The 2nd AERAP Africa-Europe Science and Innovation Forum will take place from 7-10 March 2023. The Forum will be hybrid, with meetings taking place in Brussels with virtual participation.
The Forum will draw on a range of processes, including AGENDA 2063, Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse; the AU Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024); the European Commission; Communication Towards a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa which foresees future cooperation built on five partnerships: green transition, digital transformation, growth and jobs, peace and governance and migration and mobility. All of these priorities will rely on science and innovation cooperation between Africa and Europe. The Forum will take a global perspective and, in addition to focusing on Africa-Europe collaboration, will lay the groundwork for the EU and African input to the 2023 Agenda-setting for the UN Summit of the Future in 2024 and the UN Global Digital Compact.
AERAP responds 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 to champion leadership in Africa to demonstrate the contribution of science to society and digital technologies to enable science capacity and collaboration between various stakeholders.
The Forum will be designed to inform and engage with policymakers to ensure that the role and contribution of science, enabled through digital technologies, is reflected in European Union and its Member States’ policies concerning Africa. The meetings will increase the level of participation and reinforce the networking by African nations’ with their partners in related EU science and innovation programmes. Key policy and programme developments include:
- The AU-EU Innovation Agenda
- AUC Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020-2030
- EU Comprehensive Strategy with Africa
- Horizon Europe
- Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI)
- The European Health Data Space
- EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030
- UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals
- EU Missions in Horizon Europe
- Strategy Report on Research Infrastructures
- A European Green Deal
- UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM)
The meeting will address a range of themes and associated calls for proposals, including Biodiversity, Hydrogen, Health, Medicine, Life Sciences, Geoscience, ICT, Digital Transformation, the Green Agenda, Women and Girls in science, Astronomy, reskilling and upskilling and Agri-food systems.
The Forum will consider how emerging regulations covering data protection, the European Health Data Speace, medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics, and other areas impact science in Africa and science and innovation cooperation between Africa and the European Union.
The draft programme is available here: https://aerapforum2023.sched.com/
Please register here: https://aerapforum2023.sched.com/signup
