18h30 – 19h45, Tuesday 10th July 2018, ESOF 2018 Toulouse.

Marking the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth & the 20th anniversary of the Northern Ireland peace agreement

Introduced by Anne Cambon-Thomsen - CNRS & Université fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées

Dr Phil Mjwara:
Director General, Department of Science & Technology, Government of South Africa

It was under President Nelson Mandela’s leadership that South Africa developed a concerted national strategy for science and technology. As the world celebrates the centenary of Mr Mandela's birth, my talk will reflect on his legacy for science as an instrument for nation-building and reconciliation.

I will highlight challenges overcome and successes achieved in putting R&I at the service of all South Africa's citizens to improve their quality of living, alleviate poverty and address the inequalities inherited from Apartheid, which institutionalised racial segregation and discrimination from 1948 until multi-racial elections were held in 1994. Indeed, the economic legacy and social effects continue to the present day.

I will provide first-hand insights into concrete actions being taken, also to maximise our human capital and resource-rich nation. My intervention will equally focus on today’s global contexts and our ever-expanding matrix of win-win partnerships.

South Africa is an active player in developing a dynamic international system of innovation, for example, inside the African Union, as an active member of the BRICS and with strong partners such as the EU.

Minister John Halligan:
Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research & Development, Ireland

This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which secured an enduring peace in Northern Ireland, commenced a new era in cooperation between North and South on the island of Ireland, and enabled the full potential of relations between Ireland and the UK.

I will speak about how, over the last 20 years, the possibilities of peace and the Good Friday Agreement have been harnessed in government, businesses, education and research and at community level. I will also set out how the European Union facilitates and supports all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement and the gains and benefits of the peace. The Union enables the invisible border on the island of Ireland which sees an open flow of people and business, supporting employment, prosperity and innovation. In research and innovation, the impetus that the Good Friday Agreement gives to cooperation and collaboration, is particularly supported by strong EU research and development programmes and by US-Ireland partnership programmes.

With the UK decision to leave the European Union, ensuring the protection of the Good Friday Agreement and the gains and benefits of the peace, including avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, is one of the critical issues to be resolved through the ongoing negotiations on the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU.

I will address why Ireland, as a committed EU Member State, is also supportive of the closest possible future relationship between the EU and the UK, which will continue our cooperation, including in research and development. As we find solutions to the questions raised by the UK exit, the European Union will remain a vital and dynamic support to the peace, prosperity and partnership that the Good Friday Agreement has enabled since 1998.

	Organiser: Aidan Gilligan (IRL): CEO, SciCom – Making Sense of Science; Elected Member, EuroScience Governing Board; Vice-Chair, ESOF 2018 International Media & Marketing Committee.
	Speaker: Dr Phil Mjwara (SA): Director General, Department of Science & Technology, Government of South Africa
	Speaker: John Halligan (IRL): Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, Ireland.
	Speaker: Anne Cambon-Thomsen (SA): CNRS & Université fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées