Communiqué – March 9, 2021, Effah Amponsah (WACREN)
The LIBSENSE initiative, which was launched in 2017, has been building a community of practice for open science and progressing the adoption of open science services and infrastructures in Africa. The initiative is led by WACREN – West and Central African Research and Education Network – in partnership with a number of other organizations. The aim of LIBSENSE is to advance open science in Africa through strengthening and expanding services at the institutional, national and regional level.
LIBSENSE recognizes that open science in Africa, with respect for diversity and sustainable development, can be best realized through localized, yet interoperable, infrastructures – rather than being outsourced to private industry or external organizations. Not only will these services be able to more directly respond to the needs of African research communities, they also contribute to building local capacity and knowledge around open science.
The UNESCO Open Science Partnership has put open science on the agenda of national governments. Leveraging this strategic opportunity, LIBSENSE has begun to work with several African countries that are committed to advance open science policies, infrastructures and services to develop African National Open Science Roadmaps that can then be adapted to other African countries. The initial countries LIBSENSE is working with are Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
These national roadmaps, which may differ in each country, will present a concrete plan for rolling-out open science in each country including policies, infrastructure, and capacities. Join us for the “Open Science and Open Access” session of the WACREN2021 conference to find out more, or visit the LIBSENSE wiki
