Africa Sci-tech Forum Promotes Homegrown Innovation

 　　Experts and officials gathered at the first Africa Forum¹ on Science, Technology and Innovation in Nairobi, Kenya are seeking African solutions to African problems.  Participants are calling for African governments to fund and promote research and development at home.

　　U.N. Economic Commission for Africa Technology Division Director Aida Opolu-Mensah says for too long Africa's science and technology agenda has been set by the continent's development partners.

　　“Therefore, if Africa is the new pole of growth, then Africa has to be in the driving seat. And Africa has to invest its own resources in the science and technology that they want to use in order to achieve this new growth.”

　　Speaking at the start of the forum Sunday, Opoku-Mensah called for African countries to fund science and technology programs from their national budgets, rather than to rely on “gifts” from international partners.

　　In 2006, the African Union set a target for all member countries to spend at least one percent of their gross domestic product on science research and development.  According to research from an A.U. development program, known as NEPAD, only Uganda, Malawi and South Africa have reached that target.

　　African economies have grown explosively during the past decade, and are predicted to continue expanding by most estimates. The International Monetary² Fund expects African economies to grow by nearly six percent this year.

　　Growth versus³ development

　　But as African Development Bank Vice⁴ President Kamal El Khesten points out, growth does not necessarily equate⁵ to development.

　　“This growth was not sufficiently⁶ inclusive, indeed, in spite of double-digit growth rates in many countries, the phenomenon of jobless growth has become an increasing cause of concern. Our challenge is to address the mismatch between skills development and the actual requirements of the labor⁷ market.”

　　One of the central themes of the conference is youth employment. El Khesten said the continent needs to invest more in higher education to prepare students for jobs in science and technology.

　　More than one panelist noted⁸ the Arab Spring revolutions were fueled in part by frustration⁹ over rampant¹⁰ unemployment, and warned that Africa could experience a similar uprising.

　　There is no shortage of advice and guidance on science and technology development in Africa. The African Union has made numerous declarations on the subject, starting with the 2005 consolidated¹¹ plan of action. The United Nations has its own recommendations, as do most international development agencies working in the continent.

　　Putting ideas into action

　　Association for the Development of Eduction¹² in Africa Chairman Dzingai Mutumbuka says many of these good ideas are never put into action. He hopes this forum will be different.

　　“The takeaway here is that it is time, it is time, that we as Africans move away from lofty conference resolutions to implementation¹³, implementation, and implementation.”

　　In addition to simply discussing best practices and policy for science and technology development, the forum hopes to take some concrete actions, including designing possible responses to water, energy and biodiversity needs in Africa.

　　The forum wraps up Tuesday with a ministerial meeting.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 equate   

v.同等看待，使相等

参考例句：

• You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
• You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。

6 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

10 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

11 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

12 eduction   

n.引出；排出；推断；引出物

参考例句：

• The writer describes eduction as a process of \"perception, analysis and discovery\" . 作者把教育描述为一种“感知、分析与发现”的过程。 来自辞典例句
• Move more, let body eduction old moisture, absorb new moisture. 多运动，让身体排出旧水分，吸收新水分。 来自互联网

13 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。