The one day conference was opened in the morning with greeting remarks made by Ms. Frannie A. Léautier, Vice President, World Bank Institute, Hon. Professor Peter Msolla, Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Tanzania, and H.E. Mr. Makoto Ito, Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania, Embassy of Japan.

The speech by Hon. Professor Peter Msolla, Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Tanzania, set the tone of the day spelling out what should be the role of knowledge and science in the world of globalization, which requires continuous learning and more advanced education.

At the conference, three JJ/WBGSP alumni from the Africa region were awarded Mr. Masanori Matsuo, Advisor to Executive Director for Japan. These were:

How to Improve Export Competitiveness in Mauritius by Ms. Marilyn Whan-Kan from Mauritius, a graduate of CERDI, Université d'Auvergne.

Also, an exchange on knowledge in development also took place. These presentations included:

• Issues of Higher Education in Tanzania, Hon. Professor Peter Msolla, Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Tanzania
• The Role of Science and Technology and Higher Education in Africa, Ms. Frannie A. Léautier, Vice President, World Bank Institute
• Development Challenges and Opportunity in Africa – Governance & Capacity Development by Ms. Judy M. O’Connor, Country Director, World Bank Tanzania  (the presentation was delivered on behalf of Ms. Judy M. O’Connor by Mr. Denis Biseko, Public Sector Specialist, World Bank Tanzania Office)
• JICA's Capacity Development Strategy and Activities in Tanzania, Mr. Koji Makino, Deputy Resident Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency Tanzania Office
• Moving Toward More Advanced Knowledge Economy, Lessons for Tanzania from Japanese Experience, Mr. Tsutomu Shibata, Senior Adviser, WBI
• Personal View on Scholarship Program as an Alumnus by Dr. Stergomena Laurence Tax, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing

Mr. Sylvester Anthony Matemu, the alumni representative in Tanzania, and currently Private Secretary to Minister, appreciated the Program’s efforts in scaling-up the alumni activities and asserted the establishment of the Tanzanian Alumni Association for the JJ/WBGSP.

The conference was closed by the remarks made by Mr. Masanori Matsuo, World Bank, and Ms. Frannie A. Léautier, WBI.

Ms. Léautier noted that “the conference was a success as it functioned as knowledge networking among alumni, development practitioners including staff of the World Bank, the Embassy of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency and academics. In the future, this networking will be facilitated and leveraged by the strong initiative taken by Tanzanian alumni association.” She also remarked that

“Today we observed the alumni who were using acquired knowledge effectively as the driver of development. It is crucial to bring back people with higher degrees to developing countries, and the JJ/WBGSP has been serving this objective.”

For details see:

Alumni Awarded at the Regional Conference in Tanzania

See also:

	Asian Regional Conference in Indonesia, June 4, 2008
	African Regional Conference in Cameroon, May 7, 2008
	JJ/WBGSP Tokyo Conference, June 6, 2007
	Asian Regional Conference in Vietnam, May 26, 2006
	African Regional Conference in Kenya, May 11, 2006

If you need any additional information, please contact the Scaling-Up Program at: spscalingup@worldbank.org

See more on Press Release from March 14, 2007