Denis Opudo
In a meeting that was hosted at the CSIR Conference Centre in Pretoria more than 50 countries were represented by 2,000 delegates. The talk of the meeting which was held on 7th to 9th December 2017 majorly based on science, technology, and innovation. It’s the third time South African Science Forum is hosting such an event.
The event is a brainchild of Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor which she aimed at showcasing the country’s contribution towards science and brings together renowned scientists from different corners of the world to talk about the role of science in improving lives. The conference was inaugurated by the Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa before allowing in some talks and debates with much focus on the duty of the young people in the field of science, technology, and innovation.
The holding of the event in South Africa was crucial given the time of international collaborations in various developments in science. The local forum was gaining more attraction than compared to other forums away from the country especially the high number of speakers and the increased number of African delegates and exhibitors. The event was a platform to show the world that in Africa also science, technology, and innovations are practiced, and the African scientists should also get the same level of recognition just like the others from various continents.
It also shows that the African scientists are mature and ready to do business with the rest of the world. Given the fact that and improving in performance in science, technology, math’s, engineering and innovation is the core to the economic growth, the forum gave the young scientists a platform to believe in themselves given the fact that they had an opportunity of sharing the table with prominent scholars in the same field. It allows the young African scientists to believe that they can be better as anyone.
There is need to increase the number of young African both men and female doing the postgraduate courses, and this will help Africa to have continued success. The group that attended the forum comprised of prominent people in the field of science, technology, and innovation from various parts of the world.
