Concept Note Science Week 2015
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION,
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL COMMISSION
FOR
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK
DATES: 11 - 15 MAY 2015
VENUE: CHANCELLOR'S COURT,
UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
THEME: THE ROLE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGYAND
INNOVATION IN THE POST- 2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
Fifteen years into the millennium, the first global programme that was developed
to address global development problems comes to an end. This provides an opportunity
to consider the
successes and ponder the future. Because Kenya belongs to the community of global nations research and innovation must be
a central component
of the post-2015 development agenda. The
post-2015
development
agenda
provides a framework for identifying
global and
national priorities and galvanizing action toward poverty reduction and sustainable development for all.
In
order to leverage on the remarkable progress the country has made in science, technology and
innovation (ST&I) and use it to drive the post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The
theme for the 4th National ST&I
Week will be "The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation
in the Post- 2015 Development Agenda " with five sub themes; Agriculture
and food security;
energy and climate change; environmental sustainability
and
biological resource conservation; water, sanitation and health and
Knowledge management and Technology transfer. During
the event, there will also be
two round table discussion sessions on; Application of science, technology and innovation in national Security
and Mainstreaming Gender, Youth and Disability issues in matters of science and
technology development.
The Kenya Vision 2030, the country's development blue print envisions a
transformation into “a
newly industrialized, middle income country, providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in
a clean and secure environment” and currently
is
in its second five year medium development
plan. Kenya's innovation capacity improved as the level of education among the citizens rose.
The Science week has continued to record improvement over
the years
and
this year's will be
no exception. As the country
looks forward to greater competition in the global market, demand for more innovativeness will be evident. Given the current political goodwill, positive economic
growth, legal and institutional reforms as well as increased regional drive for integration in the
East Africa region,
Kenya is positioning herself as a major regional and
international hub for
emerging technologies
to support a better quality of life and
overall socio-economic development
not only in the country but in the region. These efforts are found in all major policies of government. Devolution is one such policy that is set to catalyze economic growth and become a
driver for diversification of economic activity.
The objectives of
this annual event are:
· To raise public awareness and popularize science, technology and innovation among the citizenry;
· To appraise the Kenya’s achievements and breakthroughs in application of ST&I
for the country’s socio-economic growth
and development,
· To showcase,
celebrate,
recognize and
reward outstanding Kenyan
scientists
and innovators, and
· To articulate the
government’s
policies on research, science,
technology and
innovation The event will comprise of keynote speeches in plenary sessions, case studies, parallel symposia, roundtable discussions and exhibition of inventions and innovations and Robotic contest based on thematic areas for the 4th National ST&I
Week. Presentations, discussions and exhibits will be
within the theme and may address any of
the areas in the subthemes as
follows:
Sub-theme 1: Agriculture and Food
Security
The agriculture sector in Kenya plays an important role because of its contribution to
employment, government revenue, GDP and raw materials for the
industrial sector. Unfortunately, the per capita supply
of food has been declining since the early 1980s causing an increase in hunger and poverty levels in the country. The causes of low agricultural productivity
include failure to promote and enhance important ingredients for
agricultural development, such as rural infrastructure and services, and agriculture research and extension, poor infrastructure, limited access to credit, high cost of farm inputs, over reliance
on rain fed farming and lack of a
land policy and framework, among other things. Kenya’s decreasing support to agriculture has
resulted in an increasing dependence on food
imports and food aid. Although it is accepted that
Kenya is food-insecure, there is a general consensus that it has the potential
to produce more food
than it needs. The
goal of the Government
is to attain self-sufficiency in meeting
food needs in addition to the expansion
of value added exports.
Presentations under this theme will highlight local research and
innovation activities
in different agriculture
related fields and industrial activities based on agricultural productivity that are
relevant and can have direct
impact
on industrial growth and development at counties thus supporting devolution and
economic growth.
Sub-theme 2: Energy and Climate Change
Energy
demands are closely linked to the economic growth of a country. Energy
production and
use is interconnected with many other aspects of modern life, such as water consumption, use of
goods and services, transportation, land use,
and population growth. Production and efficient use
of energy (especially those that comes from fossil fuels) contributes to climate change through
the production of
greenhouse
gas emissions. Changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level, and
the frequency and severity of extreme events will likely affect how much energy is produced,
delivered, and consumed globally.
Thus climate change must be
addressed as part
of sustainable development in
the post 2015 development
agenda.
