"Knowledge is a more powerful weapon in a nation's arsenal than any missile or mine"
- Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General
"An Africa without a sustainable, strong knowledge sector of its own will always remain in a dangerously dependent position."
- Hans van Ginkel, UNU Rector
There appears to be shift towards a knowledge economy and society at the global level. Simultaneously, our understanding of the development process no longer only focuses on the accumulation of capital but also increasingly highlights the importance of knowledge. In some ways, knowledge is even more important than money as it can help to develop better institutions and spur more creative ideas. Sharing knowledge; ensuring a more equitable and fair distribution of knowledge could contribute importantly to closing the gap between rich and poor countries.
While these shifts provide opportunities, Africa seems in a particularly weak position to respond to them. Less than 4% of the relevant age-group has access to higher education in Africa and many institutions of higher education in Africa are in a dire state. If the intellectual capability within Africa, actual and potential, could be utilised more effectively, there would be enormous benefits for the development of the region.
Research and training institutions on the continent can make a critical contribution in at least three ways:
- by making the most of existing indigenous knowledge;
- by accessing the vast reservoir of existing global knowledge, as well as the ongoing advances in understanding, and adapting them to suit specific local conditions; and,
- by helping to find innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems.
- Knowledge and Development in Africa: Some Directions in Academic Research - by J. A. van Ginkel
- The Future of African Universities - by Donald Ekong
- Africa's New Realities Challence Policy Institutes by Benno J. Ndulu
- World Bank Report on Teaching Capacity in African Universities
- University libraries in Africa: workshop on Funder-Recipient relationships (1998)
- D. Ekong and P.R. Plante Strategic Planning at Selected African Universities (1998)
- Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities for Africa in the Information Economy [PDF file 235 KB] - by Derrick L. Cogburn and Catherine Nyaki Adeya, July 2000. [Abstract]
- Science, Technology and Economic Growth: Africa's Biopolicy Agenda in the 21st Century [PDF file] - by Calestous Juma.
UNU/INRA Annual Lectures on Natural Resource Conservation and Management in Africa.
November 1999, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
(Edited by J. J. Baidu-Forson).
- The Information Revolution and Economic and Social Exclusion: The Experiences of Burkina Faso, South Africa and Tanzania [PDF file 121 KB] - by Ludovico Alcorta.
- The Economics of Land Degradation and Rural Poverty Linkages in Africa [PDF file] - by Edward B. Barbier.
UNU/INRA Annual Lectures on Natural Resource Conservation and Management in Africa.
November 1998, Accra, Ghana.
(Edited by J. J. Baidu-Forson).
Bibliography
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