“Africa Month” at the UN to mobilize actions leveraging science, technology and innovation to transform education in Africa.

While the out-of-school population in Africa has significantly dropped in the last 20 years, the work continues across the continent to further accelerate progress. Focusing on the theme  “Education through Science, Technology and Innovation toward the Africa We Want,” the 2024  edition of the Africa Dialogue Series (ADS 2024) takes place at a time when a concerted, Africa-centred policy shift is needed to fast-track the transformation of the educational landscape on the continent.

This is in line with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ call, as outlined in his “Our Common Agenda” report, to put innovation at the heart of global policymaking and end the business-as-usual approach in addressing the issues of our time. So, as the global community prepares for a Summit of the Future to demonstrate that international cooperation can effectively tackle current challenges, African leaders, their counterparts and partners around the world will converge online and at the United Nations Headquarters in New York throughout the month of May – the UN’s “Africa Month” – to participate in the ADS 2024 and mobilize actions that leverage the power of Science, Technology and Innovation to boost access to quality education in Africa.

The ADS 2024 will culminate with a High-level Policy Dialogue including the participation of several African ministers, Heads of Regional Economic Communities, young people, senior government and UN officials. This high-level segment will serve as a platform for in-depth exchanges, contributing policy recommendations that seek to accelerate the continent’s progress toward the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Participants will explore this year’s theme from the perspective of the following sub-themes: 

1) STEM Education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Generating Decent Jobs for Africa's Youth; 2) Transforming Education in Africa by Leveraging Innovative Finance and the Digital Revolution; and 3) Education and Learning in Crisis-affected Areas. These sub-themes will be developed during three international webinars featuring the United Nations Deputy Secretary[1]General’s input and three youth-focused events.

The United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) and the African Union Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations (AUPOM) co-organize the ADS 2024 in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank Group (WB).

THEME

Education through Science, Technology and Innovation toward the Africa We Want

WHEN and WHERE

• 6 to 24 May (Virtual)

Online through www.un.org/osaa and @UNOSAA1

• 29 to 30 May (High-level Policy Dialogue in hybrid format) Conference Room 2, United Nations Headquarters, New York

Online through www.un.org/osaa and @UNOSAA1 or via UN Web TV