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ASSIST organising

Panel Discussion 
on

Science to Promote the All One Humanity in One World Universal Community Sustainable Development with Social Justice

5 AM EDT & NY | 9 AM GMT | 10 AM UK | 9 AM South Africa | 2.30 PM India | 5 PM China

P r e v i o u s  P r o g r a m m e s

ASSIST organised a Panel Discussion

on

Science to Promote the All One Humanity in One World Universal Community - Sustainable Development with Social Justice

29 SEPT. 2022

5 AM EDT & NY | 9 AM GMT | 10 AM UK | 9 AM South Africa | 2.30 PM India | 5 PM China

China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
09-Oct-2022, 10:00 am GMT+2 – 10-Oct-2022, 9:00 pm GMT+2
Pretoria,
Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, South St, Koedoespoort 456-Jr, Pretoria, 0186, South Africa


ASSIST Organised

Panel discussion on 'TIP & SDGs, taken place online
on 21st SEP, 2022

China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
When
09-Oct-2022, 10:00 am GMT+2 – 10-Oct-2022, 9:00 pm GMT+2
Where
Pretoria,
Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, South St, Koedoespoort 456-Jr, Pretoria, 0186, South Africa

The four panels

ISC Intelligence in Science, in association with Association for South South Cooperation in Innovation Systems Transformation (ASSIST) and Guru Nanak Dev University, India organised four panels in the SSUNGA-77. The panel on Transformative Innovation Policy and SDGs wass scheduled on 21 September, 2022

ASSIST coorganised AERAP Science @ the EU-AU Summit

AU-EU Summit 17-18 February 2022: A Science Agenda

The AERAP Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Platform will organise side events at the AU-EU Summit on 14-18 February 2022. The purpose of the meeting will be to promote awareness of the contribution of collaborative research and development as a critical aspect of EU-Africa relations and collaborations, in particular in addressing global challenges together.


To join this event please register here.

 

A recent article published by Nature News (17 September 2021) reported that “a large proportion of research on economic development does not involve any researchers who are based in the global south … and . . . it is relatively common for southern scholars to contribute with [North-based] authors, because they are not as familiar with datasets etc, only to be rewarded with a line in the acknowledgements instead of co-authorship . . .”. The only way to reverse the situation is to build new Innovation Systems and transform existing Innovation Systems with the South-South-North collaborations. It is important to build platforms for intensified South-South cooperation with the collaboration and support of the global North. It is with this objective that Prof. Mammo Muchie with the board directors founded the Association for South-South Cooperation in Innovation Systems Transformation ASSIST (https://assistsarchi.wixsite.com/assist).

In the current EU-AU Science, Technology Summit, the South-South Cooperation in Innovation Systems Transformation ASSIST will present the vision, mission and objectives to bring about sustainable and enduring collaboration between South-South quadruple helices-to deliver excellence in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation by aligning the productivity of universities, governments, industries and communities in education, health, economics, all services, governance, leadership, institutions and systems. ASSIST can create with research excellence holistically integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation systems by linking the Global North to appreciate and value the Global South-South Collaboration to interconnect all fully by using and applying the principles of mutual benefit with no one losing and all in the South-South with the North winning.

ASSIST will work to produce outputs, outcomes and impacts by developing research projects to bring trust anchored South–South–North unity anchored relations in order to create one humanity as one community. ASSIST will develop scientific research to promote the humanistic path to save all people in the world and the planet in this not easy Covid-19 pandemic time the world is in.

It is important for the South-_South researchers to get up, stand up and build up scientific research capacity and intensify South-South scholarly networking with collaboration in the North. There is online communications opportunity for research-capacity building and mentoring through a comparatively inexpensive means globally applying digital technology.

