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ASSAf reaches out to learners and educators August 13, 2009

Posted by Mutheu in : National Relations , add a comment

Members of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) provided mentorship lectures to learners and educators during the recent National Science Week in the Free State, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The National Science Week is an initiative by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), through the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) which aims to celebrate science. It involves various stakeholders from government, private and not-for-profit sectors of society who conduct and exhibit multiple science based activities during the week. This year, the National Science Week ran from 1-8 August 2009 in all nine provinces simultaneously at multiple sites in each province.

This year’s science week was launched in the Northern Cape province by DST Minister, Naledi Pandor. Through ASSAf’s regional mentorship lecture approach, which targeted both learners and educators, scientist were able to interact with learners, provide guidance on science-based careers, and understand some of the challenges that are facing educators within the science system in South Africa. This also provided an opportunity to increase the awareness of ASSAf among learners, educators, and other key stakeholders.