Today, LA Referencia, RedCLARA and the three African regional research and education networks – ASREN, WACREN 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.
This marks an important milestone in the expansion and strengthening of an interoperable, international ecosystem for open science and repositories in the global south. While open science is a global trend gaining traction around the world, there are important local considerations that need to be taken into account in the adoption of open science, related to resources, local priorities and jurisdictional aspects. And what works in the global north is not always relevant or effective for the global south. This new collaboration between Africa and Latin America, which was facilitated by COAR, will support south-south knowledge exchange related to open science and potentially technology transfer of the LA Referencia software between the two regions. Most importantly, it will also strengthen local knowledge and infrastructure related to open science and contribute to improving the visibility of the research produced in both regions – something that is extremely important for improving people’s lives and contributing to sustainable development goals.
