On 15th December 2017, Prof. Calestous Juma, a research and development icon who revolutionized development thinking in Africa, breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), the brainchild of Prof. Juma, is deeply saddened and mourns this death, which is a big blow not just to Kenya, but the global fraternity of science and development revolutionaries. But ACTS remains a living testimony of the vision Prof. Juma held for Africa - that harnessing the power of Science, Technology and Innovation would accelerate achievement of Africa’s social, economic and environmental development targets. In 1991, five years after he had founded ACTS, and with his zeal and research excellence, Prof. Juma led ACTS to win the then coveted Justinian Rweyemamu Prize for expanding the knowledge base for Africa’s development. ACTS has followed this path of research excellence, earning itself a series of awards in Science, Technology and Innovation policy research. Most recently, in 2016, ACTS was rated among the top three global Climate Change think tanks, and number one in Africa. This excellence is no doubt grounded in the vision and culture of excellence set by Prof. Juma. The banner of his vision therefore lives in ACTS. As the ACTS family, we shall miss him dearly, but we shall remain committed to delivering the dream he held for Africa.
Calestous Juma. Photo courtesy of the Harvard Kennedy School
