Research

In October 2010, Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, recorded a rap song titled: "Do You Want Another Rap?" as part of his re-election campaign to capture the imagination of young voters. The song was a huge success and may have played a part in his reelection. When Museveni applied for a copyright registration of the song, however, members of the Ankole community filed an objection stating that the song was derived from Ankole folklore. While the Registrar of Copyrights in Uganda eventually allowed Museveni's copyright application for registration, this case triggered Dr. Anthony Conrad K. Kakooza's interest in the area of traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) and whether TCEs should be recognized within the domain of intellectual property (IP) law.

This paper maps the 130-year history of the IP treaty landscape governing the protection of, and access to, knowledge in Africa.

ACA2K network membersPublication Date: 2009 Download : WIPO Briefing Paper 3: Research Findings from Africa Relevant to WIPO SCCR 19 This December 2009 Briefing Paper by...

By Olanrewaju A. Fagbohun, Ph.D, SAN In charting a future course where the goal is about equitable and democratic end to fossil fuel production, we...

In 2013, Open AIR published foresight research anticipating a future shaped by shocks like a catastrophic global pandemic. During the decade since, Open AIR...

By Yaw Adu-Gyamfi Startups in Ghana struggle with access to technical support services, sustainable market linkages and funding to keep them afloat in the initial...

In my previous blog on skills development and innovation at Ghana’s Suame Magazine, I showed how the high level of collaboration and sharing of knowledge and skills within the cluster is contributing to innovation. Further, I provided some preliminary findings on the inability of these artisans’ to keep pace with the changing technology landscape. I also found that few artisans expressed interest in joining or maintaining a membership with local trade associations due to these associations’ inability to implement their key mandate of skills development and facilitation of business for members and firms.

By Eslam Shaaban In March 2018, the African Continent Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) was unveiled as the world’s largest free trade area since the creation...

By Esther Mobolayo Adekunbi On Tuesday, March 10, 2020, I was privileged to attend a meeting organised by CARE Canada and the Food and Agriculture...

By Charlene Tsitsi Musiza There have been many efforts to empower women, but rural women continue to face unique socio-economic challenges. A suggested approach to...