Harnessing the STI Coalitions for Africa-a mechanism for stronger partnership to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

Date: 8 May 2024

Event ID: HQ-01

Time: 10:00-11:15

Room: CR-11

Introduction

1. The purpose of this concept note is to propose a side event during the 9^th Multi-Stakeholder Forum for Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will be held in New York from 9 to 10 May 2024. The side event will be used to take stock, harness and reposition the STI for Africa Coalition that was launched during the previous STI Forum in 2023. The side event will be jointly organised by South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Morocco together with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Future Africa and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

2. In 2015, the Technology Facilitation Mechanism was launched (TFM) in order to support the sustainable development goals. Central to the TFM is Multi-stakeholder Partnerships designed to mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the SDGs, particularly, in developing countries. Paragraph 52 of the 2030 Agenda recognizes that it would be difficult to achieve the ambitious Goals and targets without a revitalized and enhanced Global Partnership.

3. The revitalized Global Partnership is expected to facilitate a rigorous global engagement to support the implementation of the goals and targets, and further bring together various stakeholders such as Governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and other actors and mobilize all available resources. Key to realizing the 2030 Agenda overall, is goal 17 that seek to “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”.

4. Consistent with the Global Partnership called for in SDG17, the STI Coalitions for Africa was formed on 2 May 2023. The Coalition is based on the premise that collaborative efforts, including various forms of partnerships, are crucial for making STI more responsive to the African realities. The Coalition is an initiative that aims to create a pathway for African countries to develop, deploy and expand the use of STI in the context of achieving the SDGs and the AU Agenda 2063.

5. Even though it is an informal multi-stakeholder interest group, the Coalition facilitates the sharing of experiences, resources and practices in addressing common and complex challenges in order to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs and the aspirations of the people. The Coalition is intended to serve as a global go-to-place and platform to identify, refine and incubate scalable international action and cooperation on STI for the SDGs in Africa. Amongst the priorities of the Coalition is to focus on the Youth; and African diaspora as key drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship and a force for sustained development, as well as manufacturing industries and agricultural sectors.

6. The Coalition is co-led by South Africa, Morocco, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Ghana and builds on the convening power of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) at the global and African level to make a real difference to the dissemination and diffusion of emerging technologies for sustainable development in Africa.

The purpose of the side event will be to:

• take stock of the first year of the STI Coalitions for Africa with a view to harness and reposition it for the future;
• catalyse the role of the African diaspora to support Africa’s development agenda, including capacity building and STI capability; and
• empower the youth and take advantage of the youth dividend that Africa has.

Expected Outcomes

7. As stated in the Coalition on STI for Africa’s Development “Terms of Reference”. The expected outcome includes:

• Sharing of experiences and good practices - the Coalition will promote learning/exchange programmes;
• Increased awareness and understanding of how partnerships can be extended;
• Enhancing collaboration with other stakeholders outside of the Coalition.

Format and participants

8. The side event is planned to be organized mainly virtually with flexibility for a hybrid format. Expected participants include government officials, representatives from the youth and African Diaspora, representatives of African institutions, bilateral and multilateral partners, business leaders, women groups, the media, civil society and UN STI Forum participants.

Co-organisers

• The side event will be jointly organized by the STI for Africa Colaition founding member countries together with UNECA, UNDESA and Future Africa.

Date: 8 May 2024

Time: 10:00-11:15 (New York time) - 75 minutes

Programme Director: Dr Dumisani Mthembu