UNESCO Contributes to Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action

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 2007.

The African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST) was established in November 2003 under the auspices of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Union. It is a high-level platform for developing policies and setting priorities on science, technology and innovation for African development. AMCOST provides political and policy leadership for the implementation of Africa’s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action.

The theme of the upcoming Summit of the African Union in 2007 is science, technology and research for Africa's socio-economic development. This choice undoubtedly reflects the growing realization that science, technology and innovation are central to economic prosperity and to reaching the international development goals in such areas as food security, disease control, access to clean water and environmental sustainability.

In preparation for this event, UNESCO has put together a brochure on its contribution to Africa’s Plan for Science and Technology to 2010. Click here to read the Science in Africa brochure, and find out about the ways in which UNESCO can lend its support to NEPAD.

Elaborated in 2005 by the African Union and its NEPAD, Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action is the fruit of a continent-wide consultation; it creates a roadmap for international and regional cooperation in science and technology over the next five years.

UNESCO has accompanied this exciting new initiative, first by assisting in the initial elaboration of Africa's strategy for science and technology, then by co-organizing the First African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology in Nairobi in 2003 and throwing its support behind the Second Ministerial Conference on the same theme in 2005. To ensure a coherent approach among United Nations agencies, UNESCO also held a meeting in June 2006 to prepare with its sister agencies for the African Union Summit in 2007.