ASSIST will work to create a science paradigm shift with both the ontology and epistemology of innovation to bring the post-covid 19 world. re-order A new appreciative reorientation in anchoring the South-South-North holistically integrated and unified health and social innovation system would require the innovative approach to be open to go from the current dominant validation from narrow economistic, market, commercial to wider unification of health, economy, social and environmental all-inclusive gains. There is a need to re-work, re-design, re-engineer and unlearn to learn and re-learn the way to deal with Covid 19 by increasing R & D to create the life-saviour the ASSIST driven holistic social innovation system.

Efforts are required to synergize social capital, human capital, natural capital, physical and financial capital with ccapability and productive power in order to move from narrow commercially measured validation success criteria to achieve unified, wider and tangible social, environmental, knowledge and economic success simultaneously.

Presentations are most welcome on the research that ASSIST can promote in science, technology and innovation by including the South-South full collaboration with the North to produce tangible and high quality output and outcomes with impact to accelerate with speed of light square the a post-covid 19 world-re –order opportunity by removing the gravity burden current challenges.

ASSIST organising

Panel Discussion 
on

Science to Promote the All One Humanity in One World Universal Community Sustainable Development with Social Justice

29 SEPT. 2022

5 AM EDT & NY | 9 AM GMT | 10 AM UK | 9 AM South Africa | 2.30 PM India | 5 PM China

China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
09-Oct-2022, 10:00 am GMT+2 – 10-Oct-2022, 9:00 pm GMT+2
Pretoria,
Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, South St, Koedoespoort 456-Jr, Pretoria, 0186, South Africa

Panel discussion on 'TIP & SDGs, taken place online on 21st SEP, 2022

China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration
When
09-Oct-2022, 10:00 am GMT+2 – 10-Oct-2022, 9:00 pm GMT+2
Where
Pretoria,
Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, South St, Koedoespoort 456-Jr, Pretoria, 0186, South Africa

The four panels

ASSIST organising

In association with
DSI/NRF SARChI Research Chair on Science, Technology and Innovation Studies, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa | University of Malaya North-South Research Centre (UMNSRC) Malaysia | Sino-French Innovation Research Centre (SFIRC), South-western University of Finance and Economics, China | Chinese Embassy in South Africa 

International Conference on
China-Africa Science, Technology & Innovation Collaboration


9 - 10, October 2022

Future Africa Campus, South Africa & ZOOM In hybrid mode
 

China–Africa Collaboration in Science, Technology and Innovation

CALL for BOOK-CHAPTER

SARChI Chair (Innovation & Development), Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa in association with ASSIST Ltd., UK

“If China follows at the heels of the imperialistic and militaristic nations, China’s ascendency to power would not only be useless, but harmful to humanity. The only glorious and honourable path for us to pursue is to maintain in full force the old policy of “helping the weak and curbing the strong.” (Sun Yassin, National Morale and World Tranquillity, in Lewis Copeland, Lawrence W. Lamm & Stephen J. McKenna (eds.), The World Great Speeches, Dover Publications, Mineola, New York, 1999, pp. 399- 401.)

“When the days of our prosperity come, we must not forget the pain and misery which we are now suffering from the pressure of economic and political forces of the Powers. When our country becomes powerful, we should assume responsibility of delivering those nations, which suffer in the same way as we do now. This is what ‘Ta Hseuch’ means by ‘securing tranquillity.” (ibid.)

“China’s investment in Africa comes with no political strings.” 

“China does not interfere in Africa’s internal affairs and does not impose its own will on Africa.” -- President Xi Jinping

What has been truly extraordinary today is that China has gone through the long history of the difficult journey and now finally has attained a development status that has to be recognized and appreciated. Millions of Chinese have now come out of poverty. Unemployment is decreasing and inequality will decrease in the course of time by managing it with appropriate policy. What Africa should learn is how China achieved this status and managed how to deal with and respond to the global economy. The best gift China can give to Africa is to share frankly and honestly how the Chinese managed the difficult journey and achieved such a globally renowned success, especially building science, technology and innovation capabilities. The other important lesson from China is to relate with Africa entirely driven by the principle of mutual benefit. The gains and losses in the relationship have to be fully transparent, open, tangible, explicit, measurable and fully known. What China can try to do is assist Africans to engage in an economic and political marathon race to be fully de-colonized now. The assistance that Africa has from China by promoting the win-win mutually beneficial relationship should be a role model and an example to remove the former colonial powers continuing gaining and Africa continuing losing game that has not stopped. 

