GMES and Africa: AUC’s Interventions in the Research and Innovation Working Group of the G20

On 11-12 March 2024, AUC participated in the G20 Research and Innovation Working Group (RIWG) meeting in Brasilia. The identified priority areas and interventions are clearly connected to the work of GMES & Africa and the African Outer Space Flagship Program.

Following the admission of African Union to the G20 in 2023, several Working Groups have been formed under the Brazilian Presidency to prepare the working documents for the G20 Summit in November 2024. 

This is a report for the Research and Innovation Working Group (RIWG) with the theme “Open Innovation for a Just and Sustainable Development.” AUC is participating to advocate for open innovation and to strengthen actions for tangible transfer, dissemination and diffusion of technologies for a balanced STI agenda.  As such, it participated in the Brasilia meeting, which was preceded by an online meeting on 7-8 February 2024. 

Five priority objectives are being examined: strengthening international collaboration between North and South in science, technology and innovation; decarbonising the economy and energy transitions; protecting health rights, access and information; preserving the sustainability of the Amazon (and, more broadly, other mega-biodiversities such as tropical forests); and promoting inclusion, diversity and the fight against inequality in science.

The AU Vision

The AU's Agenda 2063 envisions an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. The AU supports open innovation, which would significantly improve technology transfer, diffusion, and dissemination. 

The AU sees a convergence between the priorities of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA) and those of the RIWG. STISA plays a central role in the implementation of the Africa Agenda, which links innovation to science, research, and technology, but also to entrepreneurship, teaching, education, economic transformation, institutional and organisational capacity, and the skills revolution.

Main interventions

• Regarding Open innovation to strengthen international North-South cooperation in STI, AUC agreed with the Working Group to develop the Global Strategy for Open Innovation. It also emphasized on the importance of open innovation for global economic advancement, noting that Africa has contributed with innovations like Ubuntu Debian GNU/Linux computer operating system which has empowered the developer community globally, and the M-Pesa mobile money transfer platform that reinvented financial services and inclusion.

• On Priority 2 on Open innovation for the decarbonization of the economy, and energy transitions, AUC highlighted that the guiding compass for AU is the African Common Position on Energy Access and Energy Transition. AUC further welcomed the proposal for the Working Group to create a compendium of innovation ecosystems in the energy sector.

• On Priority 3 on Open innovation to guarantee the right, access, and information to health, there will be internal coordination with Africa-CDC to optimize contributions towards this priority. Leveraging on the Africa-CDC strategic plan, AUC welcomes a One Health approach.

• Regarding Priority 4 on Open innovation for a sustainable Amazon, AUC emphasized the inclusion of other mega-biodiverse e.g. Congo Tropical Forest, and supported co-organizing an International seminar on challenges and opportunities for research and innovation in the Amazon and Tropical Forests. AUC welcomed the upcoming Collaborative Research Action (CRA) call for proposals led by the Belmont Forum and further welcomed Species cataloging and the inventory of all the world’s natural history museums in Global Registry of Scientific Collections. 

• On Priority 5 on Inclusion, diversity and combating inequalities in science, looks forward to seeing concrete resolve for shared knowledge, infrastructure and access to scientific knowledge and processes that will improve inclusion, diversity and equalities in STI. It recommended RIWG to have a robust M&E mechanism for evaluating these indicators

Connections with GMES and Africa 

The link between the process of this working group and the GMES and Africa programme is quite concrete.

GMES and Africa promotes the use of Earth observation data and products, in particular from Copernicus, to improve the management of terrestrial and marine natural resources. The programme addresses the issue in a systematic way: policy and institutional frameworks; access to Earth observation data, products and services; knowledge management; anticipatory awareness and information dissemination; capacity building (training). 

While the African Union is responsible for the oversight and strategic direction of the programme, the latter will be implemented in the five African regions by consortia of African institutions - about 80 - from the public and private sectors, specialised institutions, academies, research centres and training centres. Through their work at local and regional level, the GMES and Africa activities have significant links with G20 RIWG Priorities 2, 4 and 5.

Next steps

2 further meetings of the RIWG are scheduled in Recife from May 22 to 24, 2024, and in Manaus on September 16 and 17, 2024, prior to the ministerial meeting on September 19, 2024.

The next G20 leaders' summit is scheduled in Rio de Janeiro for November 18 and 19, 2024, with the presence of the leaders of the 19 member countries, plus the African Union and the European Union.

The summit represents the conclusion of the work carried out by the country holding the group's rotating presidency (currently Brasil). It is the moment when heads of state and government approve the agreements negotiated throughout the year and point out ways of dealing with global challenges.

Discover the G20 calendar, https://www.g20.org/en/calendar

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The G20

The Group of Twenty (G20) is the main forum for international economic cooperation. It plays an important role in defining and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues. The G20 has annually rotating presidencies. Brasil will hold the G20 presidency from December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024. 

Initially, the G20 focused mainly on general macroeconomic issues, but expanded its agenda to include topics such as trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, the environment, climate change and the fight against corruption. 

The G20 is made up of 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brasil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Russia, Türkiye, UK and USA) and two regional bodies: the African Union and the European Union. The members of the G20 represent around 85% of the world's GDP, more than 75% of world trade and around two-thirds of the world's population.

The RIWG

The G20 works differently from traditional international organizations, and is structured into two parallel tracks of activity which communicate with each other: the Sherpa Track and the Finance Track. During the Brazilian presidency, the two paths have been working together. Both tracks include thematic working groups (WGs) that meet regularly. 

The WGs are made up of member country government representatives, as well as from invited countries and international organizations. The Sherpa Track is led by the personal emissaries of G20 leaders, and oversee negotiations, discuss the points that form the summit’s agenda and coordinate most of the work, is made of 15 working groups, two task forces and a Initiative.

The Research and Innovation Working Group (RIWG) is new, has been created under the Brazilian presidency of the G20. As coordinator, the goal of Brasil is to continue the work of transforming research and innovation ecosystems to responsibly and efficiently respond to the social and environmental challenges we face, including natural risks, disasters, and extreme climate events, and to support joint efforts. 

This WG will also stimulate the mobility of students, academics, researchers, and scientists between research and higher education institutions through mobility programs, to reduce the barriers to inter-institutional collaborations. The goal is to advance in terms of technology access and transfer to developing countries, reducing inequalities and promoting inclusive, fair, and sustainable development Brasil intends to advance in terms of technology access and transfer to developing countries.

Links

• The G20 Brasilia, https://www.g20.org/en (about the G20, the tracks, the engagement groups, news, documents, speeches, calendar)
• The Sherpa track Research and Innovation, https://www.g20.org/en/tracks/sherpa-track/research-and-innovation
• AU STISA 2024, https://au.int/sites/default/files/newsevents/workingdocuments/33178-wd-stisa-english_-_final.pdf
• AU Agenda 2063: https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview

Special thanks to Meshack Kinua Ndiritu, Space Expert and Training officer of the GMES and Africa Programme Management Unit for inputs and support in writing this post.