The 2nd Africa Young Academies Regional Conference entitled “Empowering the Next Generation of Scientists in Africa” took place from 24-26 October 2016 in Mauritius. It brought together representatives from all existing National Young Academies (NYAs) in Africa, as well as NYA Initiatives and young scientists from the other countries in the NASAC network together with the NASAC member academies. The meeting was organised by the Global Young Academy with support from the University of Mauritius and The Mauritius Academy of Science and Technology with funding by the Robert Bosch Foundation.
The conference purported to generate the momentum, relationships and networks necessary to stimulate the formation of as many NYAs in Africa over the next few years as possible, in addition to discussing the effective contribution of NYAs to African development. The main objective of this Second African Regional Young Academies Conference was to engage and empower excellent young researchers from across Africa to address the challenges that impede scientific development towards a sustainable future for the region.