91 Items

View of General Assembly at UN Global Engagement Summit

UN Photo

Discussion Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Exponential Innovation and Human Rights

| Feb. 27, 2018

Technological innovation and the politics of global justice are two fields that interact quite extensively in international diplomatic discourse and public debate. Controversial issues, such as accessing essential medicines, reducing greenhouse gases, conserving biological diversity, providing clean energy, and expanding the adoption of green technologies, require answers at the intersection of technological innovation, international diplomacy, and global justice. Our approach is to start off with the broader understanding that justice is rights-based and then proceed to analyze it using a goal-based framework. This brings into sharp focus the relationships between innovation and human rights.

Nov. 23, 2016, a train returns from transporting ballast used in the construction of the Nairobi-Mombasa railway

AP Photo/Ben Curtis

Discussion Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

African Regional Economic Integration

| Winter 2018

The power of Pan-Africanism as a guiding vision for the continent’s development is widely studied, mostly as an aspirational phenomenon. At worst, Pan-Africanism has often been seen as a poor imitation of American federalism or European integration. Both of these perceptions do not reflect the profound nature of the role that the ideology of Pan-Africanism played in shaping the continent’s economic transformation. 

Photo of Calestous Juma in his office.

Martha Stewart

News - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Remembering Our Colleague Professor Calestous Juma

Our colleague Calestous Juma—who passed away on December 15 at age 64 after a long illness—was a pioneering, prolific, and influential scholar/practitioner in science and technology policy for sustainable well-being. He joined Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) in 1999 as Director of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Project (a joint venture of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Center for International Development) and became Professor of the Practice of International Development in 2002, a position in which he maintained his exceptional productivity and engagement with policy, despite illness, up to the time of his death.

Soroti, Uganda: Made up of 32,680 photovoltaic panels, the new 10-megawatt facility is the country’s first grid-connected solar plant and will generate clean, low-carbon, sustainable electricity to 40,000 homes, schools and businesses in the area.

Access Power MEA

Analysis & Opinions - The Conversation

Important Wins Were Notched Up for African Agriculture in 2016

| December 18, 2016

"2016 was a big year for agriculture in Africa with some notable 'wins' across the continent. One of the most important gains was the increased use of emerging technologies beyond the traditional use of mobile phones in agriculture. The range includes precision agriculture, sensors, satellites and drones."

Analysis & Opinions - Quartz Africa

If We Develop Africa's Bioeconomy It Will Be as Transformative for Us as Digital Has Been

| Dec. 13, 2016

"Unlike the digital revolution that relied on pre-existing technologies, the new bioeconomy will involve more local research, teaching and commercialization. This will require greater involvement of local universities, especially those with an entrepreneurial inclination."

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Magazine Article - The Conversation

Lessons from 'The New Harvest' on How Academics Can Turn Their Work into Policy

| December 8, 2016

"The goal of the book was to invest in thinking. It doesn't have a list of recommendations but generates options for action that are backed by evidence. We chose to forgo credit by adopting this approach, but it’s been very encouraging to see some key impacts that acknowledge the book."

Goods are stacked in containers destined for global distribution at the harbor in Cape Town, South Africa, June 24, 2016. Stock markets crashed, oil prices tumbled, and the pound fell to a 31-year low as Britain's vote to leave the EU shocked investors.

AP

Journal Article - Europe'sWorld

Reshaping Europe's Africa Policies

| Autumn 2016

"Africa's economic diplomacy will be dramatically shaped by the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) negotiations that will conclude in 2017. This builds on the Tripartite Free Trade Area covering 26 countries with 650 million people and a GDP of US$1.5 trillion. The CFTA will comprise a billion people with an initial GDP of $3 trillion. The foundations of the agreement include free trade, infrastructure development and industrialisation. This is a grand opportunity that will shape Africa's relationships with the UK, Europe and the rest of the world."

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Analysis & Opinions - Quartz Africa

Africa's Regulators are Smothering its Innovators

| September 22, 2016

"Take commercial drones...as an example. In some circles this technology is stigmatized because of its military use. But the top projected civilian applications include infrastructure, agriculture, transport, media and entertaining, insurance, telecommunications and mining. Many of these will benefit African countries seeking to leapfrog traditional data collection services and land-based transportation infrastructure. But none of such benefits will accrue to nations that use old laws to suppress the new technology."

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Analysis & Opinions - Quartz Africa

Let's Reinvent and Diversify Africa's Universities to Make Them Centers of Innovation

| August 25, 2016

"Creating innovation universities can be pursued through three practical stages. The first is to formulate a policy framework under which such universities operate. The second state is to translate the policy into specific legislative reforms to support the new university species. The third stage is to experiment by upgrading a few research institutes that have strong foundations and potential to commercialize products and services."

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Analysis & Opinions - The Daily Nation

Africa Must Embrace New University Models to Spur Innovation

| August 22, 2016

"Africa's higher education crisis is partly rooted in the colonial separation between research and teaching....Under this common scenario, much of the knowledge that is transmitted to society through university graduates is outdated. And up-to-date knowledge created in research institutes is bottled up because of the lack of connection with young people."