The Africa regional track aims to explore the trends underlying the growth of the open science movement in Africa, spotlight organizations and leaders leading the charge, and discuss the strategies and collaborations needed to advance a community approach to science and innovation on the continent.

Session Breakdown:  

Spotlight on Community Science and Open Science Hardware projects/initiatives 

9:00 - 10:00 GMT/11:00 – 12:00 CET - Gather Room 1

- The goal of this session is to showcase a cross-section of interesting initiatives, projects, and leaders embracing the community-ethic and open approach to solving problems in Africa.

By: Frank Landon Bentum (Africa Open Science & Hardware), Gertrude Mawuena Goh (Africa Makerspace Network), Andre Maia Chagas (TReND in Africa), Ian Peter Busuulwa (Synbio Africa), Nadine Mowoh (Mboalab), Ousia Foli-bebe (Ecotec Lab), Harry Akligoh (Yemaachi Biotech).

Community-Driven Science for Social Impact in Africa  

10:00 - 10:45 GMT/12:00 – 12:45 CET - Gather Room 1

- The goal of this panel discussion is to gather perspectives on the past, present, and future of science-based participatory initiatives that aim to improve the livelihoods of people and communities. The session will uncover the challenges faced by such projects and how to overcome them while highlighting future opportunities in the space.

By: Thomas Mboa (Mboa Lab), Thomas Tagoe (GhScientific), Louise Bezuidenhout (Lab Hack Africa).

Community Engagement, Advocacy, and Coalition Building in Africa

10:45 - 11:30 GMT/12:45 – 13:30 CET - Gather Room 1

As science is still growing in Africa, especially at the grassroots, there is a challenge of communicating science to local people, while advocating for policy changes that will make science and innovation truly transformative. We ought to understand how our projects are affecting communities and how communities are affecting our projects. Further, it is crucial to explore how to bring policymakers on board. In this session, we will share how this is being done, and include experiences from the community and advocacy perspectives through a panel discussion. 

By: Ian Peter Busuulwa (Synbio Africa & Science Stories Africa), Youssef M Abdelmaksoud (Synbio Arabia), Justina Onumah (CSIR - Science & Technology Policy Research Institute, Ghana), Elgidius Ichumbaki (University of Dar es Salaam & University College Dublin), Alex Kyabarongo (JOGL Africa & Synbio Africa).

Find out more about the Speakers: 

Frank Landon Bentum is an open science enthusiast and currently the executive manager for Africa Open Science Hardware (AfricaOSH), a community of makers, hackers, practitioners and researchers in science and technology, dedicated to promoting open science in Africa. He is passionate about using locally adaptable technologies to foster economic growth in Africa. Together with the Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH), Frank aims to ensure the free availability and accessibility of knowledge, technology and hardware in Africa and the world at large.

Gertrude Mawuena Goh currently serves as the Programs Lead for the Africa Makerspace Network, a non-profit organization that brings together makerspaces for capacity building and collaboration on building a sustainable Africa. Prior to that, she led the execution of the second Africa Makerspace Gathering which took place in November 2019. During the second Africa Makerspace Gathering, Gertrude spearheaded the recognition of makerspaces who developed products in a bid to combat covid-19 through the Covid-19 Solution Honors. She has over the years gathered experience in marketing, corporate social responsibility, public relations, research, event management and project management.

Dr Andre Maia Chagas is passionate about open science and open source hardware, and how those two can be used to increase research and education reach around the world. He has a background in Neurosciences and has been developing affordable open science hardware and teaching others to do so via workshops, talks and outreach events. He started Open Neuroscience, and volunteers at Trend in Africa as an open source adviser and by organizing and running Open Labware workshops. Currently working at the Department of Neurosciences in the University of Sussex, he develops equipment to support research labs. For more details on those projects check the Open Sussex Neuroscience page

He also offers consultancy services around open source hardware and open science through Prometheus Science.

