Over 1600 scientists, business-persons, policymakers and other stakeholders attended the Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering 2018 held under the patronage of H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda in Kigali from 26 to 28 March. An initiative of AIMS, in partner-ship with the Robert Bosch Stiftung and supported by Johnson & Johnson, NEF Global Gatherings are a unique interna-tional science forum with a strong focus on Africa.

The meeting was held under the theme ‘Connecting Science to Humanity’ and 50% of the par-ticipants were under 42 and 40% were women.

Some of the subthemes tackled in the three-day forum include; connectivity, Ubiquity and Mobility; Climate, Energy, Food and Growth; Precision Health; and Building Africa’s Scientific Capacity.

Attendees from AIMS South Africa included Dr Yabebal Fantaye, who was selected as a NEF Fellow. Prof. Barry Green and Prof. Bruce Bassett who are members of the Scientific Program Committee and Dr Bubacarr Bah, who hosted a breakfast meeting that focused on the German Research Chairs in the AIMS Network. Two AIMS Master’s students, Ms Kelebogile Phatsimo Baliki and Ms Rojo Fanamperana Randri-anomentsoa also attended the event as volunteers.

Ms Randrianomentsoa noted, “The NEF Global Gathering was a beautiful opportunity for me to connect and meet people diverse backgrounds. I was even surprised to see them committing themselves to the progress of sci-ence. Being part of the rap-porteurs team helped me to better connect with others and to better understand the discussions as well. Two of my favourite sessions were the presidential panel discussion and the “Changing the Global Map of Sciences.”

AIMS South Africa Council Member, Prof. Louise Warnich, Dean of Science at Stellenbosch University, also attended the event.

For more information please visit https://gg2018.nef.org/