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Letter of support
GLOBELICS Africa 2005
Innovation systems as a framework for the promotion of economic growth, social cohesion and political development
Department of Science and Technology
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Ministry: Science and Technology
Republic of South Africa
Private Bag X727, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
Tel: (+27 12) 317 4327
Fax: (+27 12) 324 2687
Private Bag X9156, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
Tel: (+27 21) 465 4850/70
Fax: (+27 21) 461 1425
Dear Local Organising Committee
Letter of support for the hosting of the third international conference of the GLOBELICS network in South Africa in October 2005
It is indeed an honour to be informed that South Africa has been awarded the task of hosting the third annual international conference of the Global Network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation and Competence-building System (GLOBELICS). With the celebration of our first decade of freedom, we have also been afforded the opportunity to review and discuss our achievements, and plan towards our second decade. For the science and technology sector, this has involved us in revisiting our historical adoption of the concepts of a National System of Innovation and Competence-building as critical organising tools in 1996.
It is also relevant that GLOBELICS 2005 is organised with a focus on Africa. The Ministry of Science and Technology supports bringing this initiative to Africa, and more specifically to South Africa. We view the hosting of this third annual international conference as a means to further stimulate and sustain the focus on systems of innovation, as the framework that promotes economic growth, social cohesion and political development across the continent. This will strengthen our agenda in seeking to re-think and reframe the continent’s challenges, and will also increase the alignment processes of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NePAD).
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GLOBELICS is a global network of scholars who have developed and utilised these concepts as their analytical framework. The annual international conference will assemble these scholars, graduate students and policy researchers to present their work, and share their experiences regarding methodological issues, empirical results and policy-making in the fields of industry, innovation, regionalisation, labour markets and education, as well as informing the management of knowledge and innovation at the level of the firm.
I understand the GLOBELICS has conducted research through international comparative analyses in order to identify unique systemic features and generically good practices. Successful annual international conferences were hosted in Brazil and China and South Africa will host the third, India the fourth and Russia the fifth. These five countries (BRICS) are representative of fast developing nations, emerging economies and transitional societies. This is very much in keeping with our own perspectives regarding the evolution of the BRICS.
I am glad that the Local Organising Committee will be utilising the facilities of one of our new higher education facilities, the Tshwane University of Technology as the venue for the conference. I am also happy that the spread of delegates will bring together 100 international scholars with a further 100 scholars from Africa (including 30 South Africans) and 50 participants from policy circles in Africa.
Finally, I would like to congratulate the Local Organising Committee (managed by Mr Simon Mpele of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and co-ordinated by Mr Rasigan Maharajh of the Tshwane University of Technology’s Institute for Economic Research on Innovation) for having brought the process to this stage of preparation. The Department of Science and Technology is providing the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation with a grant-in-aid of approximately R400,000.00. We hope that the Local Organising Committee is able to leverage this to elicit domestic and continental private and public sector support in reaching their budget of R2 million.
It is our belief that hosting such a gathering on the African continent contributes to realising the objectives of NePAD and to our common desire to shift from fatalistic attitudes towards a climate of optimism and faith in the future. I am convinced that the Local Organising Committee will be able to bring on board the necessary resources and funding to display to the world that Africa can fund such initiatives. This partnership will contribute to the deepening of our understanding of the economics of learning, innovation and competence-building systems. I wish the Local Organising Committee all the best in ensuring
the success of hosting GLOBELICS AFRICA 2005.
Yours sincerely
Mr Mosibudi Mangena
Minister
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