SCIENCE, technology and innovation have been described as major drivers of economic growth, with growing calls for the inclusion of women and girls in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to derive maximum benefits.
Speaking to ZBC News at the just-ended Sixth Session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) in Victoria Fall, President of the Zimbabwe Science Laboratory Technicians Association, Sicelo Dube pointed out the need for the country to embark on a journey of value addition to our raw materials through embracing science, technology and innovation, which will see the capacitation of profits from the county’s vast natural resources.
“The use of Innovation is the key driver for economic growth and with the population majority being youths and women there needs to be a paradigm shift towards capacitating this demographic into feeding into the economy. More girls and women are out there with great potential but are not given opportunities or do not know what opportunities are available for them in the renewable energy value chain,” she said.
The 6th ARFSD was convened jointly by UNECA and the Zimbabwean government in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and other United Nations entities on the 23rd to the 27th of February under the theme “2020-2030: A Decade to Deliver a Transformed and Prosperous Africa through the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.
The 6th ARFSD undertook to review of all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and corresponding goals of Agenda 2063 to assess the progress of member countries in implementing the SDGs
