Makerspaces and Creativity
Looking back at Open AIR’s ‘Making’ Innovation Happen roundtable
By Sean Boots
In mid August, Open AIR hosted a roundtable discussion on makerspaces and innovation hubs in...
June Open AIR Network Meeting in Cairo
When SSHRC and IDRC awarded sizeable, prestigious grants to support Open AIR in its third phase of research, the Network’s leadership promptly organized a face-to-face meeting at its North African Hub, the American University of Cairo. While a great strength of Open AIR is its ability to coordinate its research and administrative tasks remotely across its various hubs, personal meetings are invaluable when the Network needs to deal with specific overarching strategic issues.
IP Implications for Food Security in Africa
Cross-posted from U of S Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre
By Uchenna Ugwu
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I am a PhD student...
Workshop on Integrating Gender Perspectives into Research Projects: Focusing on Social...
By Desmond Oriakhogba
Recently, Open AIR participated in a workshop which focused on the integration of gender perspectives into research projects aimed at promoting social...
Open AIR North Africa Distinguished Speaker Series: Ibrahim Al-Safadi on Makerspaces...
On 10 December 2016, as part of the RiseUp Summit in Cairo, Open AIR’s North Africa hub hosted their first Distinguished Speaker event with Ibrahim Al-Safadi, the CEO of Luminous Education. The Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) invited Al-Safadi to speak about the role of “makerspaces” to tackle unemployment and to share his experiences in how to create a makerspace that ensures that the individuals involved end up with jobs.
Waiting for An Inclusive Pathogen Access And Benefit Sharing Policy
By Anthony Oguguo, QEScholar and PhD Student, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada
The inadequacies of the global health law framework during the pandemic...
The Open African Innovation Research Partnership Transition Workshop
By Dana Elbashbishy
On the 8th of February
2018, members of the Open African Innovation Research Partnership (Open AIR) gathered
in Accra, Ghana to share research...
Police Power Doctrine and Security of Investment: Balancing Regulation with Innovation
By Dr. Otitodiri Ogadinma OnyemaQES Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Law, Open AIR
In October, 2025, I had the privilege of presenting my research at the International Conference...
Inclusive Innovation: Lessons from Africa for the World’s ICT Policymakers
Information communication technologies (ICT) can play a crucial role in promoting development, making societies more just, equitable, and inclusive of marginalized communities. To see how, some of the brightest young researchers from the “global South” met with established field leaders at the IDRC and COSTECH-sponsored 2016 CPRsouth conference in Zanzibar.
MENA Observatory on Responsible AI
Open AIR’s North African hub, The Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at the American University in Cairo’s Onsi Sawiris School of Business,...
