Press Releases
ATPS Sudan hosts a Parliamentary Round Table on the Role of Science Technology and Innovation in achieving MDGs and in National Development Agenda
The ATPS Sudan Focal point organized a two day Parliamentary Round Table on the Role of Science Technology and Innovation in achieving MDGs and in National Development Agenda. The two day workshop, which was held held on 16th and 17th January aimed at Sensitizing Policymakers, Researchers, the Private Sector Actors and the Civil Society in Sudan on the role of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for sustainable development in Sudan; Identifying key actors in the Sudanese National System of Innovation and prioritize key stakeholders to drive the mainstreaming of STI in Sudan’s policy research agenda to effectively address its national development plan, Introducing the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) to stakeholders and identify potential actors and electing Coordinator(s) and National Steering Committee members of the ATPS Network in Sudan and officially Launching the ATPS Sudan Chapter Read more
Final Report of the ATPS Phase VI Mid Term Evaluation released.
The final report of the external evaluation report of the mid-term implementation of the ATPS Phase VI Strategic Plan, 2008 - 2012 has been released. The report, which was presented to the ATPS board and the ATPS members during the 2011 Annual General Meeting was released after it was approved by the ATPS board. ATPS would like to invite members and stakeholders to read the report . Click here to download the full report. Read more
ATPS holds a Side Event at COP 17 in Durban, South Africa.
A section of delegates at the ATPS Side Event on Making Sense of Climate Change (Click to enlarge)
The United Nations Climate Change Conference that began in Durban on the 28 November 2011 has brought together representatives of all Parties as well as International Organizations and Civil Society. With a comprehensive agenda that follows the Bali Action Plan agreed at COP 13, which also includes the Cancun Decisions, the discussions are being held in two tracks, COP17 - LCA and CMP7 - KP and will seek to make progress in the implementation of the Bali Action Plan and the Kyoto Protocol.
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Update on the recently concluded ATPS Conference on linking Research to Policy and practice
Participants at the 2011 ATPS Annual Conference (Click to enlarge)
Researchers now want policy makers and planners to involve them in their planning process. This emerged during a 5 day ATPS Annual Conference that was held between the 7th And 11th November 2011 in Mombasa, Kenya. The conference, Tagged “Strengthening Linkages Between Policy Research and Policy Making” Attracted participation from over 29 countries. Speaking at the conference, the Secretary and Chief Executive of Kenya’s National Council of Science and Technology, Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak called for the need to adopt proactive policies based on practical solutions to Africa’s problems. He noted that while Africans have been consumers of foreign technologies they have relegated themselves to receiving instead of being in the forefront of developing usable technologies to their advantage.
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Programme and Book of Abstracts for the 2011 ATPS Annual Conference
ATPS is pleased to announce the 2011 Annual Conference. The theme for this year's conference is "Strengthening Linkages between Policy Research and Policymaking for African Development" . The conference will be held from 7th to 10th November 2011 in Mombasa Kenya. Read more
ATPS Signs a MoU with the Economic Commission for Africa on collaboration in the development and implementation of Africa Climate Policy Centre’s.
ATPS has signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) that will see the two organizations collaborate in the development and implementation of ECA-based Africa Climate Policy Centre’s (ACPC) work program. The program focuses on Technology Transfer, Knowledge sharing and networking and Climate policy analyses and support to African governments. This will also enable the two institutions partner in other activities of mutual interest to both organizations that may be determined there-on. Read more
The IP coordinating team visits Zimbabwe
The IP coordinating team visited Zimbabwe on 1st-4th August 2011 to monitor the implementation of the IP program, including sensitizing the key stakeholders in the intellectual property rights institutions. Mr. Benson Zwizwai Zimbabwe Chapter Coordinator coordinated these meetings. The team managed to hold several meetings with the national steering committee of the IP program in Zimbabwe to review and plan for the implementation of the remaining phases of the programme. The visit culminated with a meeting with the registered members of the ATPS Zimbabwe Chapter. Read more
Lesotho Chapter's Scientific Revival Day Set for 30th August 2011
ATPS Lesotho chapter will be celebrating the Scientific Revival Day on the 30th of August at Lehakoe Club in Lesotho. The main agenda will be “To adopt and launch the African Manifesto for Science, Technology and innovation.” Read more
ATPS Chapters plan activities for the 2011 Scientific Revival Day
The 46th Ministerial Conference of the African Union (AU) in 1987 declared 30th June as a day reserved to commemorate the Scientific Revival Day of Africa (SRDA). The SRDA is a day for Africans to re-examine the role science and technology plays in their lives, the prevailing environment for science and technology, the achievements, missed opportunities, and strength of her science policy. The African Technology Policy Studies Network, through its National Chapters has over the years organised events to mark the SRDA day in various countries.The following is a highlight of the planned commemorative activities for the SRDA 2011 in the various ATPS Chapters: Read more
ATPS Participates in a Consultative Conference on Southern Voices in the Northern Policy Debate
Dakar; May 22nd & 23rd 2011: ATPS Executive Director, Dr. Kevin Urama and Prof. Turner T. Isoun, ATPS Board member, represented ATPS at the Consultative Conference on Southern Voices in the Northern Policy Debate. This meeting was attended by members from key institutions from all over Africa such as African Centre for Economic transformation, African Institute for Development studies, Institute for Global dialogue and Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale just to mention a few.
