Regional training workshop on science and technology

A regional training workshop on fisheries and aquaculture, science and technology and innovation systems will be held in Lilongwe, Malawi, from 5-9 May 2008.

It is being organised by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) in collaboration with NEPAD, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and Bunda College of the University of Malawi.

The workshop — at Bunda College — will be attended by national stakeholders and regional fisheries experts from Ministries of Agriculture, research organisations and universities from Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.

The objectives of the workshop are :

To introduce participants to the importance of science, technology and innovation for development in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region.

To introduce the concept of the national innovation system and explore the nature of STI policymaking.

To discuss the methodology used for analysing the innovation system in the agricultural sector in the ACP region and applying it to the fisheries sub-sector. Source : NEPAD, may 6, 2008

Setting the scene to involve grassroots communities in their own development

African Monitor (AM) and Inter Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) are hosting a conference in Boksburg, South Africa, from 6-8 May 2008. The topic is : Setting the scene for grassroots engagement in Africa : establishing a partnership for grassroots participation in monitoring and advocacy.

Participants will be drawn from various faith groups including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Bahai Faith and African traditional religions as well as from civil society organisations from most African countries. Various regional and continental bodies working on development issues will also be represented.

Among the speakers will be Archbishop Njongo Ndungane, Dr. Ishmael Noko and Dr. Graca Machel.

The main purpose of the conference is to chart and map ways of creating a functional network of faith-based Organisations (FBOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) for grassroots engagement in effective development.

The conference is part of African Monitor and IFAPA’s initiative to build the capacity of the grassroots in the different communities in the African continent to monitor aid and development commitments at their level.

The starting point is to create a network of CSOs and FBOs aimed at engaging the grassroots communities in aid and development monitoring.

The ultimate objective is to enable grassroots communities to be able to monitor and determine the level at which their development needs are being met. It is also to empower these communities to be able to advocate for better results-oriented and beneficial development.

 Website : www.africa-faithforpeace.org
 www.africanmonitor.org. Source : NEPAD, may 6, 2008

Young diplomats learn about NEPAD and progress before being posted overseas

A 17-member team of diplomats-in-training from the South African Department of Foreign Affairs visited the NEPAD Secretariat in Midrand, outside Johannesburg, on 18 April 2008.

They were formally welcomed by Bankole Adeoye, Coordinator (External Relations and Partnerships), who said NEPAD was pleased to be able to brief young diplomats being posted abroad on the progress being made in NEPAD implementation.

Gengezi Mgidlana, Special Advisor to the Chief Executive, who represented the Acting CEO of the NEPAD Secretariat, Ambassador Olukorede Willoughby, addressed the visiting team on the major activities of the NEPAD Secretariat since inception in 2001.

He pointed to the development of various sectoral frameworks by the Secretariat in advancing the objective of the eradication of poverty and promoting economic growth and sustainable development, and said that NEPAD was moving from the advocacy stage to an implementation phase.

The Special Advisor emphasised the readiness of the NEPAD Secretariat to continue to work with all stakeholders and development partners in carrying forward the NEPAD vision and mission as well as implementing the NEPAD agenda.

He stressed the contribution of NEPAD to Africa’s development, adding that the process of integrating NEPAD into the structures and processes of the African Union, as mandated by African leaders, remained a top strategic goal of the Secretariat.

During the session that followed the diplomats-in-training were briefed in detail by senior management staff on NEPAD’s objectives, successes and challenges as well as specific activities involving agriculture and food security, private sector development, capacity development and partnership promotion.

The NEPAD Secretariat has played host to a series of official visits from trainee diplomats in promoting the AU/NEPAD principle of African leadership and ownership of the continent’s development agenda and process. Source : NEPAD, may 6, 2008

Gabon diplomat new Chairman of African Union Commission

The chairmanship of the African Union Commission was handed over by Prof. Alpha Oumar Konaré to his successor, Jean Ping of Gabon, at a ceremony at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 28 April 2008.

Welcoming all those present at this distinguished gathering, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chairman of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC), Ato Meles Zenawi, said :

I would like, first of all, to once again welcome our brother President Jakaya Kikwete, Chairperson of the African Union, to Addis Ababa for this important occasion.

I must use this opportunity to reiterate what we have always affirmed, and that is your country, the United Republic of Tanzania, has always made Africa proud. We should draw satisfaction from the fact that the tradition of Tanzania’s commitment to Africa continues under your able leadership. Thank you for coming to Addis Ababa for this major African event.

Addis Ababa is blessed to have had the opportunity of hosting, first the OAU, and now the AU. The people of Ethiopia are honoured to have been given this great opportunity and responsibility.

It is also in that spirit that we bid Professor Alpha Oumar Konaré and his colleagues farewell. We have appreciated every minute of their stay in Addis Ababa as well as their friendship.

I would like to pay tribute to Professor Konaré for everything he has done for Africa and for having raised to a very high level the profile of the African Union internationally. As I have told him in the past, including yesterday, he will always be close to the heart of the people of Ethiopia. You will be missed, as will your colleague members of the outgoing Commission.

But the new Chairperson of the Commission is no stranger to Addis Ababa or to the AU. As an African diplomat of long experience, including as the Foreign Minister of his country, his is a familiar face in Addis Ababa and at the AU. And he is also a friend whom we will be proud to embrace. We have, no doubt, given his experience, including as President of the United Nations General Assembly, he will, with competence, build on the rich legacy of Professor Konaré and his colleagues.

It is therefore with deep sentiments that we pledge full support to our new Chairperson of the Commission and his colleagues as we bid farewell and express gratitude to Professor Konaré and his colleagues. Source : NEPAD, may 6, 2008

Not the NEPAD Secretariat

The NEPAD Secretariat would like to clarify that the first Europe-Africa Business Summit hosted in Germany was not a NEPAD Secretariat Summit.

A number of calls to the NEPAD Secretariat indicate some confusion that the Secretariat hosted the Summit.

The Summit was hosted by the NEPAD Business Council. This is a formation of Africans living in the US and Europe, who have created a vehicle for co-coordinating participation in the development and implementation of the NEPAD programme. Source : NEPAD, may 6, 2008