<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="">(Please excuse the cross posting)</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">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.</div><div class=""><div class=""><p class="">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, <span class="">which was facilitated by COAR</span>, 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.</p><p class="">Please see the full announcement in <a href="https://africaconnect3.net/africa-and-latin-america-agree-to-closer-collaboration-around-open-science/" class="">English</a> and <a href="https://www.lareferencia.info/es/component/k2/item/283-africa-y-america-latina-concuerdan-una-colaboracion-mas-estrecha-en-torno-a-la-ciencia-abierta" class="">Spanish</a>.</p></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Best, Kathleen</div><div class=""><br class=""><div class=""><div class="">Kathleen Shearer</div><div class="">Executive Director</div><div class="">Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR)</div><div class=""><a href="http://www.coar-repositories.org" class="">www.coar-repositories.org</a></div></div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div>
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