Prof Tinyiko Maluleke (Executive Director: Research, UNISA), Mrs Susan Veldsman (Director: Scholarly Publishing Programme, ASSAf) and Prof Cochrane (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Queensland University of Technology)

ASSAf hosted Professor Tom Cochrane from the University of Queensland to speak on The development of the open access paradigm in scholarly publishing, on 25 February 2011. Prof Cochrane is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Technology, Information and Learning Support) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He outlined the research policy and practice developments at QUT in the context of the development of open access in scholarly publishing.  Furthermore, he discussed open access methods and the links between research profile and impact, and the greater visibility of research outputs through open access. The public lecture was attended by 80 people from many levels of the South African research community.

Podcast of lecture

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Back row: Jaco du Toit (UNESCO), Linda Fick (ASSAf) Denise Nicholson (WITS), Paul Nampala (Uganda), Eve Gray (UCT), Charles Batambuze (Uganda), Khaled Fourati (IDRC), Vasco Lino (Mozambique), Enyinna Nwauche (Nigeria), Mogodisheng Sekhwela (Botswana)

Front row: Susan Veldsman (ASSAf), Elsabe Olivier (UP), Louise van Heerden (ASSAf), Luci Abrahams (WITS), Mapiti  Matete (Lesotho) , Iryna Kuchma (EIFL), Marietta Dlamini (Swaziland), Tefetso Mothibe (Lesotho)

The workshop took place at ASSAf in Pretoria on 22 and 23 November 2010. The main objective of the workshop was to share how free and unrestricted access to research materials can increase the impact of research and benefit research institutions, authors, journal publishers, as well as society as a whole. The context of open access in Africa and the value it can add to productivity, visibility and accessibility of research material were highlighted. Examples of national copyright law and how it influences and interacts with learning materials was presented. Discussions focused on critical aspects that policies should address to make learning materials available for open access. Workshop participants also had an opportunity to contribute towards highlighting priority areas for intervention in open access in Africa and the way forward in promoting better cooperation among institutions that are promoting access to scientific knowledge. Representatives from ten African Universities, Councils for Sciences and Technology, Academies of Science and international partner institutions attended the workshop which laid the foundation for a more fertile environment for open access in Africa.

A  keynote speech by South African Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Naledi Pandor, highlighted the under-representation of women in the field of science and technology as a whole, as well as their under-representation in research management positions and policy-making.

Leading scientists from developing countries were invited to present keynote papers, followed by workshops with papers and discussions on the scientific contribution of women to these critical areas. Eminent women scientists from the South presented their research work, stressing policy issues pertaining to the participation of women in science and technology in their countries.

TWOWS is an international organisation whose central role is to promote women’s access to science and technology (S&T), enhancing their greater involvement in the decision-making processes for the development of their countries and in the international scientific community. Created in 1989, TWOWS’ overall goal is to work towards bridging the gender gap in S&T. TWOWS uses its forum for intellectual discussions to assist in the development of national capabilities to evolve, explore, and improve strategies for increasing female participation in science. The South African national chapter is hosted by ASSAf, who provide a secretariat for the implementation of its activities.

Development Indicators, and Global Economic Monitor are now free, open, and easy to access at data.worldbank.org.

Recognizing that transparency and accountability are essential to development, the World Bank Group now provides free, open, and easy access to its comprehensive set of data on living standards around the globe – some 2,000 indicators, including hundreds that go back 50 years. The data is available in Arabic, French, and Spanish in addition to English.

“I believe it’s important to make the data and knowledge of the World Bank available to everyone,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “Statistics tell the story of people in developing and emerging countries and can play an important part in helping to overcome poverty. They are now easily accessible on the Web for all users, and can be used to create new apps for development.”

The open data announcement coincides with the launch of the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010, the Bank’s popular statistical resource. Apart from giving open access to the WDI, with nearly 1000 indicators, the initiative also opens up the Global Development Finance (GDF), Africa Development Indicators (ADI), Global Economic Monitor (GEM), and indicators from the Doing Business report.

Access to these new resources is available at data.worldbank.org, a central web site that makes it easier to find, use, and manipulate data. A data catalog lists the available databases. The Bank will continue to add databases in the months ahead.

 For convenience to users in areas without internet access, print and CD-ROM editions of WDI, GDF, ADI, and other products will continue to be available, now at a much-reduced cost.

As always, World Bank Publications will continue to bring the most up- to-date and accurate research and knowledge on development. For more information on this announcement please visit www.worldbank.org.

