Side event “Making the Fourth Industrial Revolution Work for Africa”, organized by UNIDO in association with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

The session will commence at 07:30 CET on Saturday, 20 March 2021 and will feature opening remarks from the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of South Africa, followed by a fireside chat moderated by UNIDO Managing Director Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento. The side event will complement ongoing UNIDO cooperation streams with UNECA concerning a digital mapping of innovation stakeholders and initiatives on the African continent, which in turn will inform the implementation of the African Union’s centerpiece digitalization strategy, The Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030).

This side event is held as part of the high-level ministerial policy dialogue of the 53rd Session of the Economic Commission for Africa and the Conference of African Ministers of the Finance, Planning and Economic Development to held from 17 to 23 March 2021 on the theme "Africa’s sustainable industrialization and diversification in the digital era in the context of COVID−19”. Planned on 22 March 2021, the high-level ministerial policy dialogue will gather Ministers, high-level representatives from international organizations, private sector and civil society to explore and share views on issues around the theme of the Conference.

Panel discussion “Public Private Partnerships to Foster Digital Development of Industry and Trade in Southern Africa”, to be broadcast on Saturday, 20 March, 12:00-13:30 CET, will be attended by Bernardo Calzadilla Sarmiento and UNIDO’s Policy Research and Statistics Department will present findings from the Industrial Development Report 2020 on Sunday, 21 March 2021.

Register for the side events here.