Programme Director

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

It is a great honour and joy to be here with you this evening to officially open the 10^th annual Sasol SciFest, which is aimed at celebrating achievement in scientific research and promoting public awareness of science throughout the country and beyond.

Since its inception in 1997, this premier national science, engineering and technology (SET) event is estimated to have reached over 350 000 people from South Africa and neighbouring countries through the various exhibitions, lectures and workshops held during the 7-day festival itinerary, as well as through its numerous outreach programmes.

Through interaction with and participation by a number of regional and international role-players, the 2006 SciFest again provides a valuable platform for science and technology cooperation and for showcasing some of our country’s outstanding scientific research advances.

As you probably know, the success of Sasol SciFest, and the unique competencies that have been developed over the past decade have had an impact way beyond South Africa’s borders. In 2005 the SciFest team was invited to assist with the development of a National Science Week Programme in Namibia. The launch of a science festival, based on the SciFest model, in the city of Joensuu, Finland is an eloquent acknowledgement of the innovation and creative success of Brian Wilmot and his team.

And further prospects for similar collaboration and support for Mozambique and other African countries are presently being explored.

It is in this context that I would like to commend the ongoing commitment of the Festival sponsors, exhibitors and participants who have recognised that the successful growth and application of science and technology does not happen in isolation.

Particular acknowledgement in this regard must go to the SciFest Director and staff, the Grahamstown Foundation, Sasol Limited and various other national and international sponsors. We would like to encourage you all, especially the lead sponsor, Sasol Limited, to continue with your unselfish dedication to this worthy event and towards the extension of the SciFest’s reach.

Among the cornerstones of South Africa’s long-term economic growth strategy is the effort to harness the full potential of science and technology through education. This requires massive public awareness campaigns as well as innovative ways of attracting young people to pursue and remain in science related studies and careers.

It is in line with this objective that the theme Face the Future was chosen for this 10^th Sasol SciFest. The future must be faced with integrity, courage and commitment. The thousands of young faces that are here, eagerly and enthusiastically observing, learning and participating in this festival, are the faces of the future, and need to be properly equipped to face the future.

Our future, and that of the rest of the world, is dependent on a solid science, engineering and technology (SET) base. We rely on advances in SET in almost every facet of our lives, including access to communication, electricity, clean water, sanitation, food, transport, medicine … I could go on and on. The contribution of science and technology to our quality of life is endless.

But for us to be able to face the future with confidence and hope, we need to properly understand the present, and come to grips with the challenges that confront us right now. The stark reality is that our children are not being developed to their fullest potential, our educators do not have adequate support to effectively fulfil their obligations, and our scientific community is not being renewed at a rate adequate to ensure that our country stays at the cutting edge of scientific and technological discovery and innovation.

It is imperative therefore, if we are to “Face the Future’ as a proud and empowered nation, that we prioritise human capital development in the science sector in particular.

In the words of Festival Director, Brian Wilmot, “…the business of the Sasol SciFest is the promotion of public awareness of science, engineering and technology and through it the development of a much needed ‘culture’ of science in South Africa”. This includes “strongly influencing education … through demystifying SET by making it more accessible” to the youth in particular.

One of our challenges is to ensure that SciFest partners with and enhances ongoing, national initiatives such as the Department’s

Youth into Science Strategy for example. This strategy is aimed at promoting science and technology literacy and encouraging more of our youth to pursue careers in SET.

A further initiative in this regard, is the National Science Week which is hosted annually by the Department of Science and Technology. This year’s Science Week will take place from 13 to 20 May and is aimed at enhancing public awareness of and participation in SET through interactive science exhibits, edutainment events, as well as s&t career seminars and public lectures in all nine provinces.

In other words, there are various planned activities, including those that are ongoing in Science Centres around the country, that I have similar aims and objectives. I am happy to report that SciFest will this year, for the first time, also be actively involved in the DST’s National Science Week, and will thereby cement an already fruitful partnership between the Department and the SciFest sponsors and organisers.

The involvement of the DST in the Sasol SciFest has been a long one. Former Minister of what was then the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr Ben Ngubane, endorsed the establishment of this festival and urged that the key sponsor be a major South African company rather than government. This has led to what has now become a powerful public event which connects the wonder and excitement of science to the potential of technology and the real world of work.

The challenge now is for us to intensify our joint efforts to also support the educators who work with learners every day and enable them to nurture the talent and potential that we have in such abundance.

Learners such as Horisane Marivate, the first black Eskom Expo Finalist to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair; Jannes de Villiers who took the first prize in Zoology; and, Roelien Blom who took the second prize in Engineering at the Taiwan International Science Fair are living proof of the enormous potential of our young people.

In order to better nurture and support such talent, the DST has approved a three-year project that focuses on equipping educators with competencies required to implement the new mathematics and science curricula, as well as providing support to learners participating in mathematics and science Olympiads.

I am filled with a sense of excitement about what this year’s SciFest offers our children, educators and the public in general. To date, SciFest has not failed to impress and I am confident that this year will be no different.

As the organisers have indicated, this is going to be one of the biggest festivals since its inception, with a programme filled with exciting, colourful and educational activities. There is something of interest for all - from 5 to 105 years of age – with no less than 680 events and activities ranging from lectures, workshops and exhibitions to science Olympics, field-trips, quizzes, and apprenticeships.

Especially important are the lecture and workshop programmes which provide an opportunity to showcase not only a wide array of eminent established South African scientists but also successful young, black South African scientists who represent a new generation of achievers in the competitive world of science. This year there are no less than eight such young scientists who will present lectures as part of the SciFest programme.

Among these, I am told, is the delightful Dr Nomakwezi Mzilikazi, winner of the first African Women Scientist fellowship at the DST Women in Science Awards in 2003. I was lucky enough to have met Nomakwezi at last year’s Women in Science Award function, where she humoured me in my limited understanding of ‘evolutionary physiology’. I was deeply impressed by the knowledge and energy of this young South African woman and rolemodel, who, at the tender age of twenty-something (she wouldn’t tell me exactly how old she was), is also the first Black lecturer in the Zoology Department at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth.

The international contributions to the 2006 SciFest programme add enormous value to this event. This includes participation by twenty renowned scientists from five countries world-wide. It is a great pleasure to welcome back two outstanding individuals in the persons of Dr Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, and Dr Eric Wilcots of the University of Wisconsin, who has close ties with the Southern African Large Telescope which was opened by President Mbeki in November last year.

I am also pleased to welcome the six-person delegation from the Beijing Association for Science & Technology (BAST), who have come to see the Festival in operation and to discuss with the organisers and the DST further areas of science and technology cooperation. I thank you for your interest and involvement in SciFest and trust that Sasol SciFest 2006 will leave an indelible impression on you all.

And on that note I would like to close by once again congratulating the organisers, contributors and sponsors of the Sasol SciFest for a job well done. I trust that everyone here will take the time to attend some of the numerous activities on offer. Your own contributions, in whatever field, in whatever institution, towards our collective goal of enhancing our knowledge base and harnessing the great talent of our youth is well appreciated. It is the outcome of this effort that will really determine whether we can face the future with hope and confidence.

I will now do what I was asked to do: I hereby declare Sasol SciFest 2006 officially open and will leave you to ponder over the wisdom of an old Chinese proverb:

“When I hear, I forget

When I see, I remember

When I do, I understand”

And I’ll be bold enough to add my own bit of wisdom: When I understand, I start doing the right things. When I understand, I’ll save our planet instead of destroying it. It is only when we understand that we will be able to start crafting a better future for humankind together.

Thank you.