Top African scientists meet in Kigali

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has bemoaned the gender gap in the world of science and technology in Africa, and has called for the urgent need to bridge that gap.

At the opening ceremony for the Next Einstein Forum 2018 Global gathering in Kigali, Rwanda, the AU chair also challenged leaders on the continent to join efforts aimed at Pan-African collaboration to propel science an d technology forward.

‘’But as Africa catches up with the rest of the world, we cannot afford to leave our women and girls out of the equation. The gender gap in science is a global phenomenon but that is no reason to accept is as inevitable. Whatever the causes maybe we have to dedicate ourselves to closing the gap, because opportunity will never be equal without equal access to knowledge’’, says Paul Kagame, Rwandan president.

President of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Chair of the Next Einstein Forum Thierry Zomahoun noted that the forum among others, seeks to celebrate the achievements of the greatest scientific minds from Africa.

‘’We are here today to celebrate the contributions of Africa to global science and we are here to celebrate the achievements of some of Africa’s brightest mind and scientific mind. Africans were the first to count and the continent was the place were humans started counting for the first time. Not only is Africa the cradle of humanity, but we arguably also suggest that Africa is the cradle of mathematics”.

For the next three days and for the very first time on the continent, 1,600 delegates are gathered here at the Kigali Convention Center. They will be looking at the challenges that confront science and technology on the continent and hopefully bring out solutions and innovative polices that will address these problems.