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ATPS Nigeria Chapter to commemorate the Scientific Revival Day of Africa, 2011
ATPS Nigeria is set to mark this year’s Scientific Revival Day of Africa. The major activity for the celebration will be symposium on “Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Policies" The celebrations will take place on the 6th of July at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria, starting at 10am. The event has been organised in partnership with the University of Nigeria (UNN), the African Technology Policies Studies Network (ATPS), Kenya, and the Open Society Foundation (OSF) of the United States of America, the Development Partnerships in Higher Education (DelPHE) of UK and the Faculty of Agriculture, UNN, under the UNN-ATPS-OSF project on building trans-disciplinary climate change adaption capacity at the University of Nigeria whose major objective is to develop capabilities and curriculum for new programmes on climate change adaptation. Read more
The Final Newsletter under the SETDEV process is published.
(Click to enlarge)The last SET-DEV (Science, Ethics and Technological responsibility in Developing and Emerging countries) newsletter covering the final phase of the SET-DEV project launched in 2008 to support the Indian and African research systems in developing their own ethical perspectives in the context of Scientific and Technological Research (STR) Was published in May 2011.
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Implementation of the African Manifesto for Science, Technology and Innovation - A Breakfast Roundtable with Stakeholders & SETDEV Final Outputs’ Workshop
(Click to enlarge)The African Technology Policy Studies Network, together with its SETDEV partners have organized a one day Breakfast Roundtable with Stakeholders on the Implementation of the African Manifesto for Science, Technology and Innovation under the Science, Ethics and Technological Responsibility in Developing and Emerging Countries (SETDEV) project. The workshop will also see the presentation of the final outputs under the project to key stakeholders at this breakfast roundtable for final review comments and implementation planning. The meeting is expected to bring together approximately 60 key stakeholders from 26 countries from 4 continents, including Africa, United States of America, Europe and Asia. The final outputs include:
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New Working Papers Published
The African Technology Policy Studies Network has published new working papers from its on-going Climate Sense Program. The papers were produced by researchers from different regions in Africa who were awarded grants under the ATPS Climate Sense Program as part of the implementation of the ATPS Phase VI Strategic Plan, 2008 – 2012. The papers are as follows:
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ATPS Subscribes to online publications for its members
ATPS in line with its vision to become the leading centre of excellence and reference in STI research, training and capacity building; communication and sensitization; knowledge brokerage, policy advocacy and outreach, is moving to expand its resource centre. ATPS plans to provide its network members with access to a wide range of current and updated STI research materials including electronic journals, core books, science magazines, theses and various multimedia resources. It is under this scheme that ATPS is pleased to announce its latest online journal subscription, which are hosted by SAGE, one of the world’s leading academic and professional publishers. They include:
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ATPS 2010 Annual Conference Program
The ATPS 2010 Annual conference is scheduled to be held from 25th to 27th November 2010 in Cairo, Egypt. The conference, whose theme will be "The State of Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa: Implications for achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)" seeks to review the state of STI in the continent with a view to identifying existing gaps and charting a proactive way forward for achieving sustainable development in Africa through investments in STI.
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Call for papers for the formation of Agribusiness Innovation Incubator Consortia
Concept notes are sought for the formation of Agribusiness Innovation Incubator Consortia (AIIC) comprised of universities, incubatees, research institutions and private sectorsto be based in any of the following Danida priority countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Read more
Nothing for Us, Without Us: Africa’s youth pledge to adopt a proactive approach to Science, Technology and Innovation policy dialogue and practice
About 50 percent of Africa’s population is below the age of 18, and 15.9 percent of it is between the ages of 18 and 24. Considering these statistics, it is evident that Africa’s youth have the potential to drive its economic and social prosperity in future decades if they assert their influence over key policies and strategies. It is time for Africa’s youth to recognize their demographic advantage and harnesses this vast pool of talent, energies and creativity to realize their full potential.
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ATPS Africa-wide media workshop on effective reporting of STI
The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) in collaboration with Science Africa Ltd has organized a media workshop on Effective Reporting Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) issues and their role in socio-economic development.The workshop will be held on 27th-28th July 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more
African Manifesto on Science, Technology and Innovation receives Praise at the Royal Society in London
June 16, 2010; The Executive Director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network, Dr Kevin Urama yesterday gave a presentation on the ongoing process of writing an African Manifesto on Science, technology and Innovation at the Royal Society in London. Speaking during the event organized to mark the launch of the new 'manifesto' on innovation by the United Kingdom's STEPS Centre (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability), Dr Urama told participants that the idea of an African Manifesto was borne out of the emergence of strong awareness of the role of STI as the engine of development in Africa. Quoting Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, he said “No country on earth has developed without deploying, harnessing and utilizing science and technology, whether through technology transfer or homegrown solutions.”
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Submission deadline extended for Call for Concept Papers for a Climate Change Innovation Award 2010
The emerging challenges of climate change and its associated impacts, such as rise in temperatures, increased degradation of land and forest ecosystems, biodiversity loss, variable rainfall patterns and poor air quality, continue to undermine the provision of vital basic ecosystem services on which many African economies depend. The ATPS believes that within these challenges are endless opportunities, for African youth and African women to demonstrate their innovative talents and scientific and technological capacities to address them. Since 2004, ATPS has therefore been creating a common platform for tackling climate change challenges in Africa and globally.
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The revamped ATPS website goes live
The ATPS website that has been under review is now online. The site, which boasts state of the art multi-media capabilities has a new and improved look with major sections easily accessible from the homepage. The aesthetically advanced interface contains a new login facility that allows registered members access to special restricted areas such as designated member sub-sites accessible to authorized cluster groups such as secretariat staff, National chapter coordinators, youth and women programme members and Board members. It also provides special privileges including posting and commenting on the blogs and updating of selected content material. Read more