Programme director,

Chairperson and Board Members of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists,

National Manager of the Expo for Young Scientists,

Representatives of Eskom and other Sponsoring Organisations,

Representatives of Education and other Government Departments,

Distinguished guests,

Young scientists,

Ladies and gentlemen

This Expo for Young Scientists National Finals comes on the heels of the International Science, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (INSITE) that was held a few days ago in Sandton.

Apart from showcasing South Africa’s talent and potential, INSITE 2006 was also aimed at informing and inspiring our youth to follow careers in science, engineering and technology. The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists provides our youth with an opportunity to display their talent and potential as future researchers, scientists and innovators. Indeed, the enthusiasm and innovativeness that I have come to associate with the Expo participants, holds definite promise that many of you will go on to do great things in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. All of you here today are blessed with a talent you have clearly managed to capture in your exciting projects. It is a real pleasure for my Ministry to be associated with this event. We are determined to intensify our efforts to address the challenges we still face in the development of science and technology careers and opportunities.

We acknowledge and celebrate the effort and energy that you, the learners, have put into your projects. We also acknowledge and thank those special people behind the scenes who have contributed their time and effort to making this day a reality. Parents and educators play a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of our learners. We salute and commend those dedicated parents and educators, who through their patience, insight and commitment, have made it possible for our children to persevere and excel in science, technology and mathematics.

As parents, our role is to support and guide our children to assist them in applying their skills and talents to achieve their dreams and aspirations. However, we need to strike a careful balance between challenging our children to reach greater heights and pushing them to win at all costs.

The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists is not only about winning. It is about developing the passion for scientific research and discovery, and promoting scientific awareness. Whilst we may be able to see a stark difference in the visual quality of presentations coming from different learners, I must stress the importance of looking at the scientific thinking behind the work against the aesthetics. Many top scientists today come from rural and impoverished backgrounds, and they have managed to show their understanding and application of scientific principles and concepts. This is what is required to become a true researcher and scientists.

I am truly pleased with the effort and partnership that has resulted in South Africa winning the bid to host the Expo Science Internationale (ESI) in 2007. From 08 to 13 July next year, Durban will be the destination of prominent scientists, educators and thousands of young scholars who will participate in this exciting exhibition to celebrate the wonders of science. Securing the event is a great honour for the country and an opportunity to showcase South African talent, progress and hospitality. I urge all interested parties to support this important event. Beginning with my department, I invite public and private sector companies, research councils and academia to dig deep into their pockets to enhance the quality of this noteworthy international event.

Winning the bids to host international events is becoming a common feature in our country and particularly our science system. In addition to hosting the ESI 2007, we also won other bids to host the 3^rd International Conference on Science Centres in Developing Countries in 2008, and the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad in 2009. Through these events, our learners and education practitioners will get an opportunity to interact with their international counterparts. We hope our youth will seize the opportunities provided by the international interactions to reach for the stars.

In November last year, the President launched the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in Sutherland in the Northern Cape. SALT is the most powerful optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, and has the capacity to detect the equivalent of a candle flame flickering on the moon or a two rand coin at a distance of ten kilometres. SALT is a prime example of the opportunities that science can create. Even more exciting and inspiring, is that this powerful African eye to the sky embodies our country’s talent, innovation, creativity and strong will to aspire to new levels of excellence.

However, despite the vision, and pursuit of excellence and creativity by our scientific workforce, we are still a long way towards producing enough scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians to establish a firm foundation for South Africa’s scientific advancement. Science is a global endeavour, and if we are to remain competitive within the global market, we need a workforce that is innovative and forward-looking. We need a large number of young women and men to pursue their studies and enter into careers in these areas of scarce skills. We also need to arrest the brain drain from our science system by retaining our skilled human resources.

Role models and mentors are important in encouraging young people to persist in their scientific studies. You form a very important component of the type of role models we are looking for. What better way is there to make sure our learners are encouraged to take mathematics, technology and science than to hear their peers explain just how wonderful scientific research and discovery is?

Though still inadequate, my department has established a number of science centres in all the provinces to encourage our learners to learn how to apply their scientific knowledge to find new and effective ways of doing things. For those living near such facilities, please make the time to visit the science centres regularly and try out some scientific projects of your own. You will soon discover how easy it is to create new and exciting products.

South Africa is celebrating 2006 as the “Year of the Women” to mark the 50^th anniversary of the women’s march to the Union Buildings, which took place on 9 August 1956, to protest against the unjust pass laws. Those thousands of women of all races who descended on the Union Buildings 50 years ago began a movement to uplift and empower South African women. And the best way of honouring their courage and resolve to better the lot of women is by having more girls and women following and succeeding in science careers. The science system will be all the richer if all South Africans pooled their drive, energy, creativity and innovation to address many of the problems that plague our nation.

My department is committed to enhancing our association with the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. We are currently considering extending our sponsorship to the Expo for Young Scientists and hope to report good news in the not too distant future. We firmly believe that events such as these are exceptionally important for identifying and nurturing talent and potential in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For this reason, we have developed and commenced with the implementation of the National Plan for Olympiads, Competitions and Camps. This is an important first step towards synergising the Olympiads, Competitions and Camps that are already featuring dominantly in some schools but are still inaccessible to many others.

May I, in closing, take this opportunity to commend the vision and dedication of the organisers that has always been second to none. I trust you will continue to contribute selflessly towards building our country’s scientific workforce that is also second to none.

I am truly inspired by the quality of the projects produced this year. It has become increasingly obvious that excellence and innovation are not bound by age and experience. There is no limit to the heights that our country can rise if we continue to produce learners of your calibre. I trust you all will persevere in your studies. I wish you all the best in the future, and look forward to hearing more about your achievements.

Isaac Asimov, a Russian biochemist claims that: “the most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not “Eureka!”, but “That’s funny” … I will leave you to ponder this statement at your leisure.

Thank you.