Creating the Critical Mass of Expertise
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Posted on 21st November, 2012by Prof. ATPS Admin
Africa needs foresight planning to create the critical mass of foundation, vocational technical and secondary skills for growing market demands to respond to emerging needs of Africa, according to Peggy Oti-Boateng, the senior programme specialist for Science and Technology at United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
And to achieve this, Oti-Boateng calls for a concerted efforts to revamp science, technology and engineering education to make them relevant for employment creation and entrepreneurship.
While addressing the participants at the ongoing ATPS annual conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she noted that for African countries to compete effectively in the global markets, they would have to enhance their ability to innovate, harness their human capital and natural resources and apply the relevant technology for socio-economic development.
She pointed out that Africa has an enormous opportunity to tap into the Africa’s innovative young people.
“The youth present opportunities and we must mobilise their potential by providing educational, scientific and cultural resources that they need for personal development, access to decent jobs and mutual understanding for lasting peace,” said Oti-Boateng.
Apparently, the global youth literacy stands at 90 per cent between 2005 and 2010 indicating that the world will not achieve the target to eradicate illiteracy by 2015.
In her presentation titled Building the critical mass in STI capacity in response to emerging needs of Africa, she observed that skills development is wise investment because it is vital to reduce unemployment, inequity, and poverty and increase economic growth.
Oti-Boateng called for strengthened linkages among the scientist, engineers, policy makers and Society to move STI agenda forward in Africa.
This year’s conference is being held under the theme Emerging paradigms, technologies and innovations for sustainable development: global imperatives and African realities which have brought together researchers, academia, policy makers and innovators.