The second global gathering of the Next Einstein Forum will kick off in Kigali, Rwanda, next week. The three-day event is expected to draw over 1,000 participants, half under the age of 42.
Speakers announced for the event include science ministers from South Africa and Senegal, Rwandan president Paul Kagame and African Union science and technology commissioner Sarah Anyang Agbor.
According to the programme, heads of state will discuss a white paper prepared by the NEF and other organisations on how to build knowledge-led economies in Africa. The paper, “Laying the groundwork for knowledge-led economies”, will make recommendations on regulation, partnerships and financing to build science capacity, the programme says.
The meeting will also launch Scientific African, an Africa-focused open-access journal published by research publishing giant Elsevier.
According to a blurb on Elsevier’s website, Scientific African will be “dedicated to expanding access to African research, increasing intra-African scientific collaboration, and building academic research capacity in Africa”. It says the journal will provide a “modern, highly-visible platform” for African research across all scientific disciplines.
The editor-in-chief is Benji Gyampoh, a climate scientist at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana.