A virtual Africa-Europe Science and Innovation Summit will be held from 14 to 18 June 2021 to enhance science and innovation cooperation between Africa and Europe, and to build on key policy and programme initiatives to establish a more enabling environment for co-designing science and innovation policy, programme cooperation and capacity building.
The meeting will address a range of themes, including Health, Medicine, Life Sciences, Geoscience, ICT, Digital Transformation, the Green Agenda and Biodiversity, Women and Girls in science, Astronomy, reskilling and upskilling and Agri-food systems, amongst others. Regarding regulation, the meeting will consider how emerging regulations in data protection, medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics, and other areas do not become barriers to science and innovation cooperation between Africa and the European Union.
The summit will promote discussion on advancing synergies between Horizon Europe and Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and other EU and Member State support measures the need for Africa-Europe science cooperation presented by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, a particular focus will be placed on the private sector support for innovation in Africa. Development financing will also be discussed with representatives from the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, and others. Given the global nature of science, multilateralism will be an essential backdrop to the discussions in June.
The event is free of charge; prior registration is required. Further information can be found on the event website.