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) initiative was started in 2006. Since then, it has been organized every three years. The Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan and the China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Program 2.0 aim to help advance Africa's capacity-building in S&T and innovation and promote the economic and social development of African countries.


China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Program (CASTEP) was launched in 2009 to establish “a new type of practical, efficient and robust S&T partnership with African countries aiming at sharing experience, tapping cooperation potential, taking full advantage of S&T’s role in promoting socio-economic development, and facilitating the sustainable development of African countries”. The objectives included: 1. Capacity building in S&T policy making and management; 2. Capacity building in promoting the development of S&T industries; 3. Capacity building in improving people’s livelihood through S&T. Following mechanisms were set out to achieve these objectives: 1. Policy studies; 2. Technical services; 3. Human resources development; 4. Joint research; 5. Technological demonstration; 6. In-kind donations (such as research equipment to support African researchers' work); 7. UN cooperation programs with Africa.  


At the third Summit of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation in Beijing in 2018, China has pledged US$60 billion in grants and loans for infrastructure projects, medical programmes, clean-energy initiatives and other projects in Africa. As part of the plan, China will train African scientists to improve African science in fields from agriculture and climate change to quantum physics and artificial intelligence. China will offer 50,000 scholarships for African students including scientists, to study in China, and will provide short-term training opportunities for another 50,000 people to travel to seminars and workshops. The action plan also offers scholarships for postgraduate training in China and at African institutions, such as the Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Juja, Kenya. China has made commitment to build the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a Continent-wide Public Health Agency to safeguard Africa's health.


Other areas of collaboration include: (i) development of the China-Africa Joint Research Center, for conducting scientific research and training professionals with a focus on ecological preservation, bio-diversity protection, agriculture and food security, and water environment treatment; (ii) setting up intermediary institutions (Technology Transfer Offices (TTO)) linking research and production, and cooperation on training, public awareness and the system and practice of intellectual property rights examination and registration; (iii) the China-Africa Green Envoys Program to strengthen Africa's human capacity for environmental management, pollution prevention and control, and green development; (iv) providing meteorological satellite data, products and necessary technical support such as remote-sensing application equipment, education and training to better equip African countries for disaster prevention and mitigation as well as climate change response; (v) strengthening climate change adaption capabilities through providing assistance in kind and capacity-building training.
On August 24, 2021, the China-Africa Partnership Plan on Digital Innovation initiative was proposed. Under the initiative China will share digital technologies with Africa to promote digital infrastructure connectivity, including fiber optic backbone networks, cross-border connectivity and new-generation mobile communication networks, and help expand Internet access in Africa's remote areas. It will also help adoption of new technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and mobile payment. Further, the initiative proposes to strengthen e-commerce cooperation with Africa to bring more quality African products into the Chinese market.  


China’s engagement in Africa has attracted a lot of interest around the globe. China is accused of stacking up debt in Africa. There is a need to do serious research to bring out the positive side in the relationship and not rely on media to distract us to know what we must know. We just did research on China-Africa collaboration on scientific publications and patents. It was remarkable what data we were able to discover of the growth in the China-Africa collaboration. There is a lot we should do on other STI areas of the China-Africa collaborations. 


In this context, this book aims to present research studies from across Africa shedding light on various aspects of China-Africa collaborations in science, technology, and innovation.


