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  CULTURE, NATURE, FUTURE?
  Perspectives on Science and Development in Africa

*12-13 April 2006*

An interdisciplinary conference in Edinburgh, Scotland sponsored by:
Royal Zoological Society of Scotland <http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/>
Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh
<http://www.cas.ed.ac.uk/>
ESRC Centre for Social and Economic Research on Innovation in Genomics
(Innogen) <http://www.innogen.ac.uk/>


  Resources

Call for participation <index.html>

Registration and fees <register.html>

Present a poster <posters.html>

Conference flyer (PDF) <RZSS-CAS-Innogen%20final.pdf>

Further questions? <mailto:[log in to unmask]>


  Call for Posters and Participation

It is evident that science and technology (S&T) has an important
contribution to make to development because of its importance in
addressing problems in health, economic growth, energy, agriculture and
conservation, to list a few. The 2005 United Nations Millennium
Commission highlighted the importance of unlocking "the potential of
innovation and technology to accelerate economic growth" (2005, 2).
Meanwhile, the Commission for Africa report underlined that "specific
action for strengthening science, engineering and technology capacity is
an imperative for Africa" (2005, 138). However, the disappointments of
development suggest that we ought to think more critically about the
role of science in Africa in order to have any hope of turning the 2005
rhetoric of the UN and the Commission for Africa into future reality.

We believe that science and technological development in Africa can be
reinvigorated only through the application of rigorous social science.
This conference will focus on three historically informed themes that
intersect the relationships between Africa, science and development.

*1. Generating scientific knowledge in Africa*: Knowledge creation must
be understood in terms of processes of prioritisation, reasserting how
knowledge is situated in contexts of power and not vacuums of rationality.

*2. Use and misuse of science and technology in Africa*: It is vital to
understand how science and technology are wielded, and deemed
appropriate or inappropriate, in order to achieve particular ends.

*3. Scientific narratives in Africa*: The practice and rationale of
technological interventions, particularly biological interventions, can
be better understood by exploring the discourses and language in which
they are negotiated.

The conference is interdisciplinary, drawing on Edinburgh's strong and
lengthy traditions of African studies, science and technology studies
and conservation, and will not only focus on academic enquiry but will
attempt to identify ways in which Scotland's new relationship with
Africa can bring benefit.

The conference will take place for the most part in plenary sessions
where invited international speakers will speak to these issues. There
will break out sessions to explore ways of taking the conference further
academically, in terms of policy and in terms of the Scotland-Africa
partnership.

*We are seeking poster presentations <posters.html> from graduate
students who wish to present their work on these issues.*

General registration information can be found here <register.html>.

Registration deadline: 24 March 2006

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