|
|
|
|
Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
 The
use of applied science, technology and innovation to improve
competitiveness and achieve prosperity in the countries of the
region will be one of the main focal points of the Third Meeting of
Ministers and High Authorities of Science and Technology from the
Americas, to be held this Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18,
2011, in Panama City, with the support of the Organization of
American States (OAS).
The meeting has as its objective to
make progress in science and technology in the region, by defining a
series of goals to be fulfilled by the year 2025. Among them are: to
develop in the Americas a culture of innovation based on technology
that fosters integration, entrepreneurship and creative thinking; to
increase, by at least 50 percent, the number of men and women that
graduate from programs in science, technology, engineering and
technical education. Furthermore, to substantially improve the study
programs in different disciplines; to ensure that all Member States
of the OAS have access to infrastructure services of internationally
renowned quality; and to strengthen inter-American cooperation in
the sector to achieve a more effective and fast-paced technological
development in the region.
These goals are the four pillars
of the “20/25 Vision,” a proposal prepared by the Government of
Panama, host of the meeting, and the OAS Office of Science,
Technology and Innovation. The Ministers and High Authorities also
are expected to approve the “Draft Plan of Action of Panama,” which
facilitates the creation of working groups to achieve progress on
the agreed-upon tasks, as well as to establish clear initiatives and
cooperation mechanisms that ensure the fulfillment of the already
mentioned objectives.
The inaugural session of the Third
Ministerial Meeting will be held Thursday the 17th at 9:00 local
time (14:00 GMT) with the participation of the Minister in Charge of
Foreign Affairs of Panama, Francisco Álvarez de Soto, and the
interim OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Jorge
Saggiante. Among the participants who have already confirmed their
attendance are Ministers and High Authorities from Argentina,
Barbados, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint
Kitts and Nevis, the United States, and Trinidad and
Tobago.
Titled, “Translational Science, Technology and
Innovation: Knowledge for Competitiveness and Prosperity,” the
meeting also will be an opportunity to discuss the progress achieved
since the last ministerial meeting in Mexico City in 2008, and to
formulate recommendations to the Heads of State and Government for
the Sixth Summit of the Americas, to be held in April 2012 in
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, under the banner of “Connecting the
Americas: Partners for Prosperity.”
The document titled,
“Towards a Vision 20/25 in Science, Technology and Innovation for
the Americas: Hemispheric Cooperation for Competitiveness and
Prosperity in a Knowledge Economy,” is a response to a
recommendation from the Inter-American Committee on Science and
Technology (COMCYT), which during its VI Regular Meeting in
September 2010 recognized the importance of focusing on the
application of these resources as fundamental factors to promote
innovation, competitiveness, growth and prosperity. Since the First
Ministerial meeting on Science and Technology in Lima in 2004, the
COMCYT has constituted a forum for political dialogue and follow-up
to the mandates adopted at these gatherings.
The Office of
Science, Technology and Innovation of the OAS is part of the
Department of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism in the
Executive Secretariat for Integral Development, and its mission is
to support the Member States in formulating national development
policies and strategies to promote science, technology, engineering,
and innovation with the goal of improving competitiveness in the
private sector and generating sources of decent work, reducing
poverty, and strengthening democratic governance.
More
information on this event is available here.
WHAT:
Third Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities on Science and
Technology
WHEN: Thursday and Friday, November 17 and
18, 2011
WHERE: Hotel Riu Plaza
Panama City,
Panama
© Copyright 2011 by thebahamasweekly.com
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
