Partner Project: Strengthening African Academies

Aims and Objectives

The project Strengthening African Academies commenced in July 2015 with a run-time of 3 years. The project’s aim is to foster the dialogue between science, policy and society.

Project partners: the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), the Global Young Academy (GYA)

Project aims:

to consolidate the position of the African Science Academies as providers of independent science-based advice to policy-makers and societies in Africa
to communicate the science-based advice by the African Science Academies which was the result of the collaboration between the Leopoldina and NASAC in the period 2011-2015, on Health, Water Management, Climate Change Adaptation and Agricultural Biotechnology
to strengthen collaboration by expanding the circle of project partners, thereby increasing the contact and support within the membership of NASAC and strengthening the entire network
to broaden collaboration by involving young African researchers and Young Academies in Africa and encouraging and supporting the formation of new National Young Academies where none exist
to scope further thematic work between the Leopoldina, the African Science Academies, the African National Young Academies and African members of the GYA, with a focus on the area of sustainable urban development

Contact

Anna-Maria Gramatté (GYA Project Officer)

anna-maria.gramatte@globalyoungacademy.net

Progress

A Conference on “Sustainable African Cities” took place in Accra, Ghana, in July 2018, hosted by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) and co-organised by the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, with support from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

GYA members Patrick B Cobbinah (Ghana), Ketcha Armand Kablan Malan (Cote d’Ivoire), Chioma Daisy Onyige (Nigeria) and Daniel Ochieng Orwenjo (Kenya) attended the conference. In addition to sending four members, the GYA was also able to nominate representatives from the Nigerian Young Academy, and the young academy initiatives in Benin and Zambia to attend the conference and add the voice of young scientists to the discussions.

For details on the Conference agenda, outcomes and videos, see here.

Outcomes

Communication events 2016

In 2016, the four topics of agriculture (spring 2016), climate change (summer 2016), health (autumn 2016), and water (winter 2016) were addressed with the publication of booklets, a communication tool connecting African scientists with policy-makers and stakeholders. On the basis of scientific evidence, challenges and opportunities were discussed in communication events which brought together policy-makers and scientists. GYA members contributed by commenting on the recommendations made in these publications from a young scientists’ perspective.

For further details see the project website here.