Exhibition on light, light-based technologies for Africa rescheduled
The 2015 Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition on harnessing light and light-based technologies for Africa’s development has been rescheduled to take place from September 14 to 16, 2015.
Advertisement
The conference and exhibition was originally scheduled to take place from May 26 to 28, 2015.
A statement jointly issued by the Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Prof. Francis K.A. Allotey, said the rescheduling had become necessary due to the many requests received from institutions, agencies and the public to make available adequate time to prepare and showcase works at the exhibition.
The conference and exhibition is being organised by the Ghana National Commission for UNESCO.
It said the conference and exhibition was aimed at, among other objectives, creating awareness of the potential of light and light-based technologies in solving many of the challenges facing Africa in the fields of education, energy, agriculture, communications and health.
“The event will also promote interaction and dialogue among academics, industries and professionals in using optics and photonics concepts in tapping developmental strategies for communities with the view to enabling policy makers to appreciate the relevance for the support of science for economic advancement.
“It will further attract young minds and innovators to come up with new ideas and inventions in the application of light-based technologies for the benefit of the continent,” it added.
Four priority areas
According to the statement, Ghana had identified four priority areas that were paramount to the sustainable development of the country in relation to the conference.
Other Trending Stories
They include upgrading of the laser and fibre optics centre at the University of Cape Coast into a full-fledged institute for capacity building in fibre optics technology and the establishment of a subregional laser medical application laboratory (LMAL) to train medical practitioners to make use of the relevant laser technologies in the fields of urology, ophthalmology, dentistry and general surgery.
The other priority areas, it said, were the establishment of a solar technology research centre to enhance the study and promotion of solar science and the use of alternative energy, as well as the establishment of a museum of light and light-based technologies, as part of solutions to the post-2015 United Nations development agenda.