High-level consultation event

Scientific Advice and Research for Social Justice

PRESENTATIONS AND SESSION RECORDINGS

MONDAY, 17 JULY 2023

Grassroots in Action: Finalising the Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice

Prof. David Budtz Pedersen (DK), Professor of Science Communication; Director of the Humanomics Research Centre, Aalborg University, Copenhagen and Founding Member, Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice.

Aidan Gilligan (IRL), CEO, SciCom – Making Sense of Science; Initiator and Organiser, Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice 2012 – 2022.

Celebrating the 1st Anniversary of the Science Diplomacy Capital for Africa (SDCfA)

Standing Up for Science
Keynote address by Prof. Salim Abdool Karim (SA), Director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and CAPRISA Professor of Global Health at Columbia University. He is also Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Cornell University, New York.

TUESDAY, 18 JULY 2023

Scientific Advice and Research for Social Justice: Addressing Discrimination and Promoting Access to Health Care

Chairperson: Mandi Smallhorne (SA), President, South African Science Journalists’ Association and Vice-President, World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ).
Organiser: Aidan Gilligan (IRL), CEO, SciCom – Making Sense of Science; Initiator and Organiser, Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice 2012 – 2022.
Rapporteur: Prof. David Budtz Pedersen (DK), Professor of Science Communication; Director of the Humanomics Research Centre, Aalborg University, Copenhagen and Founding Member, Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice.

Part 1: From Declaratory Science to Concrete Actions

World Science Forum Declaration 2022

Presentation of the December 2022 WSF Declaration’s process & its calls for action.
Daan du Toit (SA), Deputy Director General, Department of Science & Innovation (DSI).
➔ Presentation

Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice 2012 – 2022

Presentation of the Cape Town Declaration’s process & unveiling its conclusions, reached the day before (17 July 2023). Moderated by Prof. David Budtz Pedersen (DK), Professor of Science Communication; Director of the Humanomics Research Centre, Aalborg University, Copenhagen and Founding Member, Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice.

Part 2: Confronting the Issues

Panel 1 – Science for human dignity: what role for science in fighting poverty, unemployment, inequality and exclusion? (Theme 1, WSF2022 Declaration).

Moderator: Mandi Smallhorne (SA), President, South African Science Journalists’ Association (SASJA) and Vice-President, World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ).
Organiser and Speaker: M.D. Solly Ratamaene (SA), Chairperson of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Former Prof. and HOD Psychiatry Dept Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) and Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital.
Speaker: Prof. Salim Abdool Karim (SA), Public Health Physician, Epidemiologist and Virologist who has played leading roles in tackling the AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics; Vice President for Public Engagement, International Science Council (ISC).
Speaker: Dr Bathabile Ramalapa (SA), Senior Researcher and Scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
➔ Presentation

Panel 2 – Tales of resilience: moving us from punitive health policies to effective solutions

Moderator: Elna Schütz (SA), Freelance Science Journalist (Mail & Guardian, Daily Maverick, BBC, Deutsche Well).
Organiser and Remote Speaker: Shaun Shelly (SA), Policy, Advocacy and Human Rights Manager, TB HIV Care; Founder, SA Drug Policy Week and Founding Member, Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice.
➔ Presentation
Speaker: Dr Janine Scholefield (SA), Research Group Leader of the Bioengineering and Integrated Genomics Group at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
Speaker: Dimakatso Nonyane (SA), Clinical Associate, Community Oriented Primary Care Research Unit, University of Pretoria.

Part 3: Looking back with anger, but forward with confidence

Panel 3 – Mind your brain: the next big thing in public and private sector research

Moderator: Sibusiso Biyela (SA), Science Journalist, ScienceLink.
Organiser and Remote Speaker: Prof. Thomas Hartung (DE-USA), Director, Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Professor and Chair, Evidence-based Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Remote Speaker: Dr Wilson Compton (USA), Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health.
➔ Pre-recorded presentation

Panel 4 – Statecraft and equity in global collaboration: pan-Africa on the move

Moderator: Zamuxolo Matiwana (SA), Media Coordinator at the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement; Coordinator, Young Science Journalists Training Programme.
Organiser and Speaker: Prof. Quarraisha Abdool Karim (SA), Member, Eastern and Southern African Commission on Drugs (ESACD).
Speaker: Dr Olalekan Akinbo (Nigeria), Supervisor, Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation, AUDA-NEPAD.
Speaker: Prof. Mammo Muchie (Ethiopia), DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Innovation Studies, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), and Chief Editor of a new TUT Journal of Creativity, Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (JCISE).
Speaker: Dr Neeraj Mistry (South Africa), Deputy Director, Future Africa Institute

Discussion and wrap-up

Day’s main findings: Prof. David Budtz Pedersen (DK), Professor of Science Communication; Director of the Humanomics Research Centre, Aalborg University, Copenhagen and Founding Member, Cape Town Declaration on Science for Social Justice.
The final word: Mandi Smallhorne (SA), President, South African Science Journalists’ Association (SASJA) and Vice-President, World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ).

Organisers

Partners

IN BRIEF

The SDCfA was initiated by South Africa’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to promote multilateral collaboration to address the challenges facing humanity.

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