The proposed book invites research papers on the following topics but not limited to:

1. Evolution of China-Africa collaborations in science, technology and innovation
2. China-Africa collaboration in higher education
3. China-Africa research collaboration and training
4. China-Africa collaboration in agriculture and food security
5. China-Africa collaboration in environmental management and climate change
6. China-Africa collaboration in telecommunications 
7. China-Africa collaboration in digital technologies
8. China-Africa collaboration in renewable energy
9. China-Africa collaboration in space technology applications
10. China-Africa collaboration in manufacturing
11. China-Africa collaboration in health sector

 

Submission Process:

Authors are invited to submit the full original papers in MS Word within 8000-10000 words accompanying an abstract of 300-500 words on or before March 31, 2022. All submitted chapters will be double-blind peer reviewed. Anti-plagiarism rules will be
followed. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Important Dates

Last Date for Submission of Titles and Abstract of 300-500 words: March 31, 2022
Last Date for Submission of Full Chapters: June 30, 2022
Date of Notification of Review Reports to Authors: July 31, 2022
Last Date of Revised Chapter Submission: August 31, 2022
Expected Date of Publication of the Book: December 2022 – January 2023

 

Editors:
Professor Mammo Muchie, DST/NRF Rated SARChI Research Chair, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa. Email: muchiem@tut.ac.za; mammo.muchie2019@gmail.com

Dr Angathevar Baskaran, Head, University of Malaya North-South Research Centre (UMNSRC) Associate Professor, Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Malaya, Malaysia. Email: baskaran@um.edu.my
Professor Mingfeng Tang, School of Business Administration, Southwestern University of Economics and Finance (SWUFE), Chengdu, China. Email: tang@swufe.edu.cn

SEND YOUR PROPOSALS TO <muchiem@tut.ac.za> OR <mammo.muchie2019@gmail.com>

 

MORE DETAILS: www.sarchi.org & www.nesglobal.org

CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH EXCELLENCE IN ETHIOPIA

THROUGH NORTH-SOUTH COLLABORATIONS

Thursday, 27 January 2022

The Network for Ethiopian Universities Research Excellence (NEURE) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Association for South-South Cooperation in Innovation Systems Transformation (ASSIST) is organizing a virtual roundtable conference on 27 January 2022 with the following major objectives:

  1. To share experiences among universities, research institutions, and funding organizations that are relevant for research excellence in Ethiopia.

  2. To initiate strong research collaboration between European and Ethiopian Universities and research institutions.

  3. To create research excellence and mobility programs among selected North-South universities and research institutions.

 

Session 1: A discussion session among the North-South academic collaboration experts and officials
This is the opening session in which country officials will present and discuss research and development topics.

Time: 9:00 –10:30 CET (8:00 –9:30 GMT, 10:00–11:30 SAST, 11:00–12:30 EAT)
Duration: 1½ hour
Presentation topics
In this opening and high-level panel discussion, the following topics will be discussed: Research and development priorities of Ethiopia, Challenges and opportunities of research and recommendations to bring its excellence in Ethiopia, Possible areas of research collaborations between EU and Ethiopian Universities and research institutions, and the EU Horizon funding program and how it can bring partnerships and research excellence in Ethiopia.
Moderators: Prof. Mammo Muchie, Dr. Azeb Amha and Dr. Ayalew Kassahun 
Speakers
1.    Dr. Samuel Kifle, State Minister Ethiopian Ministry of Education: Opening speech, highlighting research and development policy priorities of Ethiopia in general and the Ministry of Education in particular. Possible South-South and North-South research collaborations. (10 min)
2.    Mr. Declan Kirrane, Horizon Europe, Coordinator of AERAP: What can the EU Horizon program mean for Ethiopia and how Ethiopia can exercise influence in that process. (10 min)
3.    Ir. Jennie van der Mheen-Sluijer, Manager International Cooperation Africa at Wageningen University: Past and present collaboration with Ethiopian Universities and Wageningen University’s potential research collaboration areas with Ethiopian Universities and research institutions in the future. (10 min)
4.    Prof Dr. Jon Abbink, Leiden University: Past and present research collaboration with Ethiopian Universities and research institutions. Leiden University's potential future research collaboration areas with Ethiopian Universities and research institutions; thematic areas for research funding, potential funding options for Ethiopian Universities and research institutions. (10 min)
5.    Dr. Supriyo Chaudhuri, College for Employability Life : Global Talent Incubator for Digital Economy  to produce  Job  creator Graduates
Q&A / discussion: Chair: Mr. Declan Kirrane (30 min)

 

Session 2: Discussion Among North-South Research Universities
This is the second session that goes in depth on the research collaboration ambitions of Ethiopian and European Universities. 

