KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGICAL INTERACTION:A POLICY ORIENTED STUDY OF THE AFRICAN UNION

POWERED BY THE DEVELOPMENTS IN NEW TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS, THE WORLD IS MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARDS KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMIC STRUCTURES AND INFORMATION SOCIETIES THAT COMPRISE NETWORKS OF INDIVIDUALS, FIRMS AND COUNTRIES THAT ARE LINKED ELECTRONICALLY AND IN INTERDEPENDENT RELATIONSHIPS. KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR "LEAPFROG" STRATEGIES THAT COULD ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENT. THIS PAPER THEREFORE ARGUED THAT WITHOUT INNOVATIVE PUBLIC POLICY, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES COULD BECOME A SOURCE OF EXCLUSION AND CONFLICT; AND IF ANY FORM OF DEVELOPMENT IS EMPOWERING IN THE 21ST CENTURY, IT IS THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE CREATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPACITY FOR THE NEWLY EMERGED AFRICAN UNION.