Ian Peter Busuulwa is a Masters student of biotechnology at KIIT University in India, with a background in science communication, science policy advocacy, and grassroots mobilisation. Following a public policy fellowship with Ginkgo Bioworks last year, he developed an interest in synthetic biology-related policy and is now working with SynBio Africa as a Policy and Communications Officer for their Global Catastrophic Biological Risks Initiative. Following the same fellowship, Ian established the Bioeconomy Coalition of Uganda, which aims to mobilise stakeholders in order to grow Uganda's bioeconomy. Ian also works as a Project Administrator and Digital Communications Officer for Science Stories Africa (SSA), a platform dedicated to increasing public understanding of science through storytelling. He has been actively involved in efforts for genetic engineering regulation in Uganda since his undergraduate days, participating in several stakeholder engagements and the review process of Uganda's Genetic Engineering Regulatory Bill 2018 since its initial passage in 2017. He also has a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Makerere University.

Nadine Mowoh is a researcher based at the Mboalab, Cameroon. With a background in microbiology and medical laboratory technology, Nadine's work focuses on carrying out research on local manufacturing of enzymes using low cost local resources. Nadine is also a quality manager at Beneficial Bio Ltd (beneficial.bio) where she performs local biomanufacturing of enzymes and research on quality control assays for locally produced enzymes. Her future areas of focus include biotechnology and the use of biotechnology techniques in developing molecular diagnostic tools for diarrhoea-related diseases.

Ousia A. FOLI-BEBE is a Togolese Maker, Founder of #EcoTecLab MakerSpace where he empowers youth through Tinkering and S.T.E.A.M Education. He designed The Molab, a S.T.E.A.M education Mobile MakerSpace with whom he shares his passion and sparks genius in kids village to village all over his country. He is a contributor to Maker riposte to the Covid-19 in his county and the "Miadé net" local network (https://togo.drlab.org/) a local network project based on the Raspberry Pi and opensource tools.

Dr Louise Bezuidenhout is a social science researcher who specializes on issues relating to Open Science, data sharing and access. Her research is broadly oriented around justice and access, inclusion and marginalization and equity. Much of her work has concentrated on identifying ways to improve the inclusion of low/middle-income country researchers into the Open Science landscape. This work has involved embedded ethnographies, interviews and surveys in a number of countries in Africa, Europe and North America. Dr Bezuidenhout holds PhDs in cardiothoracic surgery (University of Cape Town, RSA) and sociology (University of Exeter, UK). Dr Bezuidenhout currently works for the Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) in The Netherlands as a senior research data expert. Her current work relates to the evolution of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and involves working with multi-partner consortia to develop EOSC training and responsible research materials. She is also active in discussions about the evolution of global Open Science Clouds, the South African Open Science Cloud and the African Open Science Platform. Dr Bezuidenhout is a Co-Founder of LabHack, supporting undergraduate student teams to design and build low-cost versions of the laboratory equipment they need using available Open Hardware resources.

Dr. Thomas Amatey Tagoe is a Neuroscientist, Science Communicator and Co-founder of G.H.Scientific, an organisation focused on building capacity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) through public engagement and outreach activities. He holds a PhD in Physiology with a current research focus on learning and memory which he carries out as at the University of Ghana.Thomas has multiple publications in peer reviewed journals and has presented various aspects of his work at Local, National and International conferences. He has also had his work featured on local and international news outlets such as the Daily Graphic, StarrFM, The BBC and CNN. Thomas sits on the Africa Regional Committee of the International Brain Research Organisation, helping steer contributions to neuroscience in Africa. He is also the regional president of the Ghana Science Association and Chair of the Ghana Young Academy. Thomas has a strong passion for collaborations and is responsible for implementing multiple public engagement projects which earned him the British Council Social Impact Award in 2018.

Dr Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou, a Cameroonian social scientist, holds a PhD in public communication from Université Laval in Quebec City. Thomas' research interests span digital humanities, open science, the maker movement, social innovation and scholarly communication, with a strong theoretical focus on decolonial studies and critical approaches to development. Thomas is currently a Lecturer at the Advanced School of Mass Communication (Digital Humanities Section), University of Yaoundé II, Cameroon, an Emerging Researcher at Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) Network, University of Ottawa and a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Law, Technology and Society, University of Ottawa (Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship Program). He is deeply engaged in promoting DIYbio and democratizing Biotechnology in Africa. His DIYBio work is visible through his own biohacker space in Cameroon (Mboalab), which is part of the Open Bioeconomy Lab. Thomas also operates through the Africa Open Science & Hardware network, which he co-leads, strengthening African stakeholders and catalysing grassroots innovation through Open Tech culture. Thomas launched the African Institute of Open Science and Hardware as part of the Africa OSH community. He is also the President of APSOHA (Association for the Promotion of Open Science in Haiti and Africa).

