Dakar, 7th May, 2009

African science researchers and policy advisers have agreed to set up a foundation, to be known as the Knowledge Management Africa (KMA) Foundation to promote the use of scientific and other forms of knowledge by both public and private decision-makers in the continent.

The Dakar Declaration released on 7th May 2009 emphasised the need to move from "development rhetoric" to concrete, action-oriented programmes. These include the development of infrastructure and the more efficient use of resources needed to promote sustainable growth in fields such as health and agriculture.

The project is endorsed by a number of African-based banks and is under the auspices of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is intended to be a focal point for various African initiatives designed to investigate an aspect of using scientific and technical knowledge to promote social and economic progress such as:

• South Africa will host studies on the use of indigenous knowledge and how it can be enhanced through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and intellectual property laws.

• Building centres of excellence across the continent as "repositories of knowledge" - and the creation of networks of researchers intended to promote knowledge-sharing and cross-border collaboration.
• increasing engagement in the continent's development efforts from both the African scientific diaspora and what the Dakar meeting referred to as "friends of Africa".