•             How can Science Diplomacy be strategically implemented in African countries and the continent? Would African countries benefit from a coherent African Science Diplomacy approach? 
•             How can Science Diplomacy help to address the challenges posed by the endeavour to enable a sustainable and green African and European development while addressing the SDGs? 
•             How can Science Diplomacy support the development of the AU-EU partnership?
 
The event is linked to the session “Science Diplomacy to achieve the SDGs” at the Science Summit of the United Nations General Assembly 76 in September 2021.

AU-EU Partnership Opportunities in Achieving African Sustainable Food Systems.

This presentation proposes that the 2022 AU-EU Summit should place the delivery of Sustainable Food Systems (SFSs) as a key element of the future AU-EU strategic relationship. It examines how developments at international, African and EU level are aligned to facilitate such a move at this time. It suggests that Ireland has a particular contribution to make towards an AU-EU partnership working to support African SFSs, by virtue of its experience in transforming its own food system and its commitment to being an international leader in SFSs.

The 2020 UN Food Systems Summit resulted in over 100 countries, including many African countries, committing to transforming their food systems as part of their pathway towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A food systems approach recognizes the interconnections between policies for food, climate and health and that all actors along the value-chain have a role in developing a sustainable food system. Food system transformation is a long term process and is part of broader societal and economic transformation.

Africa remains heavily dependent on its agri-food sector, in its share of the economy, numbers employed and share of - largely unprocessed - exports. Ambitious targets have been set for the development of the sector, through the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods but these targets have remained far from delivery. Growing markets for food resulting from increasing prosperity and rapid population growth provide opportunities for African food producers but there has been a large increase in African food imports over the past two decades. The African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), founded in 2018, should be an important factor in boosting intra-African trade in food and other products. The COVID pandemic has highlighted the strategic importance of enhanced African food and nutrition security.

Europe has made major changes in policy direction, notably through the through the European Green Deal (2019) with the ambition that Europe should become the first climate neutral continent by 2050. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is undergoing significant reform, aimed at becoming more sustainable. The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), also known as Global Europe, reflects the potential of collaborative and inclusive science to address key policy objectives for AU-EU relations, including digital transition and the Green Deal.

Agri-food and rural sector has been given a particular focus within AU-EU collaboration over the past decade. A series of Agriculture Ministerial meetings have been held over the 2016-21 period, with the Joint AU-EU Ministerial Declaration adopted at the 2019 meeting in Rome, and the related AU-EU Rural Transformation Agenda. This Agenda was largely based on the recommendations of the Task Force Rural Africa (TFRA), (March 2019).

Ireland’s EU membership since 1973 has been central to the country’s political and economic progress over the past half-century. Ireland’s agri-food sector has been transformed from being a producer of primary commodities to being a high value added internationally competitive sector. Food Vision 2030, Ireland’s national agri-food strategy for the coming decade, provides the policies to make Ireland an international leader in SFSs, through its domestic policy and its foreign and development cooperation policy.
The above narrative provides a conjuncture of events which point to the need for AU and EU political leaders to fully recognise the importance of prioritising SFSs in future development strategy. This requires urgent action, reflected in increased investment as envisaged in the Malabo Declaration cited above, and longer-term prioritisation and policy consistency for the sector. As already noted, food system transformation must be an integral part of wider societal and economic transformation.

A broad-based integrated partnership between Africa and Europe should be a foundation stone in enabling Africa achieve its potential in SFSs. The TFRA report proposed a three stranded basis – people to people, business to business, government to government – for such a partnership.

The presentation concludes by building on the TFRA recommendations, taking account of the lessons learned from the COVID pandemic, and responding to the opportunities offered by the AU declaring 2022 as ‘Africa’s Year of Nutrition’, to offer a practical programme aimed at moving Africa towards the achievement of Sustainable Food Systems.
Tom Arnold
7 February 2022.

African nations have an opportunity to come to the international table with power and equity in the New Space Economy. Sub-Saharan Eastern Africa, in particular Kenya, has a competitive advantage to become a center in the cross-continent geographic region, and lead the African Continent into the New Space Economy. How can this be done? There are 3 key actions: leverage the success and leadership of the past, build capacity in Africa to enable space for Africa by Africans, and align African governments, international banks, and New Space companies in supporting infrastructure development in Africa. The centerpiece of this initiative must be an African Spaceport, or as we call it: Spaceport Kenya. This ambitious, perhaps audacious, goal can serve to bring together public, private, and non-profit organizations to unlock the tangible benefits of developing space infrastructure in Africa. Spaceport Kenya will not only serve as a launch site for space companies from all six continents, but will also serve to fire the engine of economic development within the space economy for all of Africa. The spaceport will provide jobs at all levels for Africans and create demand for skilled, professional, and expert teams which will in turn drive educational development and capacity building in Africa. It will also serve to drastically reduce "brain drain," by providing not only economic opportunity but also prestige to skilled Africans. Furthermore, the economic and cultural benefits extend to industries in the supply chain of space and also which are consequences of the space economy. These benefits will be realized by many nations and enable opportunities for others creating a key part of the future of sustainable prosperity in Africa.

Materials, Goal 17 and Sustainability:
It can be argued that Materials are the ultimate platform to enable most if not all Sustainable Development Goals – from enablers of pandemic-protecting face masks and life-saving medicine to technologies for clean air and water to developing a new generation of materials to mitigate climate change and promote a zero-waste economy. In addition to materials science and engineering as a discipline, supply chains have proven to be lifelines especially during the pandemic. Valuable materials and minerals such as cobalt, nickel and palladium have also been caught in the crosshairs of conflict in certain parts of the world, sometimes fuelling unrest along with it
In the spirit of SDG Goal 17, “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”, we are organising only the second-ever Science Summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 15th 2022. In the spirit of a global partnership, the Materials Day will bring together legislators, scientists, NGOs, industrialists, public sector leaders and regulators to reimagine a post-pandemic sustainable world where materials are at the heart of the sustainable movement. In the run up to this first-of-a-kind conference, the co-convenors of the conference Declan Kirrane and Sumitra Rajagopalan will preview the conference and the panel discussions of relevance and high interest to the African Union. From sustainable alternatives to cobalt and safe urban mining to smart and sustainable habitats to combat heat waves, come and join us for an hour of science, sustainability and our collective future.

In the early digital age, whoever collected the data ‘owned the data”. This is changing as myriad issues of rights to access to data and personal information are being worked through. Cooperatives and Utilities helped spread electricity access – can these apply to data? Digital innovations are not subject to scientific testing, yet have impact on human health – can community living labs help us collect the evidence needed for better translational science?