In Focus 2006

International Conference on
Gender, Science and Technology for Sustainable Development:
Looking Ahead to the Next 10 Years

12 December - This morning, Mustafa El Tayeb, Director of the Division for Science Policy ans Sustainable Development of UNESCO, welcomed the participants in the Conference on Gender, Science and Technology for Sustainable Development: looking Ahead to the Next 10 Years. The conference is organized by the Gender Advisory Board of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development and is taking place on 12 and 13 December at UNESCO headquarter in Paris. (More)

Director-General visits an Avicenna Virtual Campus in Egypt

On 13 November, the Director-General of UNESCO visited the Egyptian antenna of the Avicenna Virtual Campus set up by UNESCO in 2002, in cooperation with the European Commission. He was in Cairo for a meeting of the High-Level Task Force on Education for All. Mr Matsuura was accompanied by Education Minister Yousri El Gammal. The Avicenna network of « knowledge centres » covers the Mediterranean zone and is based on distance learning. Teaching modules in science and engineering are made available to university staff and their students at each of the participating centres.
During the visit, Mr Matsuura said that ‘teacher training, the development of lifelong learning and the promotion of quality education are at the heart of our action’. He went on to express satisfaction at seeing Egypt participate so actively in the Avicenna project, in line with the goals fixed in Dakar in 2000. The Director-General stressed the importance of science and technology for development, the theme of the forthcoming African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in January, and expressed the hope that Egypt would play an active part in discussions at the Summit.

Read about The very real success of the Avicenna Virtual Campus in English, French and Spanish (Source: A World of Science, October 2006).
Go to the Avicenna Virtual Campus website.

Contributing to Africa’s Plan for S&T to 2010

On 23-24 November, African Ministers of Science and Technology will be meeting in Cairo (Egypt) to prepare the forthcoming summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa in January. In preparation for this event, UNESCO has put together a brochure on its contribution to Africa’s Plan for Science and Technology to 2010. The UNESCO delegation to the Cairo meeting will be headed by Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences.

Read the brochure.

WORLD SCIENCE DAY FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT 2006

As every year, World Science Day for Peace and Development is being celebrated worldwide on 10 November. Since its inception, the Day has proved to be a great opportunity to reflect on the latest advances in science and the challenges science has yet to overcome. What are the prospects for science today be it in education, policy or research? The World Science Day for Peace and Development has also generated concrete projects and partnerships and built bridges between science and society. The City of Genoa, in Italy, will host this year's celebration within the Genoa Science Festival. Several events are also taking place at UNESCO Headquarters and in UNESCO's Member States.

(Eng - Fre)

Nigerian President pledges US$5 billion towards National Science Foundation

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria has announced a US$5 billion endowment fund for the establishment of a National Science Foundation. The announcement was made in Abuja on 23 May during a briefing of the President by UNESCO's International Advisory Board for the Reform of the Science, Technology and Innovation System of Nigeria. This move reflects the President's commitment to using the 'windfall' generated by current high oil prices to diversify Nigeria's economy by investing in science and technology. President Obasanjo is determined for Nigeria to become one of the top 20 economic leaders in the world by the year 2020.

(More)

Asia narrowing the R&D gap, says UNESCO report

Remarkable growth in a small number of emerging Asian economies, led by China, is narrowing the gap with North America, Europe and Japan in research and development (R&D), according to the UNESCO Science Report 2005 published in December. Whereas Europe and North America are facing a more competitive international environment, Africa, the Arab States and Latin America have yet to make much of an impact on the global scene.

Read the regional summaries of the UNESCO Science Report's findings:

Science is booming in Asia
Europe and the USA face a more competitive environment
‘Latin America and the Caribbean just not getting it together’
Better prospects for Africa and the Arab States?