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Ms. Oley Dibba-Wadda_ Executive Secretary of ADEA and Mr
Thierry Zomahoun_ President and CEO of AIMS at the signing of the MoU in
Addis Ababa
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The
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and the Association
for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Monday announced the
beginning of a partnership for the promotion of appropriate education
sector policies that support Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and
Mathematics (STEAM). This partnership was cemented with the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the margins of the African Union
(AU) Specialized Technician Committee on Education, Science and
Technology being held at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
and in presence of Hon Professor Mary Teuw Niane of the Ministry of
Higher Education and Research, Republic of Senegal. Partner
representatives from AAU, AfDB, Commonwealth Secretariat, Education
International, FAWE, UNESCO and UNESCO-IICBA were also in attendance.
This partnership constitutes a framework for strengthening collaboration
between the two organizations, to better fulfill their missions at
country and regional levels.
In a globalizing world, education
models and their ability to produce innovators and leaders across all
sectors is a critical imperative. For Africa in particular, the question
is closely linked to the continent's ability to develop inclusively.
The AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030
name education, particularly in STEAM, as a key catalyst for sustainable
development. This AIMS-ADEA partnership will support African countries
in areas that include policy development and implementation of the
integration of STEAM into teacher training and learning programs, skills
development, public engagement, and research and innovation with the
goal of transforming Africa through applied skills relevant for the
continent's labour market and research developmental needs.
"Education
training, research and innovation are key factors that will propel
Africa's transformation. The collaboration between AIMS and ADEA will
address policy issues with a focus on the Ministries of Education,
Gender and other relevant ministries, to promote the integration of
STEAM into the respective policy initiatives. We are especially
determined to create an enabling environment that will encourage the
engagement of women and girls", said Ms. Oley Dibba-Wadda, Executive
Secretary of ADEA. Some specific areas of collaboration will include
working with the ADEA Inter-Country Quality Node on Mathematics and
Science Education (ICQN-MSE) for the purpose of providing strategy level
support to relevant Ministries in Africa in leveraging inclusive higher
education and STEAM.
"AIMS looks forward to working with ADEA
in close collaboration to ensure the implementation of this partnership
which we believe will lead to a climate for increased investment in
science and innovation in Africa. We expect strong development outcomes
that will impact higher education in Africa while contributing tangibly
to SDGs. We are also happy to announce that ADEA will join the Next
Einstein Forum (NEF), Africa's global forum for science, as a member,"
said Thierry Zomahoun, President and CEO of AIMS.
The NEF, an
AIMS initiative in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, is a
platform that will bring together leading thinkers in science, policy,
industry and civil society in Africa to leverage science to solve global
challenges. The first NEF Global Gathering will be held in Dakar,
Senegal on 8th -10th March 2016 under the patronage of H.E. Macky Sall,
President of the Republic of Senegal.
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