AERAP Science Preview of EU-Africa Summit: Full Schedule

The AERAP Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Platform will organise a roundtable discussion on 8-9 December 2021 to consider the contribution of science to the priorities for the EU-Africa summit, currently scheduled for 17-18 February 2022 under the French Council Presidency of the European Union (1 January -30 June 2022). The purpose of the meeting will be to promote awareness of the contribution of collaborative research and development as a critical aspect of EU-Africa relations and collaborations while recognising the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which provides a critical narrative.

The general topics that will inform the discussions include:

The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, NDICI, also known as Global Europe, needs to reflect the enormous potential of collaborative and inclusive science to address the policy objectives addressed by the instrument, including digital transition and the Green deal; the Communication from the Commission on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation is a key paper: the Communication is intended to ....serve as a guide in implementing the international dimension of the new EU programme for civil research and innovation, Horizon Europe, and its synergies with other EU programmes, in particular the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe. For example, the Communication does not address the impact of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has extraterritorial application and its implications for research collaboration, particularly in medical science and health research.
Accelerate an inclusive approach to collaborative research, recognising Africa leadership and the untapped potential of women and girls to contribute to science and innovation. This needs to start with a more cohesive approach to policymaking and regulation.
Consider how to leveraged synergies between funding mechanisms led by the EU and development finance provided by the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and others;
Raise awareness of the unforeseen and unintended impact of EU regulations on potential research collaborations. These include data privacy, the General Data Protection Regulation, the In-vitro Diagnostics Regulation (IVDR), the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and the Clinical Trials Regulation. Good regulation cannot act as a barrier between you and African researchers. African nations need to build their enabling regulatory environment and pursue regulatory compliance with the EU. There is also an urgent need to create an enabling environment for trust relationships;
Indigenous knowledge needs to be recognised as a force for good and part equation when promoting Africa-Europe science collaboration, including developing relevant information services and linking indigenous knowledge to data capacities; patent data and WTO TRIPS Art. 66.2 is key also;
We will also consider the importance of the SDGs in this context, including enabling local and community (Local 2030) science and efficacy part of the global response.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) met in Kigali, Rwanda, on 26 October 2021, took stock of progress regarding the priority areas adopted during the last AU – EU Summit held in 2017, in Abidjan. The Communique provides some guidance on priorities for the EU-AU Summit on 17-18 Feb 2022.

AERAP is a response to the European Parliament Written Declaration 45 on Science Capacity Building in Africa. This call was repeated by the Heads of State of the African Union through their Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.407 CXVIII. AERAP encourages policymakers to understand the need for an enabling policy and regulatory environment for science cooperation with Africa and championing leadership in Africa and Europe to demonstrate science’s contribution to society and address shared global challenges.

Communication from the Commission on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation

10:00 CET

(REF OP08) Policy Roundtable: How will multi-stakeholder science cooperation support the objectives of the 2022 EU-Africa Summit and ensure a strong policy, legislative and regulatory basis for science in, and cooperation with, Africa.

How can we share our divided world? Co-operation is essential if nations are to provide the necessary global public goods for humanity. Martin Wolf, FT, 3 Nov 2021

Draft running order:

Orla Feely Vice President for Research, Innovation & Impact (VPRII), University College Dublin, Ireland
Erik Hansalek Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
Racey Muchilwa Head of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), Novartis, Kenya
Daan du Toit Deputy Director-General: ICR, Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa
Maria Cristina Russo Director for Global Approach and International Cooperation in R&I at European Commission, European Commission, Belgium
Mahama Ouedraogo Director, Science and Technology Department, African Union Commission, Ethiopia
Shamila Nair-Bedouelle Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO, France
Jean-Pierre Bourguignon Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHES), France
Juan Miguel González-Aranda LifeWatch ERIC Chief Technology Officer and Director for Spain. ERIC FORUM Executive Board Member
Michael Makanga Director, European Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), Netherlands
Rahel Belete Kilimanjaro Innovation Hub, Ethiopia
Djime Adoum Director General, Sahel Coalition, Chad
Bernd Halling Head of Corporate Strategy, Bayer AG
Intisar Soghayroun Minister, Ministry of Higher education and Scientific Research, Sudan

