Dakar hosts the first international symposium on open science in the global South

Event 17 October 2019
IRD, CIRAD and Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) are organizing the first international symposium on open science in the global South from 23 to 25 October at UCAD's Institut Confucius in Dakar (Senegal). A large number of players – researchers, scientific information professionals, representatives of research organizations – will be discussing the issues surrounding open science in the global South.
Libérez la science, un jeu fair-play visant à favoriser les discussions et apprentissages autour du libre accès aux publications données de recherche. © c.boussou, cirad

Against a backdrop of changing modes of disseminating scientific results and of co-building of research operations, new ways of collaborating and sharing knowledge are emerging thanks to the open science (or open research) movement. These new types of sharing are a priority for IRD, CIRAD and UCAD, which committed very early on to giving scientists in the global South free access to their publications.

These institutions have made substantial progress on sharing and opening up their research results. The situation in the countries of the global South is more variable, despite the fact that open science is a real driver in facilitating collaboration, conducting quality research, disseminating research results as broadly as possible and making local players more visible on the international scientific stage.
This is the backdrop for an international symposium on open science in the global South, the issues and the prospects for a new dynamic, to discuss the main issues surrounding open science in the French-speaking countries of the global South and to open up new prospects.

The aims of the symposium include:

  • Mobilizing scientific players and information and data specialists to address free access to data and scientific publications in the global South;
  • Assessing the situation and the state of play, highlighting feedback on experiments and good practice, methodologies and tools;
  • A collective debate on the policies, infrastructures and incentives required in order to develop open science in the global South;
  • Fostering quality initiatives in this field in the French-speaking countries of the global South, particularly in West and central Africa;
  • Drafting an open data charter for the global South.

The symposium is being organized under the banner of IRD's 75th anniversary celebrations and the patronage of UNESCO, during International Open Access Week.

In this field, IRD and CIRAD are working within the framework of the national open science plan launched in 2018 and led by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

See also