Ottawa, Ontario, Wednesday, November 6, 2013

I am delighted to be here to help mark the 10th anniversary of this important initiative.

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences is truly an important and inspiring initiative.

Mathematics, like music, is a universal language, and it is a language that underpins so much of our lives and societies today. The remarkable achievements in science and technology that sustain and transform the way we live would not be possible without mathematics.

Simply put, math is fundamental.

This means that the teaching and study of mathematical sciences is equally important to our well-being. It was this insight that led 10 years ago to the establishment of AIMS, an organization dedicated to the promotion of math and science in Africa.

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of travelling to Africa—to Ghana, Botswana and South Africa. It was wonderful to have Jean Lebel, president of the International Development Research Centre, as a member of our delegation for part of the trip.

One of our visits was to the University of Cape Town’s astronomy department, where a team of researchers including Africans and Canadians is working together to build the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.

That such a project is underway on the African continent, and that Canada is involved, is truly cause for celebration.

The AIMS initiative is part and parcel of the same thrust towards mathematical and scientific capacity-building in Africa—which itself is part of an overall African renaissance in learning.

The momentum is real and the potential is so exciting.

As Kofi Annan put it:

“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”

It is wonderful that Canada, through the capable leadership of the International Development Research Centre, is so involved in this effort.

Canada made a $20 million contribution to AIMS in 2010; at the time, it was the largest contribution by any country in the world. It became a catalyst to leverage funds from other donors; for example, the UK Department for International Development became a donor to AIMS in 2012 and has asked IDRC to manage its contribution of $29 million.

Equally exciting is the AIMS Next Einstein Initiative, in which the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo is contributing to the building of a network of AIMS centres across Africa. The goal of this collaboration is to create a critical mass of scientific and technical talent. 

These initiatives are wonderful examples of the power of the diplomacy of knowledge, in which people, institutions and nations come together across borders and disciplines to deepen our learning and improve the human condition.

I would like to thank and congratulate all those who have worked so hard over the years to make AIMS such a great success.

Have an enjoyable evening.