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Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng (left), interacting with Professor Sir Tom Blundell (2nd from left), from the University of Cambridge, UK. Dr. Ozlem Ergun Ulueren (right), Turkey's ambbadador to Ghana, looks at the scene. Image: Maxwell Ocloo
Ghana calls on the international scientific community to have the first pan-African research center on synchrotron light sources in Africa on the continent.
This installation makes it possible to study in detail objects ranging from human cells to viruses pbading through viruses, with a precision impossible by other means.
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The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, pleaded for Ghana when he opened a joint conference of five Days on Africa, Africa Light Source and the Crystallography Conference, Accra. world meet to deliberate on the future creation of a pan-African synchrotron light source center in Africa.
The conference, entitled "Crystallography: A Tool for Sustainable Development in Africa, drew 300 participants from Ghana and other countries, including South Africa, the United States of America and Australia. .
Speaking on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Prof. Boateng said the country is ready to host the continent's first light source laboratory.
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Some promises
He pledged government support to defend the African lighthouse initiative and make it an official project of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of African States of Africa. West (ECOWAS), as well as to defend the multilateral relations between the world's light sources and various AU members, as well as their universities, research institutes and commercial industries.
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"We also plan to provide scholarships for synchrotron-related science and technology students, as well as visiting appointments for post-doctoral scientists and engineers, both from Ghana to light light sources and personnel from light sources." in Ghana, "said the president.
President Akufo-Addo is committed to bringing his colleagues together for the project to bear fruit "because it is not a medium-sized enterprise, given the huge financial capital and technical support of which she might need to get there. "
"I am confident that with the good political will of African governments, we should be able to do it collectively, given the benefits for agriculture, health, energy, mining, drug discovery, engineering and many others, "he said.
Bridging the gap
To help bridge the gap between industry and research, President Akufo-Addo reiterated the promise he made last year to revisit the national budget allocation to science and technology, which would increase from 0.05% to 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), the African Agricultural Development Program (CADDP).
Professor Kwame Offei, Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs and Student Affairs of the University of Ghana, listed the benefits of synchrotron light sources, claiming that they were an essential tool for pushing the boundaries of the scientific research on new materials and in life. organizations.
"As centers of excellence for basic research, these light sources will play a vital role in stimulating innovation and improving the competitiveness of our industries," he said. he declares.
Road map
Professor Simon Connell, chairman of the "African Light Source" project, said that the development of a roadmap for the continent's first light source was underway, which would point to concrete results .
The roadmap concerns the development of the user base, projects, deep capacity building, network promotion, scientific and technical exchanges, building local related infrastructure capacity, Improvement of the political profile of the project and the development of the pan-African strategic plan with African leaders.
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