The Next Einstein Forum launches next class of NEF Ambassadors, young champions of science and technology across Africa
KIGALI, Rwanda, May 22nd, 2019,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Today, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF), Africa’s global forum for science, launches its call for a new class of NEF Ambassadors, young champions of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and social science in their countries.
The NEF Ambassadors, one from each African country, drive the NEF’s local public and private engagement activities in promoting STEM in Africa. NEF Ambassadors must be under 42 years of age, and at least 40% of Ambassadors will be women.
“The program is designed to help NEF Ambassadors improve their profiles as emerging scientists all the while leveraging their already strong local networks and initiatives to advance the NEF’s push to make science viable and cool. During their two-year tenure, they will get the opportunity to organize the NEF Africa Science Week in their respective countries. In 2019, they will observe how the current class of Ambassadors organizes Africa Science Week in 40 countries and take it from there,” said Mrs. Nathalie Munyampenda, Managing Director of the NEF.
NEF Ambassadors join the NEF Community of Scientists as members, benefitting from trainings, mentorship from NEF Fellows and various other support to advance their careers and give back to their communities.
“The Ambassadors will immensely benefit from our ecosystem and will attend the NEF Global Gathering 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya, to interact with African and global leaders, Nobel Laureates, top scientists, captains of industry,” said Dr. Youssef Travaly, NEF Vice-President of Science, Innovation and Partnerships.
The 3rd Class of NEF Ambassadors program will run from 2019 to 2021 and applications can be accessed at https://nef.org/ambassadors/. The selected NEF Ambassadors will be announced in September 2019 and will be fully funded to attend the 3rd NEF Global Gathering on 10-13 March 2020, in Nairobi, Kenya.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of the Next Einstein Forum.
About the Next Einstein Forum
Launched in 2013, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) is an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The NEF is a platform that connects science, society and policy in Africa and the rest of the world – with the goal to leverage science for human development globally. The NEF believes that Africa’s contributions to the global scientific community are critical for global progress.
At the centre of NEF efforts are Africa’s young people, the driving force for Africa’s scientific renaissance. The NEF is a unique youth-driven forum. At our headline biennial scientific events, 50% of participants are 42 or younger. Far from being an ordinary science forum, the NEF Global Gatherings position science at the centre of global development efforts. The next NEF Global Gathering will be held on 10-13 March 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition, through our Communities of Scientists, we showcase the contributions of Africa’s brilliant youth to Africa’s scientific emergence through its class of NEF Fellows, who are Africa’s top scientists and technologists under the age of 42, and NEF Ambassadors, who are the NEF’s 54 science and technology ambassadors on the ground.
The NEF is also working together with partners such as the African Academy of Sciences,
Ministers’ of Education, Science and Research across Africa, foundations and other global
scientific and private sector companies, to build an African scientific identity. By bringing
together key stakeholders, the NEF hopes to drive the discussion from policy to implementation by leveraging buy in and best practice results from Africa and the world.
Have a look at our benchmark Dakar Declaration and the Kigali Declaration.
Finally, the NEF is telling untold stories of scientific research and innovation across the
continent through our various platforms. We want to recalibrate what ‘innovation’ means
in Africa. We want to make the link between science and technology, even basic sciences, to everyday life. We want the public involved in science and last year, we held the second coordinated Africa Science Week in 34 countries – an annual three to five-day celebration of science and technology through coordinated science events across the continent. We believe the next Einstein will be African.
The NEF has been endorsed by the African Union Commission, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Governments of Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and a growing number of private sector and civil society partners from across the world who are passionate about positioning Africa’s scientific community as an influential member in the global scientific community, which will ensure sustainable human development in Africa and other parts of the world.
More at
www.nef.org.
Twitter: @NextEinsteinFor
Facebook: NextEinsteinForum
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