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26 May 2020 | Story Marcus Maphile | Photo Supplied
Marcus Maphile
The African continent is known for endless wars, extreme poverty, under-development, and highly contested borders left by the legacy of colonialism. Low levels of literacy among young people and adults remain a concern in many African states. African universities are slowly beginning to play a significant role in contributing to national innovation systems that seek to change the socio-economic and other fortunes of many poor and marginalised Africans. 

The African continent celebrates the 57th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and the relevance of the current African Union (AU) in the fight against socio-economic challenges caused by COVID-19 on the continent. The fear faced by most African countries emanates from inadequate healthcare systems and facilities. The debate on the opening of schools and institutions of higher learning is passed around like a soccer ball, as countries are aware that they lack the capacity to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 infections.

The African higher education and research sector is struggling to adapt. Will they be able to play a significant role towards finding a vaccine, producing new knowledge or research from African indigenous plants?  To be factual, in many ways this is not likely to happen, as most of the higher education institutions struggle with internet connectivity and high data costs. Many books and journals in libraries remain inaccessible, and most will only later record how developed countries moved to online teaching and learning with great success or failure.   All this will happen under the noses of illiterate Africans who rightly expect their higher education and research institutions to contribute towards finding immediate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic threat.

Most public and academic libraries remain closed and there is no word and contribution from highly decorated professionals towards sustaining reading habits and availing relevant materials for research towards finding a vaccine. There is no co-ordinated plan from library ministries and or library lobby groups. This is the context in which Africa Month 2020 is celebrated. It will be remembered as the year in which the promotion of reading and the opening of schools took a beating.

Marcus Maphile is Assistant Director: Library Marketing at the University of the Free State and he writes in his personal capacity.

News Archive

Future economic development lies in humankind’s ability to learn from nature
2015-09-30

We as humans have become more powerful than we are wise. We live in a world where there is an abundance of knowledge but less wisdom. ”These were the opening remarks of Edward Kieswetter, Group CEO at Alexander Forbes, and former Chairperson of the UFS Council, as guest speaker at the UFS Business School on 23 September 2015, on the subject of the future economic world order, and the vast amount of knowledge that humans possess. “The knowledge we possess has the potential either to develop us greatly, or put us at high risk of extinction,” he said.

Mr Kieswetter was accompanied by Dr Idriss Aberkane, a French thinker, entrepreneur, and academic, who is co-founder and CEO of Scanderia Ltd. Dr Aberkane spoke of three new concepts that the world is moving towards: Knowledge Economy, Biomimicry, and the Blue Economy.  He said “humankind’s second renaissance is based on the knowledge economy.”  He added that knowledge is infinite and prolific, with its global quantity doubling every 7 to 9 years. He added that “the combination of forms of knowledge grows exponentially and non-linearly.”

On the subject of Biomimicry, he said “nature is high-tech, we should read it rather than burn it.” High-tech companies, such as Samsung and Apple Inc are beginning to use Biomimicry to produce the most advanced technological gadgets, and even more companies are using the same, to advance the fields of medicine, agriculture, production of apparel, and sustainable development.

The session was attended by MBA students, student leaders, and members of the university community.

The guest speaker series forms part of the MBA programme held at the UFS Business School throughout the year.

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