Speakers

Rahel Belete

Co-founder & Managing Director, Kilimanjaro Innovation Hub

Rahel is a co-founder of Kilimanjaro Innovation Hub (KIH). KIH is established with a broad social entrepreneurial vision of capacity building of the youths, empowering with skills to remove insecurity and instill confidence. Envision a nation free from unemployment and ensure fruitful... Read More →

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon

Honorary Professor, IHES

JEAN-PIERRE BOURGUIGNONProfessor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon has been President of the European Research Council (ERC) from 2014 to 2019 and ad interim from July 2020 to August 2021).Prior to that, he was the Director of the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS) from 1994... Read More →

Orla Feely

Professor/Vice President for Research, Innovation & Impact (VPRII), University College Dublin

Professor Orla Feely Professor Feely is Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact and a Professor of Electronic Engineering at University College Dublin. She holds a BE degree from University College Dublin and MS and PhD degrees from the University of California, Berkeley... Read More →

Juan Miguel González-Aranda

CTO, LifeWatch ERIC

Currently LifeWatch ERIC Chief Technology Officer and Director for Spain. ERIC FORUM Executive Board Member representing the ENVRI cluster, and former Chair of ERIC FORUM too.As e-Biodiversity expert holding a PhD. Engineer on Telecommunications, and Industrial Organization-Enterprise... Read More →

Michael Makanga

Executive Director, European Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnerships - Association

Dr Michael Makanga, MD PhD FRCP: EDCTP Executive Director.Dr Makanga is a clinician-scientist with 28 years of professional experience of working on health and poverty-related infectious diseases in Africa. This includes 24 years of work experience on medical product development and... Read More →

Mahama Ouedraogo

Director, Science and Technology Department, African Union Commission

Mahama Ouedraogo holds a PhD in plant breeding from Texas A&M University. He served as acting Director of the Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development and Executive Secretary of the African Union Scientific Technical and Research Commission.He is currently the head of the Science... Read More →

Daan du Toit

Deputy Director-General, Department of Science and Innovation

Daan du Toit started his career in the South African Government with the then Department of Foreign Affairs where he trained as a diplomat. Since 2002 he has been attached to the Department of Science and Innovation, where he has notably served as the Department's representative in... Read More →

Intisar Soghayroun

Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation, Sudan

Professor Intisar Soghayroun, professor of Archaeology, University of Khartoum 1991-2022, Sudan. Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research from 2019 to October 2021. My particular interest in my field includeTheoretical archaeology, Medieval civilization, heritage management... Read More →

Maria Cristina Russo

Director for Global Approach & International Cooperation in Research & Innovation, European Commission

Maria Cristina Russo is Director for Global Approach & International Cooperation in R&I in DG Research and Innovation with responsibility for developing and implementing the EU international strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation and the international dimension... Read More →

Erik Hansalek

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany

Dr Erik Hansalek studied law and joined the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in 1999 where he worked, for example, in the areas of higher education policy as well as international and European research and innovation policy. He spent a total of five years in Brussels... Read More →

Djime Adoum

Director General, Sahel Coalition

Racey Muchilwa

Head of Novartis Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), Novartis (KENYA), Novartis

Shamila Nair-Bedouelle

Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO

Shamila Nair-Bedouelle took up her new duties as Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences on 1 April 2019.She comes to UNESCO from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), where she had served as Director of the OzonAction programme since 2012. Responsible for implementing... Read More →

Bernd Halling

Head of Corporate Strategy, Bayer AG

Bernd Halling is Head of Corporate Strategy and Advocacy at Bayer AG with a focus on International Organizations. He was Head of the EU Office of the Bayer AG in Brussels from 2008 to 2017, representing the company on health, agriculture, research and innovation policy towards the... Read More →

Wednesday December 8, 2021 10:00 - 11:30 CET

Policy Roundtable

09:00 CET

(REF MP09) Policy Roundtable: "Women's Movements in African Science, Technology, and Innovation"

