DST organised High-level Conference on Innovation for Poverty Alleviation, 18 September

The Department of Science and Technology organised a high-level conference on Innovation for Poverty Alleviation in Brussels on 18 September as a side event to the South Africa - EU Summit.

The programme included a Welcome address from her Excellency, Minister Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa and His Excellencey Ambassador Roeland Van de Geer, Ambassador of the European Union in South Africa. Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development spoke on Innovation in the EU and South Africa Policies. In his closing keynote address His Excellency, President Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa welcomed the thirty million euro pledged by the European Union to suport Innovation for povery alleviation in South Africa.

Within the framework of the South Africa -European Union Strategic Partnership, there is a shared policy conviction that science and technology are critical instruments for sustainable growth and development, which also play an essential role in poverty alleviation efforts. It is against this background that 'Innovation for Poverty Alleviation' programme has been developed. It is funded through €30 million pledged by the EU and implemented by the DST, to complement and enhance the Department's programmes to deploy science and technology and harness innovation to fight poverty in South Africa.

The Conference included presentations of success stories implemented under the cooperation programme, for example related to support for innovative ICT platforms to bring connectivity to remote rural areas such as the Wireless Mesh Network project. A panel discussion focused on how science and technology's potential to contribute to poverty alleviation could best be leveraged under the South Africa - EU Strategic Partnership, as well as under the broader Joint Africa-EU Strategy.