Minister's Speech for 1st National Science Technology Innovation Week

SPEECH BY THE MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY  HON.  PROF. MARGARET KAMAR, DURING THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 1ST NATIONAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION WEEK HELD AT KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, NAIROBI  ON 7TH MAY 2012

•    Chief Guest (Details to be inserted after confirmation)
•    Hon. Ministers
•    Scientists
•    Private Sector Representatives
•    Invited Guests
•    Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to join you this morning during the opening ceremony of the first and very important National Science and technology Week. May I take this opportunity from the onset to welcome all of you to this important national event. I wish also to sincerely thank you for attending and participating and therefore contributing to the success of this First National Science, Technology and Innovation Week. In particular, I would like to single out our partners; Japanese  Society for Promotion for Science (JSPS), Japan International Cooperation Agency  (JICA), Africa Biosafety Stakeholders Forum (ABSF), Housing Finance, JICA, Toyota and Nagasaki University among others for partnering with us in the organization and sponsoring this important national event.

This reaffirms our believe that the benefits of ST&I cannot be achieved in “Silo operations”, but through consultations, collaborations, partnerships and linkages among all stakeholders.

Ladies and gentlemen
The National ST&I week presents an opportunity to appreciate the role of science, technology and innovation in socioeconomic development of the country.  It is my sincere hope that all the activities planned in this event including, discussions, debates, robot contest, science congress and exhibitions will significantly contribute to our long term dream of mainstreaming STI in all sectors of the economy and to ensure that Kenyans benefit from acquisition and utilization of ST&I for socio-economic development and improving quality of life.

The Ministry reaffirms its commitment to enhance integration of ST&I into national production systems for sustainable development. Globally, it is recognized that ST&I plays a critical role in improving the livelihoods of people and the modernization of society. As I speak now, there is no country in the world that has developed or is rapidly developing without applying the principles and practices of science and technology as the drivers of socio-economic. ST&I help in the achievement of operational efficiency through continuous improvement of products and services as well as upgrading performance by providing a work environment that stimulates creativity.

Ladies and gentlemen,
If you may recall, at the beginning of last month of April, Kenya, through the Ministry of Higher Education Science and technology hosted the First Africa Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Youth Employment, Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth.  During the Forum African Ministers in charge of STI, Education, and Finance engaged the private sector, academia and scientific communities from across the globe in a dialogue on how to promote inclusive development through scientific and technological innovation in Africa.

Participants in the forum made three key observations.  One; That Africa countries must invest in ST&I to be able to innovate and generate own solutions to their pressing developmental challenges. Second; that we must have policies especially on education and ST&I which promote the employability of the youth and facilitate knowledge-based innovation, development and sustainable growth. And lastly, taking note of the UNESCO report of 2010 that one third of Africa’s scientists and technology graduates live and work in developed countries, we must invest again in ST&I and support knowledge-based industries to improve our competitiveness in the technology market in order to reduce the out-migration of our human capital.
     
Ladies and Gentlemen
I wish to assure you all that my Ministry has initiated a number of policies and reforms in the higher education and ST&I sectors in order to address some of these concerns.  My Ministry has drafted ST&I policy and strategy which provides a framework for a harmonized and coordinated approach to harness Kenya’s collective talents and creativity, promote capacity building in ST&I human, financial and infrastructure development and effective networks and linkages for knowledge generation and sharing. We committed to facilitate the identification, acquisition, transfer, diffusion and application of relevant ST&I knowledge in all sectors of the economy.

An important prerequisite to a country’s technological progress is provision of quality education. In revitalizing the higher and tertiary education sector, the Ministry has expanded the number of public and private universities through upgrading of some tertiary institution and called for increased the number of course in order to provide more Kenyans access to relevant skills and competence. Technical training at middle level tertiary education is also undergoing unprecedented reforms.  The Youth who are the primary targets of educational reforms are the innovators, who through technology and entrepreneurship have driven our ICT revolution.  The Youth are our greatest asset in terms human capital.

We are also working to strengthen appropriate linkages between the private sector, academia and financial institutions and incentives for commercialization of research and development by promoting entrepreneurship, increased venture capital funding, the establishment of technology parks and incubators and greater international collaboration.


Ladies and Gentlemen,
One of the activities in the program of ST&I week is biotechnology day. I am glad that a full day of the Week has been dedicated to biotechnology. I remember when joined the Ministry the debate on Genetically Modified Organisms was raging in the country and I observed that there was need for a national conference for biotechnology stakeholders.

I am happy that this has been considered and Thursday will be an important as well as exciting day for me.  I know that pertinent issues that have been in the minds of Kenyans will be addressed. Stakeholders will now have an opportunity to know the status and interrogate the benefits and risks of modern biotechnology.

Let me state that as country, we has made a bold statement and taken firm position to embrace biotechnology. We have in place all the necessary Biosafety Regulations meant to safeguard human health and protect the environment. We have established National Biosafety Authority (NBA) to oversee the safe handling, movement, release and use of genetically modified foods and products.

Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to invite you all to the biotechnology day the next coming Thursday. 


As I conclude my remarks I wish to reemphasize the importance of National Science, Technology and Week to the country and to us in the Ministry. This week has been organized in cognizant of the fact that the levels of awareness and uptake of ST&I in the media, business leaders, educational institutions and the general public remains low.   This has been made worse by lack of coordinated and integrated approaches and inequitable access and distribution of ST&I resources and benefits.

It is therefore important for all the stakeholders, including the youths, academicians, researchers, industrialists, business community  to take advantage of this national event and embrace the ST&I call of “Know it, transfer it, embed it and build on it” for our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment, and our quality of life. We all as citizens of this country participate fully in elevating the profile of ST&I.

Ladies and gentlemen
It is my believe that  this event will not only enhance public awareness on the importance of ST&I and its implication to all aspects of everyday life but will be a step towards enabling our nation to emerge as a progressive and enlightened society and also advance in her scientific and technological  endeavor.

May I therefore take this opportunity to challenge you to use this event to make a difference in the level of cohesiveness of Kenya’s National Innovation System and the development of knowledge based economy.

It is now my pleasure to invite the Chief Guest to address this forum and officially launch the First National ST&I week.

Thank you for your attention.