Time: 11:30 –13:30 CET (10:30 –12:30 GMT, 12:30–14:00 SAST, 13:30–15:00 EAT). 
Duration: 1½ hours
Presentation topics
In this second session the following topics will be discussed: the current organizational structure and research landscape of Ethiopian Universities and research institutions; the Ethiopian national research strategies, and priority areas; how do the various institutions plan to excel in research; and the research focus of European and Ethiopian Universities and possible areas of collaborations.
Moderator: Dr. Solomon Benor and  Prof. Mammo Muchie 
Speakers
1.    Dr. Solomon Benor, Director General for Science and Research Affairs, Ministry of Education (MoE): Research ecosystem of Ethiopia, Ethiopian research strategies and priority areas, the organizational structure of Ethiopian Universities. (6 min)
2.    Dr. Ayalew Kassahun, Dr. Azeb Amha and Prof. Mammo Muchie, researchers at European Universities: Outline of the structure of Wageningen, Leiden and Tshawne Universities; the state of research excellence and possible areas of collaborations with Ethiopian Universities and research institutions. (6 min)
3.    Dr. Thomas Ammerl and Mrs. Melanie Schulte, Bavarian Research Alliance (BayFOR): Outline how to increase research cooperation between Bavarian, European and Ethiopian stakeholders from academia, research, and public authorities. (6 min)
4.    Prof. Carsten Lorz, Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (HSWT): Successful cooperation between Bavaria and Ethiopia in applied higher education, life sciences and agribusiness. (4 min.)
5.    Dr Dereje Engida, President of Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU): The state of research excellence at AASTU and possible areas of collaborations with the EU partners. (4 min)
6.    Dr Binyam Tilahun, Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, University of Gonder (UoG), describes the state of research excellence at UoG and possible areas of collaborations with the EU partners. (4 min)
7.    Dr Anegagregne Gashaw, President of Debre Tabor University (DTU): The state of research excellence at DTU and possible areas of collaborations with the EU partners. (4 min)
8.    Professor Extraordinaire Stephan Little, Tshwane University of Technology, SARChI Innovation Research Group: Research excellence, priorities of Tshwane University and potential north-south research collaboration. (4 min)
Q&A / discussion: Chairs: Prof Mamo Muchie and Dr Solomon Benor (30 min)

 

Session 3: Discussion among research institutes, innovators, and practitioners
This is the third session that deals with north-south and south-south collaborations, their societal impacts, and innovations 

Time and duration
Time: 14:00 –15:30 CET (13:00 –14:30 GMT, 15:00–16:30 SAST, 16:00–17:30 EAT)
Duration: 1 hour
Presentation topics
In this session, possible areas of collaborations among Ethiopian Research and Science Organizations and international institutions will be addressed and identified. 
Moderator: Prof. Teketel Yohannes 
Speakers
1.    Prof. Teketel Yohannes, Executive Director Ethiopian Academy of Science (EAS): Speaks about the EAS and possible areas of collaborations with domestic and European research institutions (5 min)
2.    Dr. Tilaye Teklewold, Director General of Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI): The state of research excellence at ARARI and possible areas of collaborations with EU partners. (5 min)
3.    Dr. Feto Esimo, Director General of Ethiopian Institutes of Agricultural Research (EIAR): The state of research excellence at EIAR and possible areas of collaborations with the EU partners. (5 min)
4.    Dr Tilahun Amede, Head, Resilience, Climate & Soil Fertility. Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Nairobi, Kenya: The state of R&D at AGRA and possible partnership opportunities with Ethiopian universities and research institutions. (5 min)
5.    Dr. Rahel Belete, Founder of Kilimanjaro consulting and Kilimanjaro Treading PLC. (5 min) 
6.    Dr. Kinde Tesfaye, Scientist at International Wheat and Maize Research Institute (CIMMYT), Addis Ababa: The state of research excellence at CIMMYT and possible areas of collaborations with Ethiopian Universities and research institutions. (5 min) 
Q&A / discussion: Chair: Prof Teketel Yohannes (30 min)

