The South African government has identified science, technology and innovation (STI) as a vital tool for creating new job opportunities and making a difference in people's lives, said Daan du Toit, the Deputy Director-General: International Cooperation and Resources of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI).

Du Toit made the remarks at the BRICS Young Scientist Forum (YSF), which began on Monday, 31 July 2023.

The three-day YSF, hosted by the DSI and held at the Boardwalk Hotel in Gqeberha, focuses on transforming skills development for the future.

Organised by the Technology Innovation Agency and the Academy of Science of South Africa, both DSI entities, the forum will include the Young Innovators Prize (YIP), which rewards young scientists in BRICS countries for innovations with societal benefits.  The themes for this year's YIP (aligned with the STI Decadal Plan) are modernising the manufacturing, agriculture and mining sectors, and exploiting opportunities in the digital and circular economies.

The YSF precedes the 2023 BRICS STI Ministerial Meeting, which takes place on Friday, 4 August, under the theme "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism".

"Investing in science to address fundamental societal concerns has been critical for South Africa since the beginning of our democracy. Agriculture, food security, health and education are all important to us, but we also want to be a part of the global scientific community, which is driven by the same goal that humanity has always had – to push the frontiers of human knowledge," said Du Toit.

He emphasised that South Africa, like most other nations, could not invest in all scientific fields at once and therefore had to prioritise.  One of the criteria it used to decide on priorities for investment was to determine where Africa had a comparative advantage.

If science and innovation are to have an influence on society, a whole-of-society approach is required. This is outlined in South Africa's STI Decadal Plan, which requires the government to invest in enhancing the national system of innovation and making South Africa's environment for innovation more enabling.

The leaders of delegations from the other BRICS countries expressed their gratitude to South Africa for hosting the BRICS countries at the first in-person event of this kind since the Covid-2019 pandemic.

Mr Marcus Moraes, the leader of delegation from Brazil's Ministry of STI, stated that BRICS cooperation was a long-standing a priority for Brazil, and thanked the Brazilian Academy of Sciences for assisting the Ministry in the process of selecting and the young scientists to bring to the YSF. 

"By bringing together young researchers and innovators from the five countries in this inclusive format, the YSF makes several important contributions to the broader BRICS cooperation. I hope that, at the end of the week, everyone from their different countries will have exchanged information and projects, and will have had a great week and forum", said Moraes.

Ms Albina Kutuzova from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Russia told delegates that she felt honoured to be attending this event in person after four years of working online, stating that science was a collective endeavour that brought nations together, and that nowadays one could see that young people had a great interest in science as a special, noble activity and an opportunity for creative self-realisation.

According to Dr Sanjeev Kumar Varshney of India's Ministry of Science and Technology, investing in young people is investing in the future.  He said, "I am confident that, with this forum, our young scientists will get to know one another, understand one another's challenges, and figure out how to make the world a better place to live."

The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology's Dr Wang Lei stated that the YSF was an important event in the framework of BRICS cooperation, bringing young scientists together to display their achievements, learn from one another, stimulate interest in more science and technology, and strengthen understanding and friendship between the countries.

Dr Prudence Makhura, Director of Knowledge Advancement and Support at the National Research Foundation, discussed the funding options available under BRICS following an agreement signed in 2015 by the BRICS STI Ministers to establish a research and development collaboration programme.

In the same year, the BRICS Group of Funding Parties drafted its 2015-2018 plan for multidisciplinary research funding and established a working group.  The Moscow Declaration was signed, endorsing the establishment of the BRICS STI Framework Programme. 

The Framework Programme includes thematic areas such as transient astronomical events, deep survey science, technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of antimicrobial resistance, simulation and big data analytics for advanced precision medicine and public healthcare, renewable energy including smart grid integration, ocean and polar science and technology, and research in aeronautics and aerospace.

Fifty South African scientists under the age of 40 are among the 200 master's and PhD students from BRICS countries who are meeting to discuss themes aligned to South Africa's Societal Grand Challenges, such as climate change and the future of society.

Presented by thought leaders such as Dr Mary-Jane Bopape, Managing Director of the South African Environmental Observation Network, Ms Nangamso Mtsatse, the CEO of Funda Wande, and Prof. Bheki Twala, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Digital Transformation at Tshwane University of Technology, the themes are an effort to reform sustainable inclusive development in Africa and the Global South by unlocking economic opportunities through the African Continental Free Trade Area and strengthening post-pandemic socio-economic recovery.