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Africa and Latin America agree to closer collaboration around open science

MoU between RedCLARA and LIBSENSE

April 12, 2021 – Today, LA ReferenciaRedCLARA and the three African regional research and education networks – ASRENWACREN and UbuntuNet Alliance – signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize their relationship as the two continents seek to ramp up their open science activities. The aim of the collaboration is to advance open science policies, services and infrastructure that reflect the unique needs and conditions of each continent within a framework of international cooperation.

Open science is a global trend focusing on widespread sharing of research results and is transforming the way research is done. As UNESCO works towards global Open Science recommendations, the issue has become more visible and there is a growing recognition that open science will help accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by increasing the impact of research in society.

There are important local and regional considerations in how open science and open access are approached and it is critical that open science policies, services, and infrastructures are designed and delivered to meet the needs and conditions of the local communities they serve.

There are so many commonalities and shared experiences across the two continents”, says Yousef Torman, Managing Director, ASREN. “Closer collaboration with LA Referencia, will enable us to learn from their decade-long experience as a regional network, and will help to accelerate our progress towards open science in Africa and support greater discoverability of African and Arabic content.”

The MoU provides a framework for ongoing information sharing between the African Research & Education Networks (RENs), through the LIBSENSE Initiative and LA Referencia / RedCLARA, and the potential adoption of the LA Referencia open source discovery software in Africa. The collaboration is being fostered by COAR, the Confederation of Open Access Repositories, and with support from the pan-European GÉANT networkOpenAIRE and the EU co-funded AfricaConnect3 project.

“Equity and inclusiveness are fundamental values for our communities”, says Bianca Amaro, President of LA Referencia. “Rather than relying on centralized infrastructure and services hosted elsewhere, we aim to work together to build capacity and infrastructure in our regions that will support sustainable open science.

Matthews Mtumbuka, CEO of the UbuntuNet Alliance says: “The promotion of digital repositories, open access and open science is very important to UbuntuNet Alliance and its NREN members. Researchers and the public across the region are in dire need of services that increase the visibility of local research and this collaboration will go a long way in helping this. We as UbuntuNet Alliance are ready to play our role to achieve our joint vision and common goals.

WACREN has been leading the LIBSENSE initiative, which brings together research and education (REN) networks, librarians and other stakeholders to increase capacity and strengthen infrastructure for open science”, says Dr. Boubakar Barry, CEO of WACREN. This collaboration with LA Referencia/RedCLARA will increase our momentum and present new possibilities for REN services in support of open science”

 

This article was originally published on AfricaConnect3 website. Read the full statement here

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