 Conclusion to Move Forward, Vote of Thanks and Closing Remarks: Dr. Azeb Amha, Dr.Ayalew Kassahun , Dr. Solomon Benor & Prof. Mammo Muchie and our scientific board members
 

YouTube LIVE LINK

'Putting Africa First' - Revisited

A discussion series in fond memory of Christopher Freeman

6 panels from 16 August to 20 September 2021

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm GMT+1 (London Time)

3 pm - Denmark, France, South Africa |  4 PM - EAT | 9 AM - New York | 6.30 PM - India | 10 PM - Tokyo 

‘. . . The stone that the builders rejected may indeed become the cornerstone of the arch . . .’ - Chris Freeman wrote this concluding line to his preface to ‘Putting Africa First’, in 2003.

In the 18th year of publication of the book, Africa is not the rejected stone anymore. Coveted, for reasons - some in line with Chris’s idea of the corner stone of the arch; others not!

 The discussion series ‘Putting Africa First – Revisited’ takes an introspective retrospection of the ideas on the ‘making of the African innovation system’ introduced by the book at a time when innovation was still coveted by Africa.

The series starts on 16 August, 2021 the day Chris left this world, and will have six weekly episodes corresponding to the chapters of the book, featuring the original contributors and discussants.

Read the PREFACE to the book by Chris, Foreword and the list of chapters here

The Series

Putting Africa First was published in 2003. The idea took shape in 1999 as a discussion between Bengt-Åke Lundvall and Mammo Muchie at Aalborg University.

 

“. . . Mammo was attracted by the idea of applying the national innovation system concept on Africa because he was occupied by the needs to create a unification-nation building process in Africa. BengtÅke Lundvall was in the process of working out the Globelics concept (www.globelics.org). Building the first parts of the global network of scholars working on innovation systems together with African colleagues was an attractive idea . . .” (foreword)

 

The material for the book was drawn from a conference that took place in March 2001 in Aalborg, titled 'African Systems of Innovation and Competence Building'. Deliberations of the conference was built around the (then) emerging concept of 'national systems of innovation' application of which was still largely confined to Europe or North America and dealt with nation states in these parts of the world. Asia and Latin America were only beginning to catch up, but Africa completely left out. Chris Freeman saw the book as a good omen. He wrote in the preface:

 

“. . . For many reasons, the work on Africa is especially important. No continent has a more complex pattern of national boundaries or of ethnic, religious and tribal subsystems, interacting with sectoral systems. The heritage of colonial exploitation, colonial divisions and colonial rule and the struggles for independence have left behind an extraordinary legacy, now also overlaid with the operations of multinational corporations and other international organizations as well. To trace and understand these multiple interacting cultural and institutional sub-systems is indeed a huge challenge.

Yet no continent is more in need of the potential benefits, which science and technology can bring, than the African continent. The direst poverty, the cruelest burdens of disease, of armed conflict, and of environmental disasters still ravage Africa. Yet technology cannot yield its potential benefits without appropriate cooperative social initiatives organized by Africans for Africans. Therefore, to understand the patterns of existing innovation systems, and their limitations and to devise ways to deliver much greater benefits to all the peoples of Africa is a fundamental need for the continent . . . at this time of global economic instability, this work is needed more than ever to protect science and education from inept and misdirected programmes of 'structural adjustment' and to 'put the last first' . . .”

