History in the making! Lesotho Academy of Science and Technology launched.
The journey to launch began in 2017 through a forum that was hosted by Department of Science and Technology (DST)- Lesotho and supported by technical support of Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) – South Africa. During the forum the representatives of The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) gave brief presentations on what “A science Academy is” and the roles of a science. It was during this forum that an ad hog committee mandated to spearhead the launch of Lesotho’s academy was nominated. The SADC Ministers responsible for Education and Training; and Science, Technology and Innovation convened in 2019 in Eswatini for a forum and urged members states to establish Academy of Sciences hence Lesotho committed to implement the SADC decision.
Due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic the organising opted to launch virtually. However the organizing committee decided to host the virtual launch at UNESCO Hall whereby the Right-honourable Prime-minister,Honourable Minister of Education,Honourable Minister of Communications, Science and Technology , Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology and Out going In Country Champion would make speeches whereas all invited guest speakers and participants would join virtually. The invited members of media houses would also allowed to cover the launch from UNESCO Hall.
The organizing committee for the launch comprised of the representatives from the Ministry of Communications, Science And Technology(MCST) as the lead focal contact point, UNESCO Secretariat, National University of Lesotho (NUL), Botho University(BU), Lerotholi Polytechnic(LP), Lesotho Agricultural College(LAC) and Lesotho Science and Mathematics Teachers Association (LSMTA) . The organizing committee meet regularly virtual to coordinate and facilitate the official grand launch. The institutions played a pivotal role in making the launch a remarkable success. For instance the Botho University (BU) did an excellent job in scheduling the virtual launch. The Botho University (BU) campus in Botswana scheduled the webinar and coordinated with IT technicians in Maseru Campus to ensure the simulation webinar prior to the grand launch ran smoothly equally important the National University of Lesotho sensitized the public about the grand launch of LAST by posting Zoom link for the official launch on its Facebook page- NUL Research and Innovations which is followed by thousands of people in Lesotho and beyond boarders.
A virtual launch was a first for Lesotho. So in order to perfect a virtual launch. The organizing committee conducted a simulation launch prior to the grand launch.
Without the technical support and financial support of United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries (UNTBLDC) the launch of LAST could have not been possible. UNTBLDC financed the consolidation stakeholder workshops for the constitution of LAST and the costs for registering LAST in accordance to Lesotho’s legislature. Through UNTBLDC Network of African Academies (NASAC) and Academies of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf) assisted Lesotho by providing technical support in launching of LAST.
As scheduled the launch happened on the 15th March at 10 am at UNESCO Hall where the organizing committee. A record number of over 300 participants had registered on online to join the launch virtually. The launch was also livestreamed on the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology official Facebook fan page where multitudes of people witnessed this milestone unfold in real time.
The launch was graced by the presences of the Right-Honourable Prime-Minister of Lesotho- Dr Moeketsi Majoro, Minister of Communications, Science and Technology- Honourable Mr. Keketso Sello and the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training Dr. John Oliphant who represented the Honourable Minister of Education and Training who was unable to attend the launch due to unavoidable circumstances. In giving his official opening remarks, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology- Mr Tankiso Phapano acknowledged and commended inclusion of all key stakeholders for working tirelessly and harmoniously to make the launch a remarkable success. These is a list of key guest speakers who joined virtually not only to congratulate the launch of LAST but also to wish LAST the best of luck in its future endeavours.
The organizing committee wishes to take this opportunity to express its heartfelt gratitude to the media fraternity and the sponsorship of the telecommunication giant- Econet Telecom Lesotho in making the official launch of LAST a success. We recognize the support of ‘Tsa Mahlale’ a tv program on the state owned Lesotho Television. ‘Tsa Mahlale’ loosely translated to English as ‘Scientific Matters’ identifies and unearths innovations from grassroots and showcases them on tv and social media. Tsa mahlale dedicated two episodes to cover the launch of LAST. The first episode covered the speeches by guest speakers during the official launch whereas the second episode featured the interviews of the Director – Department of Science and Technology and some members of the organizing committee. The episodes can be viewed by clicking on the links: Episode 64 – Lesotho Academy of Science and Technology Launch – YouTube and Episode 65 – Lesotho Academy of Science & Tech (Interviews) – YouTube . Again Tsenolo FM covered the grand official launch of LAST and also invited the organizing committee to its radio program ‘Ithute le Tsenolo’ loosely translated as ‘Learn along with Tsenolo’ which the organizing committee members attended on the 11th April 2021. During the interview the members of the organizing committee described what an ‘’Academy of Science is” , people eligible for membership,roles of an academy and read the profiles of founding members of LAST. Much gratitude to Econet Telecom Lesotho for sponsoring our event with a router loaded with unlimited data that connected everyone during our official launch. We really appreciate it. Ms. Anneline Morgan -Senior Programme Manager at SADC, Prof. Nobert Hounkonnou- President of NASAC, Mr. Joshua Setipa – Managing Director – UNTBLDC, Finally, it is our hope that LAST membership will increase and attract academics from humanities, social sciences and law. The founding members of LAST are mostly from the natural sciences. The government has promised to support and provide resources to make LAST a fully fledged independent institution that will provide professional, independent evidence-based advice. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) commits to be proactive in advocacy to advise Government of Lesotho to pass a legislative act ‘Academy of Science, Technology and Innovation Act’ to promote common ground in scientific thinking across all disciplines. The act should also earmark funds to make LAST sustainable. It is our hope again that LAST will play a crucial honorific function that recognises, rewards those doing well in science and those with extensive supervision history. LAST will contribute in accelerating Lesotho’s socio-development through Science, Technology and Innovation. DST will ensure LAST is integrated into the existing Nation System of Innovations.