The Governments of UK and Ghana have pledged to fully implement a 2023 joint strategy that seeks to strengthen the partnership between the two countries in the areas of research, innovation, and technology transfer.
The UK-Ghana ST&I Strategy, which was jointly signed by the two countries in 2023, focuses on the coordination of the research ecosystem, research commercialisation, knowledge and skill sharing, and supporting academic partnership in research and innovation in the two countries.
Ms Harriet Thompson, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, and Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Ghana’s Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology shared their commitment to the implementation of the strategy at a closing ceremony of a five-day training for journalists on ST&I Reportage in Accra on Friday.
The trainees make up the second cohort of the Capacity Building Programme for science communicators implemented as part of the deliverables for the UK-Ghana ST&I Strategy.
Ten Ghanaian science communicators received science reporting grant of £1000 each to produce impactful and compelling stories on selected issues in science, technology, and innovation.
The awardees would also receive further training on science communication at Imperial College in London to further enhance their experience in science communication.
Ms Thompson said research commercialisation was an important component of the Ghana-UK ST&I Strategy and that raising awareness was crucial to achieve the desired milestone.
She expressed delight about the readiness of Ghanaian journalists to report on science issues and urged the beneficiaries of the capacity building programme to support the implementation of the strategy.
“Raising awareness is crucial and so your role in that is vital. We are looking forward to you all helping us to deliver on that joint strategy,” Ms Thompson said.
Dr Muhammed said the partnership between the UK and Ghana to promote ST&I was crucial to utilising science, technology, and innovation to create solutions to address common challenges.
He said science “is the anchor of development” and called for the leveraging of science to solve key domestic issues, including illegal mining among other environmental challenges.
Dr Muhammed said the commercialisation of research outputs by the research institutions was among the key areas of focus for the Ministry and pledged to work with the UK Government to implement the ST&I strategy.
“We need to commercialise research ouputs for the purposes of generating revenue for the research institutions for technological advancement,” he said.
Mrs Linda Asante Agyei, the Vice President of the Ghana Journalists’ Association, said the exposure of journalists to the rudiments of ST&I including Artificial Intelligence (AI) would contribute to the development of different sectors of the country.
She appealed to institutions to help build the capacity of journalists in ST&I to enable them report appropriately, accurately, and compellingly to make meaningful impact.
“Science reporting, we all know, is a very unique area that we need a better understanding to write impactful stories,” Mrs Agyei said.
Source: GNA
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