Financing R

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Financing RD networks in Africa
CERN Geneva 25-27 September 2005Harry De Backer
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Contents

1. The General EU policy for development
2. The EU development policy for ICTs
3. The EU development policy for Science and
   Technology
4. Conclusion

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May 2005 Commitments towards achieving the MDGs

• First of all, the EU wishes to increase the
  volume of resources for development aid and make
  a sufficient share of this increase available for
  sub-Saharan Africa
• EU provide more that 55 of ODA, which represents
  some 35 BEuro a year.
• Increase ODA by 2010 with 20BEuro/year, reach the
  0,7 objective in 2015.
• Secondly, we suggest supporting in particular
  those areas identified by the Africans themselves
  as crucial to their development (ownership).
• improvement of Africas governance,
• the interconnection of Africas networks and
  trade
• strive towards equitable societies, access to
  services and environmental sustainability.

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May 2005 Commitments towards achieving the MDGs

• And thirdly, the EU proposes strengthening
  coherence between EU policies. For this purpose,
  the EU has identified a number of priority areas
  including
• trade, environment, climate change, security,
  agriculture, fisheries, social dimension of
  globalisation, employment and decent work,
  migration, transport, energy,
• but also the Information Society in which the EU
  will address the digital divide by exploiting the
  potential of information and communication
  technologies as a development tool and as a
  significant resource for attaining the MDGs.
• And Science and Technology where the EU will
  promote the integration of development
  objectives, where appropriate, into its RTD and
  innovation policies, and will continue to assist
  developing countries in enhancing their domestic
  capacities in this area.

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ICTs Two roles, one Policy

• ICTs are a tool, an enabler and not a priority on
  their own. ICTs are integrated and mainstreamed
  in the EU development priorities.
• Stimulating the ICT sector itself is the role of
  the CDE which is an organisation within the
  Cotonou agreement.

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Africa-Europe Infrastructure Partnership

• The purpose of the development policy is to
  integrate the African economy in the world
  economy.
• Goods, people via roads,
• but services and capital can be transported via
  ICTs
• The Millennium Project has revealed that
  Infrastructures are lacking transport, energy,
  water, ICTs.
• The NEPAD has defined a Short Term Action Plan
  with 20 priority projects 3 telecom RASCOM,
  COMTEL, pan-African Regulation
• The European Commission will develop a
  master-plan that will mirror the requirements of
  the Africans (ownership).

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NEPAD plans (East and Austral Africa)
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NEPAD plans (West and Central Africa)
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Science and Technology in Africa
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Assistance by EDF for RD in developing countries

• 6th Framework Programme
• Marie Curie
• 30MEuro ACP Science and Technology Capacity
  Building Program
• 35 Meuro Higher Education Programme
• CTA Wageningen for Agricultural Support
• CGIAR, etc.

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African Science and Technology Consolidated Plan
of Action

• Origins African Union/NEPAD
• August 2005
• 12 flagships (Centers of Excellence)
• Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity
• Safe Development and Application of Biotechnology
  
• Securing and Using Africas Indigenous Knowledge
  Base
• Building a Sustainable Energy Base
• Securing and Sustaining Water
• Combating Drought and Desertification
• Building Africas Capacity for Material Sciences
• Building engineering capacity for Manufacturing
• Strengthening the African Laser Centre (ALC)
• Technologies to Reduce Post harvest Food Loss
• Information and Communication Technologies
• Establishing the African Institute of Space
  Science Technology
• AMCOST-2 meeting in Dakar on 29-30 September will
  approve.

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Conclusion
If it is the desire of the world-wide RD
Networking to assist the African Scientific
Community on RD networking it should be
materialized in the framework of this African
Plan of Action (ownership).
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Closing moments The three stages of truth
According to Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) all
truth passes through three stages.

• Ridicule
• Violent opposition
• Truth is accepted as being self-evident.
• The ICT and RD sector in the developing
  countries is on the verge of stage three.

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The Websites

• europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/development/index_en.htm
• www.eib.org
• www.cde.int
• harry.de-backer_at_cec.eu.int