Abstract
Considering the latest report of the UNESCO and UN-WOMEN, the number of female researchers in the world (both part- and full-time) is on average < 30% (UNESCO, 2019). For most countries, this number becomes even lower when STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields are considered. Therefore, globally we are facing a significant gender gap in science. In Africa, most of the countries have a number of female scientists below 25%. Many factors may be responsible for the low number of female scientists (e.g., poverty and lack of access to education, social constraints, cultural biases and beliefs, lack of female mentors and role models, etc.), but the final result is that these difficulties mean we are losing huge potential that could benefit our society. We will never be able to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without giving our best in empowering girls and women in all aspects of our society, including science. Over the past years, many societies of African women in science arose, trying to build stronger networks between women and to improve many of the challenges that women in science are facing. This session aims to give more visibility to different woman's movements in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, and to get their recommendations regarding the needed policy support instruments. In addition, these recommendations will be provided to policymakers through input for the EU-AU Summit on 17-18 February 2022. In particular, it will explore how synergies between Horizon Europe and the NDICI programme can be realised to support female researchers in Africa. It will also explore how a more inclusive approach is needed to decision-making, including more women in the decision-making process for science policies.

Session organiser and chair: Mirjana Pović
(Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), Ethiopia; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Spain; African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA))

Session structure:
2hrs - series of 10min presentations
20-30min – open discussion

Detailed program:

Time (CET) Speaker Presentation of Women in Science Movements in Africa
9:00 - 9:10 Mirjana Pović Session introduction
9:10 - 9:20 Aster Tsegaye Society of Ethiopian Women in Science and Technology (SEWiST)
9:20 - 9:40 Sophie Dabo-Niang African Women in Mathematics Association (AWMA)
9:40 - 9:50 Suereta Fortuin South African Women in Science and Engineering (SA WISE)
9:50 - 10:00 Somaya Saad African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA)
10:00 - 10:10 Marie Chantal Cyulinyana Rwandan Association of Women in Science and Engineering (RAWISE)
10:10 - 10:20 Ezzoura Errami African Association of Women in Geosciences (AAWG)
10:20 - 10:30 Tana Joseph Astronomy in Colour
10:30 - 10:40 Rajaa El Cherkaoui Science by Women/Women for Africa, Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)
10:40 - 10:50 Jennifer Thomson Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)
10:50 - 11:00 Anissa Belfetmi and Sabrina Absalon Algerian Woman in Science (ALWIS)
11:00 - 11:10 Iroka Chidinma Joy African Strategy - Women in Physics Forum
11:10 - 11:30 All speakers Common discussion

Speakers

Mirjana Povic

Professor and researcher, SSGI, Ethiopia

Mirjana Pović (1981, Serbia) is an assistant professor at the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), an associate researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Spain, and an honorary lecturer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda... Read More →

Sophie Dabo-Niang

Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Lille

Sophie Dabo-Niang is full professor of Applied Mathematics at University of Lille (North of France), chair of EMS-CDC (European Mathematical society-Committee of developing countries), scientific officer of CIMPA (International center of pure and applied mathematics), member of AWMA... Read More →

Somaya Saad

Professor of astrophysics, Astronomy Dept. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG)

Somaya Saad: Full professor of astrophysics, at Astronomy Dept. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG). She received her M.Sc and Ph.D in astrophysics from Cairo University. Her research interest focuses on the field of stellar astrophysics, Physics of hot... Read More →

R. Cherkaoui El Moursli

Vice-President, Network of African Science Academies

Prof. R. Cherkaoui El Moursli received her PhD in Nuclear Physics at the University Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, France. Early 1982, she joined the Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed V, Rabat as a research-professor. Later in 1996 she was serving as a head of the Laboratory of... Read More →

Marie Chantal CYULINYANA

Science and Technology Foresight Analyst, National Council for Science and Technology (NCST)

Dr. Marie Chantal CYULINYANA is a Science and Technology Foresight Analyst at National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), prior to this position she was a lecturer at the University of Rwanda, College of Science and Technology (UR-CST). She is a co-founder and current president... Read More →

Jennifer Thomson

Emeritus Professor, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town

Jennifer Thomson (PhD Rhodes) is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town. She held a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard, was Associate Professor in Genetics at the University of the Witwatersrand, visiting scientist at MIT... Read More →

Iroka Chidinma Joy

Chief Engineer, Engineering and Space Systems Division (ESS) of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) which is the Nigerian Space Agency

Iroka Chidinma Joy is a Chief Engineer in the Engineering and Space Systems Division (ESS) of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) which is the Nigerian Space Agency.She is a UNOOSA Space Ambassador, Learner; a Change-agent; a Bridge-builder; and a Mentor, She... Read More →

