A R C H I V E S

UNESCO publishes report on S&T in Burundi

10 July - UNESCO has published a report this week which describes the current state of R&D in the Republic of Burundi and proposes a series of recommandations in the form of discussion points for the commissions which will be working on the country’s Strategic Plan for Science, Technology and Research for Sustainable Development. Read the report (in French).

UNESCO publishes study on STI policy for Armenia

July 2009 - A study published by UNESCO this week proposes specific policy measures for developing science, technology and innovation in Armenia. Recommendations include the promotion of an effective National Innovation System, the consolidation of national science institutes to create a strong network of centres of excellence, the improvement of higher education and lifelong learning in a changing global environment, the development and upgrading of information and communication tools and the development and maintenance of a strong R&D infrastructure. Read the report

Launch of Albania’s National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation

June 2009 - The Albanian government launched its National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation on 17 June, during a conference organized in Tirana, in the presence of Vice Prime-Minister Genc Pollo, the Minister of Education and Science, Mr Fatos Beja, the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms Gülden Türköz-Cosslett and the Director of UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Mr Engelbert Ruoss. (More)

Parliamentarians call for network to support S&T for development in Eastern Africa

April 2009 - Parliamentarians from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Egypt plan to establish a sub-regional network of parliamentarians in support of science and technology for development. This recommendation is outlined in the Mombasa Declaration adopted on 3 April at the end of a five-day capacity-building workshop in STI policy and scientific forum for parliamentarians organized by UNESCO’s Division for Science Policy and Sustainable Development, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, African Union/New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Kenya Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology. (More)

STI policy review for East and North Africa

March 2009 - Fourteen countries from the sub-region have been invited to the five-day capacity-building workshop, which will begin with the exchange of experiences and lessons learnt in conducting STI policy reviews, in the company of experts. Given the importance of STI statistics and indicators for effective science policy reviews and formulation, the following two days will be devoted to a training exercise on S&T statistics and indicators. The meeting will end with a scientific forum for parliamentarians from the sub-region to raise awareness of the role STI will play in achieving sustainable development in Africa. The workshop is organized by UNESCO’s Division for Science Policy and Sustainable Development, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, African Union/New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Kenya Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology. The fourteen countries concerned by the workshop are Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Egypt and Libya.

Click here for details.
Contact the focal point.

Read about a similar meeting organized last year for the countries of the Southern African Development Community

An Arab Plan of Action for Science and Technology

January 2009 - The Economic Summit of the Kings, Heads of State and Governments of the Arab League adopted an Arab Plan of Action for Science and Technology in Kuwait on 20 January. UNESCO and ALECSO are spearheading efforts to implement the plan. (More)

Reform of Tanzanian science system under way

December 2008 - The reform of Tanzania’s science, technology and innovation (STI) system got under way on 15-16 December with the first consultation of stakeholders at a workshop in Bagamoyo (Tanzania). UNESCO is heading a team of United Nations agencies and development partners which are accompanying Tanzania in this endeavour, within the One UN initiative. Under this umbrella, UNESCO and government departments and agencies have formulated a series of proposals for a total budget of US$10 million, to be financed from the One UN fund and other sources. (More)

17 African countries to review STI policy

October 2008 - In the past year, 17 African countries have submitted requests for UNESCO assistance in reviewing their STI policy, including eight from the SADC: Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Rep. of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Thanks to financial support from Spain and Japan, science policy formulation has commenced in Madagascar (May 2008), Burundi (June 2008), Central African Republic (July 2008) and Benin (July 2008).

SADC countries exchange ideas and best practices

September 2008 - Countries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) met in Gaborone (Botswana) from 22 to 26 September to enable those which have already reviewed their science, technology and innovation (STI) policy – either with UNESCO or independently – to exchange ideas and best practices with countries undergoing a review. The five-day meeting was organized by UNESCO’s Division of Science Policy and Sustainable Development together with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The meeting was run back to back with a training workshop on Statistics and Indicators in Science and Technology to stress the importance of these tools for any STI review. Read the Proceedings.

Inauguration of International Centre for South-South Co-operation

May 2008 - The International Centre for South-South Co-operation in Science, Technology and Innovation was inaugurated on 22 May in Kuala Lumpur by the Malaysian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. The Director of UNESCO’s Division for Science Policy and Sustainable Development, Mustafa El-Tayeb, attended the event. For details of the launch and the first meeting of the Governing Board, click here.

Science, Technology and Parliament

March 2008 - The ongoing reform of the Congolese science system was presented to parliamentarians from Central Africa at a sub-regional science policy forum held in Brazzaville (Congo) from 11 to 14 March. (More on the forum. More on the Congolese reform).

Malaysia to host Centre for South-South Cooperation

24 January 2008 - An agreement was signed on Monday for the creation of the International Centre for South-South Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. (More)