 

            Thus Putting Africa First served an important role by bringing the national systems of innovation discourse to the African continent. This was achieved by systematically analyzing the context in five sections viz. Conceptual Specification and Framework Setting, Adapting the Innovation System Concept to African Development, Regional Innovation Systems and Cross-Regional Experiences, Innovation Systems and the African State and Innovation in African Manufacturing and Services. Twenty-six innovation scholars from the Global South and north participated in this work. The book was published by Aalborg University Press. AfricaLics reported it as one of the most cited books from the African Innovation and Development publications.

 

In retrospection it is doubtful, whether the book has been read as deeply and widely it deserved. One objective of this series is to facilitate a re-reading of the book, especially among new generation innovation scholars from Global South, so as to facilitate a new dialogue on what was discussed in the book in 2003 and where do we stand now. We see this as an opportunity.

 

Yet another objective of this series is to initiate a fresh dialogue on Chris Freeman’s vision of the Pan African ideal. Chris prescribed a combination of interdependent studies at all levels of society across Africa by harnessing the heritage of existing knowledge through numerous local grassroots projects and institutions, with the support of a continent-wide interchange of ideas. This was Chris’s Pan African ideal. Time is ripe for a revisit on this rather Promethean idea.

 

Towards fulfilling a third objective, this series would invoke an old yet still relevant association in Freeman’s school. Mammo Muchie and Bengt-Åke Lundvall wrote in the foreword to the first edition:

 

“. . . One reason that Mammo and Bengt-Åke found together in this project was that both of us belong to the global circle of Christopher Freeman's intellectual 'god children'. A statement from him opened the conference in Aalborg and another opens this book . . . “

 

Thus the discussion series ‘Putting Africa First – Revisited’ is also conceived as a reunion of comrades to commemorate the intellectual legacy of Chris, at a time when the entire humanity face one of the greatest challenges to its survival. Only an economics of hope could restore it back to normalcy. Let us hope for the best!

Structure of the series​:

  • Six panel discussions, corresponding to various chapters of the book.

  • One panel per week

  • Most of the authors participate

  • Panels chaired by eminent scholars. 

  • Various chapters are discussed and contextualized in their original, current and future scenarios.

Panel I ( 16 AUG )    :  Bengt Ake Lundvall (Inaugural address) | Peter Gammeltoft (CHAIR) | Charles Edquist | Norman Clark | Xiaolan Fu | Mammo Muchie | Lukovi Seke

Panel II ( 23 AUG )  :  Carlota Perez (Inaugural address) | Franco Malerba (CHAIR) | Thokozani Simelane | Sunday Ojo | Saradindu Bhaduri | Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad | Anke Weishe

Panel III ( 30 AUG ) :  Alan Freeman (Inaugural address) | Abdelkader Djeflat (CHAIR) | Angathevar Baskaran | Judith Ann Francis | Geci Karuri-Sebina | Diran Soumonni | Shawn                                             Cunningham | Andrew Cummings

Panel IV ( 6 SEP )    :  Luc Soete (Inaugural address) | Margrethe Holm Andersen (CHAIR) | Stephen E. Little | Emmanuel Ojo | Rabecca Hanlin | Rajah Rasiah | Swapan K Patra

Panel V ( 13 SEP )    :  Mammo Muchie (Inaugural address) | Mario Scerri (CHAIR) | Samuel Oloruntoba | Audrey Verhaeghe | Hibist Kassa | Lisa Short | Marcelo Amaral

Panel VI ( 20 SEP )  :  Raphie Kaplinsky (Inaugural address) | Bitrina Diyamett (CHAIR) | Takesure Zhowa | Ann Kingiri | Swati Mehta | Mjumo Mzyece | John Mugabe |

                                    Mammo Muchie (Closing remarks and vote of thanks)

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Association for South-South Cooperation in Innovation Studies ASSISt is committed to foster South-South cooperation to engage in research and capacity building in Innovation Systems with the scholars in the Global North. The venture is supported by Professor Mammo Muchie, South African Research Chair Initiative at Tshwane  University of technology, South Africa (www.sarchi.org & https://sarchi.org/?tag=apga)

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