For questions, please email at the addresses below:

 data@worldbank.org      For questions on data and or technical issues on the new data platform

onlineresources@worldbank.org   For questions on your existing online database subscription

books@worldbank.org     For questions on print and CD-ROM editions of the databases

From left: Prof Robin Crewe (ASSAf), Prof Jacob Palis (TWAS), Prof Mohamed Hassan (TWAS), President Jacob Zuma (RSA), and Minister Naledi Pandor (DST).

The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) hosted an International Conference of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) from 18 – 23 October 2009 at the Durban International Convention Centre. The conference was attended by 452 participants from 63 countries in the developing world.

These participants included TWAS Fellows, TWAS Young Affiliates, DST senior officials, representatives from other government departments, Presidents of Science Councils in South Africa, Presidents of African science academies, and university representatives. The conference was also attended by the Ministers of Science and Technology of South Africa, Brazil, and India, other high ranking technical advisers of various governments in the developing and developed world, and representatives of Indian, Chinese, and Brazilian diplomatic missions in South Africa.

The recently held TWAS Conference brought with it numerous spin-offs for both the Academy and South African scientific community. ASSAf published a book on The State of Science in South Africa to mark the occasion of the hosting of the conference. The book reflects on the state of science in South Africa; considers the historical context and the key features that have shaped scientific research in the country and are determining its current trajectories; highlights some of the future challenges and opportunities; and celebrates some of the achievements of South African scientists.

The establishment of a TWAS National Chapter (NC) in South Africa was also announced at the conference. ASSAf will provide the secretariat for the NC and the Chapter will operate in virtual mode with minimal bureaucracy. ASSAf will play a predominantly coordination and dissemination role, and will provide an opportunity, inter alia, for networking and announcement of TWAS fellowships.

The hosting of this conference also provided the ideal platform to announce the establishment of a National Chapter of the Third World Organisation for Women in Science (TWOWS). There are currently 76 full members of TWOWS in South Africa, some of whom are also Members of ASSAf. With the establishment of a TWOWS National Chapter, it is planned to initiate activities that will accord strongly with South Africa’s S&T policy of increasing the participation of women in science.

During the annual conference, 36 new TWAS members were inducted, including South Africans Thokozani Majozi and Bernard Slippers as TWAS Young Affiliates. Salim Abdool Karim and Wieland Gevers were awarded the TWAS prize and medal respectively during the 2009 TWAS conference. Anna Coutsoudis, Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan, Brenda Diana Wingfield, Brian Warner, Rashid Mekki Hassan, Robin Crewe, Salim Abdool Karim, and Tebello Nyokong, who are members of ASSAf, were elected as TWAS fellows during the conference, bringing the total number of TWAS fellows in South Africa to 19.

A Presidential medal was presented to the South African President, Mr. Jacob Zuma, by Profs. Robin Crewe (ASSAf President), Jacob Palis (TWAS President), and Mohamed Hassan (TWAS Executive Director) in Cape Town on 22 October 2009 in the presence of Minister Naledi Pandor. This gesture profiled both the academy and the importance of science and technology in the development of countries in the South in the Presidency.

The Minister of S&T, the honourable Naledi Pandor, will participate in a symposium on the “Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Research and Education in Developing Countries” together with her counterpart Ministers from India, Brazil and China.

Other symposia in which South Africa will feature strongly are those on “Astronomy in Developing Countries” and “S&T Education for Development”. The programme features a large number of invited presentations from distinguished scientists such as Michael Atiyah whose lecture is titled “Truth and beauty in mathematics and physics”, as well David Block and Monty Jones. The presence of a large number of eminent scholars in the country has prompted the DST through the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement  (SAASTA) to mount  a “Meet the Scientists” initiative which will connect TWAS fellows with teachers and learners in three KwaZulu-Natal centres in an attempt to promote science and careers in science amongst Grade 11 learners.  

ASSAf is proud to be hosting this prestigious conference, which is being held for the first time in South Africa, thanks to the generous support of the DST and the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), the German Federal Ministry of Education and  Research.

TWAS is an autonomous international organisation, founded in 1983 in Trieste, Italy, by a distinguished group of scientists from the South under the leadership of the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan. Its mission is to promote scientific excellence and capacity in the South for the purposes of advancing sustainable development. TWAS operates under the administrative umbrella of UNESCO and receives generous core funding from the Italian government. Presently it has more than 900 members from 100 countries. Nearly 85% of its members live and work in developing countries.

TWAS also hosts and works closely with a number of Trieste-based international organisations that share the Academy’s broad-ranging objectives. These organisations include: Third World Organisation for Women in Science (TWOWS), InterAcademy Panel on International Issues, (IAP), InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP) and the Consortium on Science, Technology and Innovation for the South (COSTIS).

Want to read more?

Check out Daniel Schaffer’s articles on the TWAS website (www.twas.org) on Science and Change in South Africa, and an interview with Minister Pandor on Science.