The challenges for scientific development in the African continent

Giselle Soares

In the 1980’s, when the Lagos Plan of Action was established, all the African countries committed to a baseline target of spending 1% of their GDP on scientific research. Today, more than 30 years after that agreement, only five African countries have met the target: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius and Rwanda, which is the only country that not only met, but exceeded the target. Today Rwanda spends about 3% of the GDP on scientific research. The data were provided by Elizabeth Rasekoala, the founder and executive director of the African-Caribbean Network for Science & Technology (ACNST), an NGO working to advance human capital development, race and gender equality, and social inclusion in the scientific enterprise, in the African Diaspora and on the African continent. Rasekoala was one of the speakers of the 13th International Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference (PCST) that was held on May 5-8 in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil). 

The percentage established in the Lagos Plan of Action is equivalent to what Brazil is currently investing in science, technology and innovation, about 1% of the GDP. Meanwhile, in the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average investment is 2.3% of GDP.

According to Rasekoala, the main challenges for scientific development in Africa are lack of leadership and political engagement, limited funding for science and for research – most of which mainly comes from external bodies-, the profound disconnection between the scientific research undertaken on the continent and the reality of ordinary’s people’s lives, and the limited human capital. “The focus of the limited scientific research undertaken in Africa is totally disconnected from the challenging realities of ordinary people's lives. Science is still practiced by and for a very small elite”, laments the researcher. She also emphasizes the “brain drain” on the continent: “People get their qualifications, they get their PhD’s and they go overseas because there is no opportunity here. We keep going around this vicious cycle the whole time”, she explains. 

Parents and their children participating in family science workshops - here using the innovative, inclusive and empowering curriculum enrichment resource materials produced by the ACNST, to further their understanding of basic science concepts and expand their knowledge and understanding of the global contributions of people of African heritage to the advancement of science & technology in the past and present.Credit: ACNST

Furthermore, Rasekoala highlights the need to stimulate public debate of science in developing countries, in order to make people understand the link between science and their lives. “How do we get women to understand the link between vaccination and childhood diseases, like polio, measles, etc., and the direct impact on infant mortality rates?, she asks. “We don’t look at our own challenging realities, and we do not strive for the conceptualization and implementation of the innovative approaches which would deliver sustainable, empowering and inclusive solutions to these development paradigms”, says the founder of the ACNST.

Local vulnerable communities use cyberactivism to have their voice heard

Cyberactivism of vulnerable communities was the topic presented by the Brazilian researcher Mariana Olívia Santana dos Santos, from Fiocruz, at the last day of the PCST Conference. In Suape, Pernambuco Brazil, the local population looked for journalists and universities to support their protests against the damages that the Suape Port and Idustrial Complex (CIPS) has been inflicting on the local environment. Following the example of Extremadura, Spain, the group has organized a project that included many communication strategies, from public debates to a website, that helped the community to have their voice heard.

Santos compared the work developed in Extremadura, Spain, where a popular environmental movement, the Plataforma Ciudada Refineria (PCRN), was solidified as a response to the lack of information on the impacts of the refinery. The group claimed expert studies on the possible threats of such refineries for the environment.

Similarly to the Spanish model, the Brazilian group created the Forum Suape, a socio environmental space for discussions on the issues experienced by the inhabitants of the region around the industrial complex and its consequences for the future generations. Among the activities, it was constructed a website open for everybody to take part. The issues discussed range from human rights, sustainability and environmental injustices. According to Santos, the cyberspace not only contributed to take the local message to a broader audience, but, it also brought the local institutions and the vulnerable communities closer. “The use of the cyberspace expands the possibilities of participatory social practices in the construction of the collective and effective communicative processes”, observes.

http://forumsuape.ning.com/

project uses comics and romance to teach chemistry

Por Sarah Costa Schmidt

Comics and chemistry can occupy the same space. This is the idea that Adriana Yumi Iwata, from Federal University of São Carlos, shared with the public at the first Show, Tell and Talk session of PCST. She developed her project using japan comics -- best known like manga -- and talks about love, youth and chemistry, of course.  

The comic called Sigma PI shows the story of Branca, a girl that recently moved to a traditional boarding school in town. She enters in a chemistry club called Sigma Pi, and starts to frequent a laboratory and learn about many chemical experiments. The manga talks about romance and is used to show chemistry concepts. The mangas are characterized by characters with big and over expressed eyes, appraising cinematographic movements in the storyline rhythm.

All the story is written by Adriana, and she also draws the comics. The project is part of her masters research. According to her, the comics could be also a powerful way to communicate science and the Sigma Pi project intends to teach how do use manga language to communicate science and practice science literacy, especially with Chemistry subjects. 

You can check it out the website of Sigma Pi project here. 

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Scientists in science centers: necessary, obstacles or decorative objects?

What is the role of scientists in contemporary science centers? - that was the main theme of discussion on the panel proposed by Diego Golombek, from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Argentina. Using examples from different science centers from around the world in diverse levels of development, and in which scientists have played different roles in the process of planning and implementation of the exhibitions, public programmes and digital media, the panel discussed the relationship between scientists, museologists and designers, which is sometimes conflictive and not always allows for each of them to fully express their talents in a collaborative way.

In some cases scientists are merely consultants for scientific content; in others, they are part of the integral design and development of exhibitions, even like promoters of the original idea. Sometimes, for better or for worse, the image of the scientist is too present in the exhibitions. Claudia Aguirre (Parque Explora, Colombia), Rosalia Vargas (Ciencia Viva, Portugal) and Stephen Roberts (London Natural History Museum, UK) participated on the panel.