Press Release
from Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, Belfer Center
A Public Lecture by Professor Calestous Juma
Uganda's New Vision published "GMOs Good for Africa's Development, Says Harvard Don," an article covering the lecture, on April 21, 2013.
3:00–5:30 PM April 18, 2013
Golf Course Hotel, Kampala, Uganda
Organized by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA)
Africa's identity has historically been associated with its vast natural resources which have shaped not only its political culture but also defined its place in the global family of nations. In recent years, however, a new picture of Africa has started to emerge. African economies are increasingly being view as rapid adopters of emerging technologies. The aim of this lecture is to identify approaches for leveraging the world's fund of scientific, technological, and engineering knowledge for rapid economic transformation. The lecture draws from the preliminary findings of the High-Level Panel on Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union co-chaired by the speaker. It argues that agriculture and allied industries offer a timely entry point for building a broad base for local, national, and regional economic transformation. It stresses the importance of exponential growth in generic innovation platforms such as information and communications technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and new material (especially biopolymers). It outlines strategic measures needed to harness these technologies. These include investing in infrastructure, reforming higher technical education, stimulating entrepreneurship, and fostering regional integration. The lecture concludes with suggestions on how to strengthen innovation governance (especially high-level advice), improve international science and technology cooperation, and foster a new culture of innovation among the youth.
Calestous Juma, a national of Kenya, is an internally-recognized authority on the role of innovation in economic development. He is Professor of the Practice of International Development and Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project at Harvard Kennedy School. He also directs the School's Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and serves as Faculty Chair for the School's Innovation for Economic Development Executive Program. He co-chairs the High-Level Panel on Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union (AU) and a member of the judging panel of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. He is a former Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Technology Studies in Nairobi. He was Chancellor of the University of Guyana and co-chaired the High-Level Panel on Modern Biotechnology of the AU. He has been elected to several scientific academies including the Royal Society of London, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the UK Royal Academy of Engineering and the African Academy of Sciences. Juma holds a DPhil in science and technology policy studies from the University of Sussex (UK). He has received several international awards and honorary degrees for his work on sustainable development. His latest book, The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa, was published in 2011 by Oxford University Press. Updates on his work are available via Twitter @calestous