EAST AFRICA SETS UP SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL
By Deodatus Balile

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have set up a joint Science and Technology Council for East Africa in an attempt to boost science and technology in the region.

The council is intended to allow the three countries to share and exchange their skills in science and technology. It will also seek funding from foreign donors, and co-ordinate science and technology training in the region to ensure that new developments are distributed evenly among the three countries.

"We hope the newly established Science and Technology Council will speed up the science development process in the region," says Ali Mchumo, Deputy Secretary General (Finance and Administration) for the East African Community.
Mchumo points out that the current policy of the three countries is that, where possible, international negotiations should be carried out on behalf of all three of them. "So it should be for science development," he says.

The East African secretariat has already started to build links between universities in the three countries in an attempt to standardise the quality of education offered in the region. It ultimately aims to re-establish an East African University, which existed up to the time of the collapse of the former East African Community in 1977. The Community, which brings together Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, was re-established in 1999.

(c) SciDev.Net 2003

Note: This item was posted on the SciDev.Net website on 9th January 2003. www.scidev.net

THE SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT NETWORK (SciDev.Net) KEEP INFORMED ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND THE DEVELOPING WORLD

The Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) promotes the communication of information about science and technology relevant to the needs of developing countries. We run a website (www.scidev.net) that provides a regularly updated source of news, views and information on this topic, including free access to selected articles from the journals Nature and Science. An important feature of the website is dossiers: in-depth guides to issues ranging from GM crops to indigenous knowledge. To register for a free weekly e-mail alert giving details of what's new on the site, please go to www.scidev.net/register. Nicky Lewis Production Editor SciDev.Net, 11 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1HR, United Kingdom. Phone: +44(0)20 7291 3694, Fax: +44 (0)20 7291 3697. Email: nicky.lewis@scidev.net

Vision 2020 - AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT

We are pleased to inform you that the 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment, of which the 2020 Vision Network for East Africa is an integral part, was recognized for its achievements on July 30, 2002, when the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) presented its 2002 award for Distinguished Policy Contribution to IFPRI's Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Rajul Pandya-Lorch, and Mark Rosegrant. Per Pinstrup-Andersen is IFPRI's Director General, Rajul Pandya-Lorch is Head of its 2020 Vision Initiative, and Mark Rosegrant is Senior Research Fellow and IMPACT Leader in its Environment and Production Technology Division.

We are very proud that the 2020 Vision Initiative's contributions to improving policies and programs, enhancing dialogue and debate, and raising public awareness have been recognized by the AAEA and we would like to thank you, as our colleagues and collaborators involved in the 2020 Vision Network for East Africa, for your part in helping us to meet our goals and strive towards the 2020 Vision of sustainable food security for all. We hope that as active participants in our Network, you share our excitement in receiving this award.

Sincerely,
The 2020 Vision Initiative Team at IFPRI

For further information contact: Jenna Kryszczun, Email: j.kryszczun@cgiar.org

FORMATION OF AN AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF EDITORS OF SCHOLARLY JOURNALS

African scholarly journals have expanded in number and scope over the past twenty years and are increasingly providing regional and international exposure for the research and development on the continent. Projects, such the African Journals OnLine (AJOL) project of INASP, have contributed a great deal to this dissemination of African scholarship. Additionally, there have been a number of initiatives to improve quality, output, usage and management of scholarly journals in Africa but there is scope for a great deal of improvement.

One of the primary ways in which this can be achieved is through capacity building and networking amongst editors on the continent. To this end, a proposal to form an Association of African Editors was formulated and sent out to journals on the AJOL list. Editors were asked to circulate this to other editors in their countries. Enthusiastic responses were received from about half the contacted editors/publishers.

A formal working group to develop the association was set up, comprising J Hussein (Zimbabwe Science News), R. Oniang'o (African J of Food, Agric, Nutrition & Development), F Oyekanmi (CODESRIA), T Assefa (Publications officer of OSSREA) , O Omoregie ( J of Aquatic Science) , E le Roux (African Insight), A Omigbodun (Trop J of Obstetrics & Gynaecology), U Yakubu ( J of Cultural Studies); M Horsfall Jnr ( J of Applied Science & Environmental Management), A Ngowi (Botswana J of Technology) and J. Limson ( Science in Africa) was created. Prof Ruth Oniang'o has kindly agreed to be the co-ordinator of the working group.

A draft constitution has now been drawn up and a logo designed for the Association. The working group is currently sourcing funding for an inaugural meeting of the association, which is likely to be combined with a INASP workshop in East Africa in mid-2003. Other activities are planned including the setting up of a: email discussion group, a website, a newsletter, workshops and training/development resources linkage with other editorial associations (eg the European Association of Science Editors - EASE)

Those interested in obtaining further information should contact Prof Ruth Oniang'o Email:oniango@iconnect.co.ke