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05 July 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons
UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize
Prof Abdon Atangana’s UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Prof Abdon Atangana, Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Institute for Groundwater Studies (IGS) at the University of the Free State (UFS), was one of five young scientists who was awarded the first UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The ceremony took place last month (19 June 2023) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. Each winner received a medal and $50,000 in prize money.

Contribution to mathematics and applications

Prof Atangana says he received this award due to his contribution to mathematics and applications, fractional differential and integral calculus with nonsingular and nonlocal kernel, fractal-fractional differential and integral calculus.

“I have been promoting STEM in several countries of the Global South. I feel proud because, 2 500 candidates were selected worldwide, 200 shortlisted and five were selected at the end. I was chosen in mathematics to represent my continent of Africa, while the other four laureates were selected in engineering and science,” says Prof Atangana.

Award aims to strengthen STEM research and education

According to the UNESCO website, the prize, which was established in 2021 in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Al–Fozan Foundation, aims to strengthen STEM research, STEM education and international cooperation to confront the global challenges addressed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The prize will give recognition to the achievements of young people that are conducive to socio-economic transformation and development on a global scale while also increasing the interest of young people, particularly girls and women, in science so as to promote gender equality, scientific literacy and the choice of a scientific career.

It is awarded every two years to five laureates from the five geographic regions of UNESCO (Africa, Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America and Latin America and the Caribbean), its purpose to encourage youth participation in STEM, in particular women and girls, so as to promote gender equality, scientific literacy and the choice of a scientific career.

Will stay in Africa

Prof Atangana, who is the current chairperson of the African Mathematical Union Commission for Research and Innovations (AMU-CRIMS), said during his speech that Africa was a temple of mathematics and that great mathematicians including Euclid and Pythagoras, had visited Africa.

“Today, many young talented Africans are moving primarily to the West in search of greener pastures. The question I pose is, what happened? Briefly, the strategies utilised during the colonisation era made Africans lose self-belief and self-esteem and become dominated nations.

“I thank God that, I, today, as a child born and raised in Africa, I went to France for the first time, not in search of greener pastures but because the work I did in Africa with no external support, attracted global attention of researchers from all fields of science, technology, and engineering. This is a clear indication that Africans can stay in Africa, work hard and evolve and develop their continent without additional support or compensation. I will stay in Africa, work very hard to pave the way, and lay a concrete foundation for the next generation through God’s grace,” he ended his speech.

Prof Atangana’s global recognition

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS says this is timely award in the wake of Vision 130 to celebrate Prof Atangana’s global recognition as a young scientist.

“A young mathematician of exceptional dedication and talent, Abdon has been a real trailblazer in his field. The award is richly deserved and reflects well not only on Abdon but on all his colleagues in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the University of the Free State, and especially the African continent. We are immensely proud of this global recognition of a formidable young African scientist. He is a role model who inspires a new generation of scholars. An outstanding achievement for an outstanding individual,” says Prof Reddy.

This award is another testament to the great work Prof Atangana has been doing over the years. Not only has he been a fellow of the World Academia of Science since 2022, but he is winner of the World Academy of Sciences Award for Mathematics (TWAS – Mohammad A Hamdan Award) in 2020.

The other winners are Dr Federico Ariel (Argentina); Prof Qiaomei Fu (China); Dr Hesham Omran and Dr Jelena Vladic (Serbia).

 


WATCH: Prof Atangana's acceptance speech

News Archive

Horse-riding therapy improves self-confidence in children
2016-05-10


This group of Honours students in Psychology at the University of the Free State was honoured with the best postgraduate Service Learning award at the prize-giving function of the Faculty of the Humanities. From the left are Adriana de Vries, Hershel Meyerowitz, Simoné le Roux, Wijbren Nell, Melissa Taljaard, and Gerán Lordan. Photo: Marizanne Cloete.

Horse-riding therapy helps to improve self-confidence in children, and changes their perception of themselves. It puts them in a totally new environment where they can be free of any judgement.

According to Wijbren Nell, who achieved his Honours degree in Psychology at the University of the Free State (UFS), this is the ideal therapy when working with children with disabilities. He said it was amazing to see how they developed.

He was part of a group of Honours students in Psychology who received the best postgraduate Service Learning award in the Faculty of the Humanities for their community project. In 2015, this project by Wijbren, Hershel Meyerowitz, Gerán Lordan, Melissa Taljaard, Simoné le Roux, and Adriana de Vries, was part of their module Community and Social Psychology. They were honoured at the Faculty’s prize-giving function on 15 April 2016.

Purpose of project

“Our purpose with the project was to demonstrate to the children that they could still accomplish something, despite their disabilities,” Wijbren said. The students work on a weekly basis with learners from the foundation phase of the Lettie Fouché School in Bloemfontein. Marie Olivier’s Equistria Therapeutic Development Trust serves as the site for the community project. She has a long standing partnership with the UFS.

Horse-riding and therapy

According to Wijbren, the idea was to stimulate the psychomotor functioning of the children, as well as to promote their psychological well-being. He said research has shown that there is incredible therapeutic value in horse-riding. In this specific case, it has improved the children’s self-confidence, as they may have a poor self-image as a result of their disabilities.

“At the beginning of the year, there was a girl who didn’t even want to come close to a horse, let alone getting onto the horse. We kept on trying, and, once she was on the horse, we couldn’t get her down. This was the amazing thing about the project,” said Wijbren.

Award a surprise

Wijbren said the award was a honour and surprise to his group. He was full of praise for Dr Pravani Naidoo, a lecturer in Psychology at the UFS, who coordinates the therapeutic horse riding project. “She has a tremendous passion for this project, and challenged us to think on our feet. She is a real inspiration.”

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