 Ladies and gentlemen, Madam Assistant Director, thank you for your kind introduction. It is indeed a great honor and privilege to be speaking on this important gathering. And I would like to thank Dr. Jimmy Smith and Dr. Wellington Ikaya for the invitation. A special thank also for my dear friend and sister, Judith Francis, for associating me with this event. Ever since I met Judith, good things have happened to me. My privilege is heightened because this grand challenge is bringing on board so many distinguished scientists and you all make me reminisce on my immediate scientific past. I would like to just share my reflection on why it is critical to focus on high education, how we communicate science and why we need to mobilize science and technology in addressing our development deficit. Mauritius can bear testimony to the fact that investment in free education for all since 1976 has been the bedrock of her development through the emancipation of human capital, our own resource. We had understood very early on that education is, if not the only fundamental that will propel the country to the next stage of its development, ensuring social mobility. Just like in other parts of the developing world, it must help add other pillars of the economy through the creation of knowledge. Friends, we meet at a consequential time, the crucial importance of quality education, science and technology. More importantly, the need for us to commit to the cause of excellence for our continued and long-term sustainable development cannot be over-emphasized. According to the World Bank, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, I must point out my region, had fallen to 1.6% in 2016, the lowest level in over two decades. Growth in the region rebounded to about 3.5% in 2018 and unfortunately in 2020, recession has started to glare at us again, especially in the developing world. We know the effects of the growth, development challenges are amplified, education suffers, public investment in health, nutrition, water sanitation are hit and poor people get pushed deeper into poverty. Seen against the backdrop of these priorities, the STI agenda gets short-lived in policy-making discussion and public investments. At the outset, let me make my biases clear. As a former academician, long-time, long-lifelong scientist, entrepreneur and past president, I sincerely believe that quality education, science and technology innovation have major roles to play in advancing knowledge for improving the everyday challenges faced by Africans and of course, scientists and citizens of the developing world. That is why I'm pleased to join my voice to the ongoing effort to an education-led transformation in Africa and in the developing world. Tapping into our vast human scientific and innovation potential will require vision, sound policies, investment, backed by keen implementation capacity. One sees vision through the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and I quote, it is science alone that can solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation, illiteracy, of superstition and deadening customs and tradition of vast resources running to waste or a rich country inhabited by starving people who indeed could afford to ignore science today. At every turn we have to seek his aid. The future belongs to science and those who make friends with science, unquote. That was said a long time ago. And yet there is so much truth and wisdom in it because it is as relevant today as it was during the days of Pandit Nehru when he worked out the science agenda for his country in 1958. For starters, emerging economies need resources to conduct research that is creative, innovative and also adapted to local circumstances. To achieve this, we need talents. Ladies and gentlemen, let me be very clear. I believe that the entire potential of Africa and the developing world remain in their people. Africa is the youngest continent in the world and by 2050 the continent's population is projected to double and reach two billion. Channeling the tremendous reservoir of human capital to productive sectors and sustainable use of natural resources will not only offer unrivaled economic and social opportunities but also mobilize youth to the urgent task of national and regional development. We need to build on this momentum and mobilize greater resources to consolidate each university. Our interventions must be guided by sound policies, increased investment and greater innovation all backed by rigorous science-based evidence which can help guide the creation of policies that are growth-inducing, fair, free from political bias and benign to the environment. For brain gain, the developing world in Africa must also address the brain drain issue. For these global regions to take the rightful place in a fully integrated global economy the conditions must be created and sustained. Ladies and gentlemen, for a technically sound meritocracy to bloom one must connect the dots and accelerate the fight against a myriad of challenges requiring interdisciplinary approaches such as climate change, harnessing new technologies, promoting research and development, translating academic research through entrepreneurship and securing intellectual property rights are always a means of boosting innovation, productivity, jobs and the ability to move up the production value chain. One of the dominating features of the 21st century is the remarkable growth and ubiquity of global communication affecting all facets of human endeavor. One must be mindful also of the world of jobs especially against the backdrop of artificial intelligence, AI which has not only invaded into in a pervasive manner they have invaded every single aspect of our lives. It is forecast that AI and its corollary robotics will threaten to unleash mass unemployment. In the US alone it is said to eliminate 6% of jobs by the end of this year alone with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service and customer services. 6% is huge. Just imagine its impact on a country that does not have the capacity to create jobs for its youth. Equally important is the need to marshal innovation, mobilize investment and strengthen our academic institutions. As somebody had said, it's an early warning sign and it just portends a massive win of change in the future. AI is inevitable and irreversible. Its challenges have to be taken seriously. That is why it is crucial to prepare young minds to compete for jobs in the global market. Our education system has a major role to play in this process. And education that elevates the mind of our youth and opens the door to new horizons is what we require in today's uncertain times because even in the best of times they will be required to tread in unmapped territories and troubled waters. The rapid rise of the social media as a tool of information, communication, instruction and social mobilization has been breathtaking. New ICT technologies have led to new fields of bioinformatics, genomics, a development that was instrumental in the decoding of the human genome. Decoding of the genome has been critical, especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The internet is also helping to bring education to millions. We must get beyond the traditional mode of students sitting passively in classrooms for laying instructions and memorizing materials. Computers can do that for us. Road learning is not commensurate with the need of a dynamic, knowledge-based economy and societies. Nor is it conducive for the cause of innovation. Fundamentally, we need to change what people learn, how people learn, when people learn and even why people learn. The surge in communication capability is unprecedented in human history. Our collective challenge is to mold these tremendous forces and to bring them to bear on the common everyday problem facing us. All this development should also challenge us to think innovatively and creatively. And I call on all grand challenge delegates to use the power of your scholarship and help ignite innovation key sectors, agriculture, energy, environment, health, trade and sustainable use and management of natural resources that matter for our collective future. Ladies and gentlemen, as a scientist, I lament that my region, sub-Saharan Africa, with 12% of the global population only accounts for less than 1% of the world's research output. And there are very, very few African nations among the top 20 countries fighting patent application in 2020. To feed Africa and the developing world, to keep a population good health, we need to bring about Africa's institutional transformation. We need partnership between public and private sectors, between academia and civil society, between scientists and non-scientists. That's where communication, communicating science matters. Partnerships are of the essence and where such partnership don't exist, let us create them keeping the common good in mind. Partnerships are indeed for marshalling innovation, making it fit for purpose in tackling development needs. In all these areas, women can and must become the drivers of change. That's why I'm pleased to join my voice in this ongoing effort to build a movement for science and technology geared towards sustainability. Ladies and gentlemen, as I'll close, I cannot miss the opportunity to talk about what happened in September, 2015. As part of this global agenda for the next 15 years, the UN adopted a set of sustainable development goals. They are the most sweeping ambitious program ever undertaken by a global organization. Their very aim, sustainable, points to a limitation inherent in them. To reach them, we are going to have to use resources that are more carefully stewarded than before in ways that are more effective than before. And I believe now it's a time to re-dedicate ourselves to achieving this goal by 2030 because sustainable development takes time. We cannot afford to fail yet another generation. We cannot abdicate our responsibilities, no shock from our commitment to excellence. Our actions must be guided by the fierce urgency of now. We must be active and not passive in generating ideas. We must become activists and not pacifists for generating our development solutions. We need to become producers and not just consumers of knowledge. And we should capitalize on the momentum gain at the global level while recognizing that all actions are local. Because development takes time, we cannot, we must not fail yet another generation. With these words, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts and why quality of high education, science and technology and innovation matter. And I think it's also now time for rejoicing and congratulations are in order. I thank you for your attention.