The maiden African Science Week Ghana celebrations, an initiative of the Africa Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Next Einstein Forum (NEF) is scheduled for 25th to 29th September 2018, AIMS Ghana announced today.
The NEF Africa Science Week celebrations is Africa’s biggest annual celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) that brings together thousands of participants to engage in coordinated events aimed at promoting the adoption of STEM across the African continent.
The celebrations are being held in over 34 African countries including Ghana, Cameroon
Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Rwanda South Africa, Tanzania, Sudan among others.
The maiden Ghana event is expected to be the biggest celebration of STEM in the country with a host of initiatives and events planned across multiple regions over a one week period. The celebrations, designed to be both a thought leadership and experiential event, will bring together over 5,000 participants and key stakeholders to create awareness and drive greater participation in STEM.
Commenting on the upcoming celebration, the President of AIMS Ghana, Lucy Quist said “We are truly excited that Ghana is joining 33 other African countries to commemorate the NEF Africa Science Week for the very first time this year. This celebration presents our country with a unique opportunity to elevate the conversation, drive greater participation and celebrate individuals and organisations in STEM in Ghana”.
She continued “Africa is on the verge of economic transformation built on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. We have a unique opportunity to truly transform our economies leveraging STEM as an accelerator. Platforms such as the NEF Science Week are a great starting point for meaningful conversations and engagements. We are looking forward to a truly memorable celebration”.
The one week celebration will commence on Tuesday 25th September with regional events targeted at empowering through practical and immersive STEM experiences across the Volta, Northern, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions with initiatives such as coding and virtual reality outreaches, Open Science experientials, data science and hackathons among others.
The celebration will culminate in the biggest gathering of students, academics and businesses in STEM at the Ghana STEM conference, a full day event incorporating key note addresses, panel discussions and exhibition opportunities for several business under the theme: Accelerating Growth and Development through STEM”.
“The Ghana STEM conference presents a distinct platform to showcase the latest discoveries and innovations in the field. It is a must attend for all practitioners and businesses that are looking for an opportunity to showcase their products to an active audience” concluded Peter Asare-Nuamah, Ghana’s 2018 NEF Ambassador
The celebration will be preceded by a massive media campaign presenting sponsors and exhibitors a great opportunity to be associated with a good cause. Businesses who would like to exhibit at the conference are encouraged to contact the organisers on 0279835881
The NEF Africa Science Week celebration is powered by Upendi PR, a leading PR and Communications firm providing total communication solutions to businesses and individuals across Africa.
The celebration is expected to attract and impact over 5,000 participants across 4 regions over a 5-day period as follows:
Day 1 — Full day Coding and Virtual Reality workshop for pupils from selected Junior High Schools in Ho (Volta Region) in partnership with the Ghana Code Club and Ho Node. Participants will be empowered to code games using Scratch programming.
Day 2 — Full day Practical Science and Open hardware activities in selected schools in Tamale (Northern Region) in partnership with TeachForGhana
Day 3 — Exhibition of local innovations and conversation on Open Science and Hardware for local business plus hands on STEM activations for selected basic schools in Kumasi (Ashanti Region) in partnership with Kumasi Hive.
Day 4 — Full day Africa Science Week Conference and Exhibitions involving keynotes, panel discussions and exhibitions of the latest innovations in STEM at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Accra.
Day 5 — STEM open day and exhibitions for young people at the Planetarium, and a Data Science & Hackathon (Data-thon) for problem solvers in collaboration with the Planetarium, Developers in Vogue and Global Lab Network.