Boffins from Africa are meeting on Tuesday, ahead of an international gathering to be held in Finland, next month.
The event is hosted by the Future Earth Africa Hub, supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
So Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo, Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation (NRF) says about the local gathering, “the Africa satellite event is a platform for more than 200 African innovation experts to share their latest tangible innovations, their successes and challenges. Importantly, the event is a platform to ensure the sustainability of these innovations.”
All eyes are on the big announcements to be made at this week’s congress in Durban, concerning two African research projects.
The two critical research funding programmes to be launched are the Future Earth Africa Hub Nodes and the Belmont Forum Africa Regional Call.
The Future Earth Africa Hub Nodes launch on the 22 May 2024, the second day of the congress, is an announcement of regional Future Earth Africa regional nodes across East, North and West Africa. These nodes are a coordination of regional sustainability research projects.
They will be supported by academic partner institutions and funders, e.g. science granting councils.
The Central and Southern Africa nodes are expected to be launched later this year.
The Belmont Forum Africa Regional Call will be launched on the last day of SRI2024 (24 May 2024).
Funding opportunities will be announced to scientists and stakeholders whose research is on sustainable approaches for climate adaptation and mitigation in Africa.
Established by the Belmont Forum and Future Earth, the SRI Congress is the world’s largest annual transdisciplinary gathering for the global sustainability research community. It hosts more than 2 000 global sustainability research leaders, Government and civil society experts, funders and innovators.
Last year’s Congress drew more than 320 African experts from more than 34 countries and more than 40 sessions.
Picture: SRI on X