Concept Note Science Week 2015



REPUBLIC OF KENYA


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 4t 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 countrys socio-economic growth and development,
·    To  showcase,  celebrate,  recognize  and  reward  outstanding  Kenyan  scientists  and innovators, and
·    To articulate the governments 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 Earths 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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