It is my honour to be invited to this Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation as a Platform for National Development. My gratitude goes to the organizer, the National Council of Science and Technology.
Science and Technology holds the key to many questions that are faced by governments and communities all over the world. These challenges include environmental degradation, energy and food shortages, natural disasters and infectious diseases.
Japan and Kenya share common features in one respect. Neither country has natural resources to rely on for the development of the national economy. In both countries, developing human skills, and in particular, advancement of Science and Technology, is the key to National Development.
After the Second World War, Japan started its development from total destruction of its economy. Almost all the industrial places were destroyed. People were hungry. Tokyo was ruins and ashes. There were few decent jobs. Many people died prematurely.
Since then, our living standards have improved. Today, the Japanese people have the highest average life expectancy in the world. This would have been impossible without the promotion of higher education and the development and application of Science and Technology in our lives. Still, there is no room for complacency. There is tremendous room for improvement. The recent tsunami and earthquake show how small we are in the face of the forces of nature. We have to develop better technologies and find new technical solutions. But Science and Technology can be a mixed blessing. The nuclear accident in Fukushima shows that the same Science and Technology that brings us enormous benefits can also cause us vast damage.
It is eight months since I came to Kenya. I have been very impressed by the high levels of intellect and the eagerness to learn of the Kenyan people. At the same time, I am also overwhelmed by the enormity of the tasks that this country faces in future.
As I see it, the three biggest challenges this country faces are rapid population growth, rapid urbanization and rapid climate change. All of these challenges are of long term nature that require long term planning and long term commitment based on the achievements of Science and Technology. These are all daunting challenges. They have to be confronted by the united wisdom of human intellect.
Take the issue of climate change. It is a universal problem, more or less hanging over the head of everybody on earth. But Kenya, as one of the driest countries in Africa, is most vulnerable to climate change. Good scientific arguments have to be presented to policy makers so that powerful people will stop environmentally hazardous activities. With Scientific knowledge, better paths to development could be pursued. For this, we have to unite our brain resources.
Japan has been working together with Kenya to develop Kenya’s human and material capacity. JICA and JSPS are drivers of cooperation with their respective tools. In June last year, JSPS and NCST concluded a Memorandum of Understanding to promote bilateral projects. This year, projects will be implemented under this MOU. This is a very welcome development.
Of the many JICA projects in Science and Technology, I would like to refer to just two examples. The first example is the long term cooperation with Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI):
Since 1979, for twenty-seven years, Japan provided KEMRI with technical assistance to strengthen its research capacity in such areas of grave threat to human health, as diarrhea, parasites, respiratory diseases, HIV-AIDS and viral hepatitis.
In 1985, we provided funds for the construction of the KEMRI headquarters. Over the years, Japan has sent about 240 experts to Kenya and received about 80 KEMRI researchers to Japan. Today, KEMRI has become one of the leading research institutions in the entire Africa. For the past few years KEMRI has provided courses for medical researchers in East and South Africa.
Since 2005, the Nagasaki University’s Institute of Tropical Medicine has been conducting a joint research with KEMRI on the new and emerging infectious diseases. KEMRI has grown from a recipient of technical assistance to a full-fledged partner for Japanese institutions.
The second example of Science and Technology cooperation between Japan and Kenya is Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI).
Since 1986, Japan and Kenya have worked together to build and expand this institute to train forestry researchers. The two governments have worked together to establish community-based forest protection and management systems. By now, KEFRI has grown to be Africa’s leading research and training institute on forestry. KEFRI today is a magnet of forestry experts for all Africa. After training, they go back to their own countries and share knowledge and good practices with fellow countrymen. In Kenya, the importance of KEFRI as the pool of professional knowledge on the multi-faceted roles of the forest will only increase. Kenya’s forest coverage was said to be about 10% of its land at the time of independence. Now it is 1.7%. I hope that Kenya’s forest coverage will recover. Where forests disappear, rain and water will disappear.
You researchers have a very important social responsibility. You are expected to provide scientific solutions to a great number of challenges of the day. But I don’t want you to feel pressurized too much. Good ideas and great discoveries often come unexpectedly, when you relax or play with children. They come when you talk with people that work in completely different areas. Therefore, I believe in social responsibility of the researchers, I believe in happiness for the researchers, and I believe in international and interdisciplinary academic exchanges.
I wish you continued success and achievements, fresh discoveries and inspirations, and above all, all the best in your personal lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment