AU, EU launch six 'lighthouse projects'

In a joint statement on “Implementation of the EU-AU Partnership for Science, Information Society and Space,” the commissioners stressed the need to strengthen African capacities in the areas of science and technology, including ICT, and infrastructures in order that Africa can produce and use its own knowledge and services and to develop a sound S&T and ICT policy.

This joint statement is in keeping with the overall spirit of the EU/AU joint partnership, agreed during the EU/AU Summit in December 2007, of working with Africa, not only for Africa: a spirit of partnership. The 19 lighthouse projects have been identified and designed by the African Union Commission (AUC) to respond to African needs. They will help to build the continent's capacities to harness, apply and develop science and technology in order to eradicate poverty, fight diseases, reduce the digital divide, stem environmental degradation, and improve economic competitiveness. Therefore, scientific knowledge and engineering expertise are essential to achieving the objectives of the other partnerships.

The six ‘early deliverables' projects that have been identified for rapid implementation are:

• In the ICT area, two projects related to enhancing internet deployment and use in Africa ("African Internet Exchange System"), and to extending the reach of the European research and education high-speed network GEANT to sub-Saharan Africa ("Africa Connect").
  
• In science, two projects aimed at helping the African Union to develop its own scientific resources. The “African Research Grants” project will help the AUC to set up an African framework programme for research. In the “Water and Food security in Africa” project, the Nile Basin will serve as a pilot case for research and demonstration activities to tackle food supply problems and effective water and land management.
  
• In the space field, the GMES-Africa project aims to re-inforce Africa's use of, and contribution to, remote sensing science, especially through building of operational systems. A second project will enhance capacity building in the AUC on geospatial science. Technology transfer to the AUC will focus on establishing a mirror of the Africa Observatory for Sustainable Development based in Europe's Joint Research Centre (JRC) which provides scientific information on natural resources, food security, crisis management and renewable energies.

The joint statement calls upon the 27 EU member states, as well as the 53 AU member states, the industry and civil society to co-ordinate their involvement in the 19 projects, and notably define appropriate funding instruments that could come from EU, national, regional or private sources, in order to ensure their successful implementation.

The European Commission and the AU Commission agreed to further use the European 7th Framework Programme for Research (FP7) to broaden African participation notably in the areas of health, environment and climate, energy, agriculture and food, information and communication technologies and space applications. The use of FP7 will come in complement of other EC development programmes.