Presentation
under this subtheme should include but not limited to:
Research on harnessing
and use of new and emerging energy sources which are friendly to the environment, the potential impact of climate change in water scarcity, resource degradation; adaptable to the opportunities
and
challenges posed by climate change; protection of communities against the impacts of climate change,
options
for financing climate change impacts
projects
Sub-theme 3: Environmental
Sustainability and
Biological Resource Conservation
Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resources conservation are becoming increasingly important as they impact on ecosystems by human activities to build a more sustainable
society. Kenya is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, but the problems associated with their
conservation are immense. Protecting rare and endangered species, preventing and controlling invasions of exotics,
preserving
old
growth
forests, restoring degraded ecosystems,
and balancing the resource demands of industry and public are just some of the environmental issues the country face. Many of these issues are also enmeshed in politicized environments. There is therefore need for sustainable solutions on environmental and resource problems. This would be
possible with integrated knowledge of how local and global ecological systems work as well as
an
understanding of the interdependency between people and the environment, how political, institutional, and economic systems
relate to environmental quality and ways to sustainably manage human activities within the constraints of the Earth’s ecological systems. Developments of
relevant policies and legislations and enforcement of the same would go a long way in
sustainably conserving our environment and natural resources.
The goal number 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which was endorsed by 189 countries in the Year 2000 was to ‘Ensure environmental sustainability’. Countries were required
to: Integrate
principles of sustainable development in to their national policies and programmes;
reverse the loss of environmental resources; Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving by 2010,
a significant reduction in the rate
of loss; Halve the proportion
of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation; and Improve
the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.
Some of Kenya’s achievements under goal 7, include; 73.6 % of urban population having
access to durable housing, the
national forest cover increasing
to 4%
against a 2015 target of 10 % and an
increase in investment in
green energy e.g. commissioning of
Olkaria Geothermal plant.
Papers to be presented under this theme will address the issues of climate change, land use, public policy on environmental
protection and related
areas,
new
uses of biological resources and conservation efforts.
Sub-theme 4: Water,
Sanitation and Health
Access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation is not only essential to human health and survival but had a direct and indirect influence
on the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Globally, 2.5
billion
people lack access
to improved
sanitation, 1 billion people practice open defecation, 90% of whom reside in rural areas while an estimated
1.8 billion people use a source of drinking-water that is contaminated. Directly, access to safe
drinking water and sanitation are expected to reduce infectious and diarrhoeal diseases that are
the major causes of child mortalities and increased maternal health problems. Indirectly, it should enhance realization of efforts of reducing poverty and hunger; and environmental
sustainability. Kenya's performance on the MDGs has been mixed with the country
achieving some targets
while
missing
on
others.
As
we
approach the beginning of
the
post
2015
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need to reflect on some of the MDG targets related to health, water and sanitation such as high child deaths, and low access to clean drinking
water
and
clean sanitation which may
not be fully achieved by the end of 2015. Gains made toward
achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) related to health (MDGs 4, 5, and 6) have been based largely on R&D investments made years earlier. However, the health technologies that have contributed to this progress are insufficient to overcome existing
and emerging health challenges and ultimately to achieve the goals of the post-2015 agenda. Current R&D investments in health are inadequate to meet tomorrow’s challenges. The 4th ST&I week
therefore invites scientific papers, innovations and exhibitions on topical issues on water, sanitation and
health.
Sub-theme 5: Knowledge
Management and Technology Transfer
The Kenya Vision 2030 strategies and flagship projects will exploit knowledge from science and
technology in order to improve social welfare, and also promote democratic governance. To pursue
these strategies, flagship projects on knowledge management and technology transfer have
been identified to enhance economic growth. Knowledge Management (KM) is the systematic management of an organizational knowledge asset for the purpose of creating
value
and
consists of the initiatives, processes, strategies, and systems that sustain and enhance
the storage, assessment, sharing, refinement, and creation of knowledge. This therefore
implies a
strong tie to organizational goals and strategy. Technology transfer is a process of acquisition,
development and use of technological knowledge generated by individuals (LIMA, 2004). It is an effective means for the dissemination of innovation and knowledge, being a competitive alternative for companies seeking not only
for the exploitation of internal resources
using new technologies, but also for external partners to acquire the increment of new technology, the basic
task of technology transfer. Technology transfer involves various communication techniques.
Current practice
has
invaluable experiences that should be
shared with others
through the fourth science week.
Participants will include policy makers, scholars, academicians, scientists, science writers, journalists, entrepreneurs and
innovators from
national and
regional
institutions such as
Universities,
Research Institutions,
Technical, Vocational and Educational Training Institutions,
International organizations
and Development
partners
Expected Output
The expected output includes documentation/inventory
of potential innovations and showcasing of the main trends towards industrial growth and development, the challenges, lessons learnt and opportunities for
future economic growth, sustainability and policy development.
For more information:
Director General
National Commission for Science,
Technology and Innovation
P.O. Box 30623-00100, NAIROBI
Tel: 020 2241349, 0713788 787, 0735404245
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