Arusha college launches Nelson Mandela Wee

The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology in Arusha yesterday launched Nelson Mandela Week to encourage youth in secondary schools to pursue science subjects in order to increase the number of experts in the field.

 

Speaking during the launch  of the Week which comes to its climax on July 18, this year the vice chancellor Prof  Burton Mwamila said that  since 2013 the institute had been  commemorating  the week to honour the former South Africa’s  president  by sensitising youth to study science  subjects across the continent.

 

He said they believed that encouraging youth in schools to like and pursue science subjects would help to convince more of them  to join the group and study hard for the benefits of the current and future generation.

 

“We believe that by bringing youth at the college to see the works by scientists they will be convinced to like the subjects thus getting more scientists for the betterment of the nation and the world at large,’ he said.

 

Prof Mwamila said that apart from sensitising youth to participate in the Week the institute would also hold a symposium on energy issues so as to share views for the sake of bringing development in Africa.

 

“During the symposium we will share experience with stakeholders from South Africa who have benefited from the energy in their respective countries …we believe that we will also benefit from their experience,’ he said.

 

For his part, Arusha regional commissioner Daudi Ntibenda said that they had come up with the idea of introducing the week in order to honour the late  president Nelson Mandela who had wanted the institution to be built in Arusha, Tanzania.

 

He said Mandela was an activist who fought against racism and still he wanted to see Africa became independent by being creative through the use of   science and technology.

 

 Ntibenda explained that Mandela made the efforts with the aim of proceeding with the fight against the  shortage of personnel  in  science and technology.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN