The fifth Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) Forum opened Monday in Kigali to build capacity for scientific and technical skills in Africa.
The meeting brought together officials from Rwanda, World Bank and other experts from various parts of the world.
An initiative of the World Bank together with 14 countries, nine from Africa, PASET was set up to promote sustainable development and prosperity of participating nations.
The PASET Forum also aims at exploring partnerships with the private sector and how those collaborations are focusing around their experience on return on investment, Research and Developmemty and future perspective of their own industry in Africa.
Official projections indicate that by 2050, more than half of the world’s young people under the age of 24 will be living and going to school in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the 2017 UN population report, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where population where the number of people under the age of 24 is increasing, not decreasing.
Speaking at the occasion, Rwandan Minister of Education, Eugene Mutimura called on all stakeholders to put efforts in developing necessary skills for African youth to fully take advantage of
transformative technologies to change the way we teach and learn.
“There is a need to develop market-demanded digital skills to unleash the potential of African youth to innovate with technologies to achieve a digital launch,” he said.
The forum also aims to harness the energy and enthusiasm of the leading voices in education across Africa to help them reap the benefits of the new economy, organisers said.
CU/abj/APA