Commonwealth science council boosts innovation in developing countries
The Commonwealth science council (CSC) is to boost the innovation capacity of poorer nations and help them export their products to the developed world with the launch of a 'Sustainable trade and innovation centre'. The centre will be launched at the World summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg, South Africa in August. The aim is to provide information, advice and know-how, enabling poorer countries to get their products on the market. The long term goal is to build up these countries' capacities for innovation and management and thus improve trade performance. 'There is a major gap between the products that are coming from some countries and the requirements and standards that are recognised in the West,' says T J Ruredzo, chief programme officer at the CSC. 'We need to marry the two.' The initiative is being led by CSC chair Ben Ngubane, South Africa's Minister for science and technology, and developed in collaboration with the European partners for the environment (EPE) and the International institute for environmental development (IIED). 'Science and technology based innovation is the key to future prosperity,' said Mr Ngubane to the CSC's steering committee of senior officials at the end of June. 'In our gathering in Limpopo Province, we recognised that the challenge for the CSC is to help the Commonwealth address the problems of the low income, technologically excluded regions through a systematic transfer of knowledge and technology tailored to the individual needs and skills base of particular countries.' The centre's location and budget will be decided at the Johannesburg summit. The Commonwealth is an association of 54 developed and developing nations. Member States are located in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. They are also in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The Commonwealth's 1.7 billion citizens make up 30 per cent of the world's population