Xiaolan Fu presents at World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2016
Professor Xiaolan Fu gave a presentation as part of a panel at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2016 this month, drawing on her research on innovation in Africa.
The WSIS Forum is the world's largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community. It is co-organized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD, and is a key forum for discussing the role of ICTs as a means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Fu argued that her research in Africa suggested that innovations in Africa are mostly incremental, and low-income countries lack the financial and human resources to produce major innovations that are needed for structural change. She emphasised the importance of technology transfer from more advanced countries (in both North and South) as a major driver of technical progress worldwide.
She spoke alongside Janis Mazeiks (Ambassador to the UN, Latvia), Mr Brahima Sanou (Director of Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union), and Dr Heide Hackman (Executive Director, International Council for Science) as part of a panel titled 'Strategic Dialogue for WSIS Action Lines and Sustainable Development Goals'.
She also met with the Secretary General of the ITU Mr Houlin Zhao.
The Forum was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2-6 May 2016.