An urgency to tackle the aspirations of Africa's youth set the tone at the opening of the first African Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation. Professor Margaret Kamar, Kenya's Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology officially opened the three day, saying it was a “watershed”. She said this was an opportunity to restate the important role of science, technology and innovation in development, including that of the youth. But she added: “Kenya and Africa are full of declarations. We must move to action.”
Other speakers shared this sentiment. Dzingai Mutumbuka, chair of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), said in the last decade there had been at least five Ministerial Conferences on STI with lofty resolutions. “It is my sincere hope that this meeting will not suffer the same fate as its predecessors...[W]e, Africans, need to move away from lofty conference resolutions to implementation, implementation, implementation,” said Mutumbuka.
