IAP features in Italian Africa Day celebrations

IAP and its affiliated network, IAMP, were featured in a recent celebration of Africa Day (27 May) hosted at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome.

Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with TWAS, Africa Day was attended by top officials from the Ministry, including Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, Secretary-General  Michele Valensise, Undersecretary Mario Giro, and Minister Roberto Cantone, director of the Bilateral and Multilateral Scientific and Technological Cooperation Unit. In addition, the event - on the theme 'Africa and Italy: scientific cooperation for sustainable development' - was attended by ambassadors and other diplomats of African nations serving in Italy, along with leading officials from United Nations agencies, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations.  

In total, more than 200 people attended the event, which celebrated 50 years since African leaders first came together to join forces for the development of their continent and establish the forerunner of the African Union.
In her opening speech, Minister Mogherini highlighted the fact that the economy of many African counties is growing at around 4 to 5% and that by 2060 there will be around 1.1 billion Africans and a trebling of the middle classes between now and then. “Italy wishes to improve its historical presence in Africa,” she said, adding that for these reasons the Italian government was providing support especially in the agriculture segment, as well as launching the Institute for International Political Studies (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, ISPI) in February this year with a focus on Africa and its evolving scenarios. “An Africa free of poverty,” she continued, “that is the Africa that is awakening and that we want to support.”
Following on, Marièm Aouffa interim ambassador of Mauritania to Italy - speaking on behalf of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of Mauritania and current chair of the AU – confirmed that Africa is a rich and young continent with remarkable growth rates and tremendous potential, but that agriculture and food security must be placed at the heart of its further development.
In his speech, TWAS executive director, Romain Murenzi, highlighted the ongoing need to build scientific capacity on the continent and detailed some of TWAS's efforts in this regard. He also focused on the role of academies of science, noting that since its inception in 2001, the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) has increased its membership twofold, from 9 to 19, thus providing additional routes for the dissemination of scientific knowledge and advice across the continent.

Summing up, Undersecretary Giro highlighted again the important role of the international institutions based in Trieste play in advancing the efforts of the Italian government in promoting science for development, especially in Africa.

A short video (in Italian) summarizing the Africa Day event is available HERE.   

A related article on the TWAS website is available HERE