Ezzoura Errami

Dean of the Polydisciplinary Faculty, Université Cadi Ayyad (Morocco)

Prof. Ezzoura Errami is the Dean of the PolydisciplinaryFaculty of Safi. She is also a lecturer/researcher with a strongacademic grounding in Earth Sciences and over 17 years’ experience ininternational geoscientific professional organizations. She is Presidentof the African Association... Read More →

Tana Joseph

astronomer

Dr. Tana Joseph is a South African astronomer, with a researchfocus on binary star systems outside of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Sheobtained her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University ofCape Town. In 2013, she completed her PhD at the University ofSouthampton before... Read More →

Anissa Belfetmi

Postdoctoral researcher, Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology Department at Harvard Medical school

Anissa was born and raised in Algeria, where her love for nature and Science let her pursue Biology studies. After completing a Bachelor in Biochemistry, in 2012, at Badji Mokhtar University Annaba, she went to France for a Master's in Cell and Molecular Biology at Sorbonne University... Read More →

Sabrina Absalon

Assistant professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine

Sabrina was born and raised in France, among a multicultural family with a French mother and a Kabyle Father. Her passion for understanding how Nature works led her to pursue a Ph.D. at the University Pierre and Marie in Dr. Philippe Bastin's Lab at Pasteur Institute Paris, where... Read More →

Thursday December 9, 2021 09:00 - 11:30 CET

Policy Roundtable

12:00 CET

(REF DF09) Development finance and Capital Allocation in, prioritizing digital finance in Africa

Development finance can support capacity building for scientific research addressing COVID 19 and other diseases in areas including clinical trials, biobanking, other medical sciences, agri-food, and environment, amongst others. How to align development finance provided by the World Bank, the IMF, the European investment bank, the African Development Bank with EU funding mechanisms in support and private sector finance?

Speakers

Ian Jones

CEO and President, InnoGlobal

Founder and CEO of Innopharma Group, IrelandProfessor Ian Jones is the CEO and President of Innopharma Group – an Education and Technology Institute. He has worked for the past 25 years supporting high-tech manufacturing (particularly Digital, (Bio)pharma and Agri/FoodTech) where... Read More →

Alex Cahana

Partner, BTBlock

With 27 years clinical practice, 17 years in digital health and 7 years in distributed ledger technology, I am currently a UN/CEFACT expert for blockchain and health, advisor to AfyfaRekod and board member for AdaLabs and the AI Center of Excellence in Africa.As an industry leader... Read More →

Simiso Velempini

VELE AFRICA

Simiso Velempini has extensive consulting and advisory experience across sub-Saharan Africa. Leveraging her deep understanding of the pan-African political, business and investment landscape, Simiso has supported African and international clients on market entry and expansion strategies... Read More →

Barry Palte

CEO, EQ Capital Partners

Barry Palte is a global investment expert with a primary focus on sustainable investing and achieving positive social and private investment outcomes through his private investment platform.Barry served as Global Chairman of the International Association of Investment Bankers... Read More →

Thursday December 9, 2021 12:00 - 13:15 CET

Policy Roundtable

15:00 CET

(REF CO09) Policy Roundtable: A Skills agenda for Africa

Speakers

Bonita de Swardt

Strategic Partnerships for Human Capital Development, SARAO

BONITA DE SWARDTManager of Strategic Partnerships for Human Capital Development (South African Radio Astronomy Observatory)Dr Bonita de Swardt carried out her initial training in astronomy at Rutgers University in the US. She completed her PhD in 2009 working on science commissioning... Read More →

Ian Jones

CEO and President, InnoGlobal

Thursday December 9, 2021 15:00 - 16:00 CET

Policy Roundtable

16:00 CET

Multilateral and multi-stakeholder cooperation is and will be critical for scientific cooperation across a range of themes.

Multilateral and multi-stakeholder cooperation is and will be critical for scientific cooperation across a range of themes. The session will include decision and research leaders the AU, EU NEPAD, DSI, NDICI as well as Africa-based speakers from the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU), UN Development Programmes (UNDP), USAID and other Multilateral bodies

Thursday December 9, 2021 16:00 - 17:00 CET

Policy Roundtable