Dr Justina Onumah, an Innovation and Development Economist, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana. She has completed her PhD in Development Studies and also holds a Master of Philosophy Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana. Her research interests are in the fields of impact assessment, innovation systems, research-policy-industry linkages, rural development, food security, poverty/welfare analysis, technology transfer, and science policy. She has authored publications in these fields and gained over 10 years of rich research experience through involvement in multiple donor-funded projects and consulting for reputable organisations such as the United Nations Center for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Solidaridad West Africa (SWA), UK Department for International Development (DFID), among others. She is a current Next Einstein Forum Ambassador (Ghana) and a Mandela Washington Fellow with the US State Department.

Youssef Mahmoud is a biotechnologist with a degree from Cairo University. He works in science education and communication. He founded SynBio Arabia, an initiative aiming to bridge the gap in Synthetic Biology knowledge for Arabic speakers. Youssef was the international genetically engineered machines (iGEM) competition 2021 ambassador to Africa, and he is now working with iGEM Community as a regional reporter for Africa.

Dr. Elgidius Ichumbaki is a Heritage Studies Scholar, National Geographic Explorer, and Senior Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania. He is also an Associate Professor (visiting) at the University College Dublin, Ireland. Ichumbaki’s research explores theories, methods and practices that decolonize research, interpretation of research data and the writing of African pasts. For the past seven years, Ichumbaki has devoted his efforts to conducting research, training students in Heritage Studies and establishing community enterprises at heritage sites in Tanzania. Scholarly-wise, Dr. Ichumbaki has authored over 50 publications including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, museum exhibitions, research, radio/television programs, documentaries and music videos. His recent publications include new thoughts on Swahili civilization in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia and the valorization of this unique coastal culture including maritime coastal heritage for community livelihoods. These outputs made UDSM recognize Ichumbaki as one of her top three academics/researchers (2018/2019) and whose research has societal impacts (2021/2022). Ichumbaki serves in many international bodies and organizations including African Humanities Program (2019-2022), USA’s Social Sciences Research Council (2020-2022), and UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (2021) as well as serving in editorial boards of series and international journals.

Alex Kyabarongo is a veterinary scientist and currently a JOGL Ambassador to Africa. Over the last three years, Alex has been involved in the community biology movement and is passionate about Biosafety and Biosecurity, Antimicrobial Resistance, DIY Biology, and One Health collaboration. He has been involved in iGEM community activities as an iGEM Ambassador to Africa and a regional Ambassador Program Coordinator for Africa. He is the co-founder of Centre for STEM Education and Research (CeSTER) Foundation and a member of Synbio Africa. Alex was a 2021 Global Community Bio Fellow.

More Context: 

Africa lags behind in global science, contributing only about 2% of research publications. The data shows little collaboration among researchers based on the continent. These statistics, coupled with the power imbalance prevalent in global research and innovation, imply there is a risk of the continent over-relying on ideas from elsewhere for its development. There is an urgent need not only to address the shortfall in scientific research, in the face of funding constraints and limited resources, but to decolonize African science, and nurture a cultural shift towards an Africa-led research and innovation paradigm fit for purpose in the 21st century. Recent interest and growth of the open science movement, with a growing focus on community-driven approaches to problem-solving, presents a great opportunity to transform systems. 

The sessions will cover:

• Education and technology access 
• Youthful demographic transition 
• Entrepreneurship
• Open Science Hardware development
• Localization
• Indigenous knowledge
• Overcoming funding and resources constraints
• Intra and inter-regional collaborations
• Community engagement

This track is organized and curated by Gameli Adzaho, Alex Kyabarongo, Harry Akligoh, and Frank Landon Bentum.

*This Track is part of Just One Giant Summit: the first community science and innovation conference. For more details on the Summit, including date, schedule, location, etc., return to the main event page here.