AERAP: Advancing Science, Innovation, and Global Partnership for a Shared Future

Official Side Event at FfD4 

Please note that this event will take place at the official venue of the UN Financing for Development Conference (FfD4), held at FIBES Sevilla Exhibition and Conference Centre –Room 13, Event ID 1969734

Participation is open to individuals already registered for the main FfD4 Conference: https://financing.desa.un.org/about-ffd4

The Africa-Europe Science Collaboration and Innovation Platform (AERAP) is a global forum uniting stakeholders from Africa, Europe, and worldwide to shape a common vision for science and innovation as catalysts for sustainable development, shared prosperity, and inclusive growth.

Recognizing that today’s most urgent challenges — from climate change and food security to global health and digital inequality — are deeply interconnected, AERAP provides a structured platform where academia, industry, and the public sector come together to define and drive research priorities across a wide range of scientific and technological fields. AERAP fosters groundbreaking discoveries and technological advances through this collaborative framework that build resilience, strengthen societies, and enhance global competitiveness.

AERAP’s mission resonates strongly with the goals of the United Nations’ Financing for Development (FfD4) process, which underscores the need for innovative, inclusive, and sustainable financing strategies to support global development priorities. Science, technology, and innovation (STI) are recognised as fundamental enablers of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and AERAP actively advocates for their integration into the global financing architecture.

In this context, AERAP contributes to advancing the UN’s broader vision articulated through the Pact for the Future and the forthcoming Global Digital Compact by promoting digital inclusion, knowledge equity, and scientific cooperation as vital elements of a more just and sustainable world economy.

Through a dynamic network of researchers, innovators, policymakers, funding agencies, and investors, AERAP develops and continuously updates collaborative agendas, particularly in frontier fields like radio astronomy and digital innovation, to better align scientific efforts with both local realities and global priorities. By fostering dialogue, facilitating knowledge transfer, and catalyzing investment in research and innovation ecosystems, AERAP ensures that science serves not only as a tool for discovery but as a bridge for cooperation, empowerment, and transformation.

ABOUT AERAP

AERAP’s foundation stems from the European Parliament’s Written Declaration 45 on Science Capacity Building in Africa, a commitment echoed by the African Union’s Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.407 (CXVIII).

AERAP convened the side  Investing in Science Infrastructure at the FfD3 in Addis Ababa on 14 July 2015.      

Today, as the global community seeks to revitalise international cooperation and realign development financing toward the SDGs, AERAP stands as a committed actor in mobilising science, technology, and innovation to create opportunities, bridge divides, and secure a better future for all humanity.

Our goals are:

• Build and strengthen research and innovation capacity across Africa, Europe, and globally,
• Drive forward digital inclusion and responsible innovation,
• Enable cross-border knowledge sharing and technology transfer,
• Mobilize strategic investment in science to power inclusive and sustainable development,
• Champion the critical role of science in achieving the SDGs and shaping a fairer, greener future for all.

Programme – Speakers’ panel

Declan Kirrane, Session Co-Chair

Eudy Mabuza, Session Co-Chair

Thandi Mgwebi, Group Executive: Business Advancement, National Research Foundation

Raul Rosales, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Kurt Zatloukal, Medical University, Graz, Austria

Nasser Baker Al-Kahtani, President, Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND)

Leago Takalani, Executive Director: Space Engineering, South African National Space Agency (SANSA)

Ntobeko Ntusi, CEO and President, Medical Research Council, South Africa (SAMRC)

Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director, European Brain Council and European Brain Foundation, Belgium

Jennifer Molwantwa, Water Research Commission, South Africa (WRC)

Ismail Abdoola, Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)

Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, Shakti Regeneration Institute, and Open Origin

Petronella Chaminuka, Agriculture Research Council, South Africa

Conrad Rein, Global Flagship Initiative on Food Security

Barbara Horne, Athletes United for Peace

Symerre Grey-Johnson, Director of Social Development, AUDA NEPAD

Lise Korsten, President, African Academy of Sciences, Africa

Nompumelelo Obokoh, South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP)

Matthew Anderson Event Horizon Group