Open AIR’s Sileshi Hirko wins competitive grant

Mr. Sileshi Hirko, a PhD candidate in the Common Law Section of the University of Ottawa, has won the Civil Society Scholars Award (CSSA)....

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...

Leap 4.0 – African Perspectives on the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The 4IR is well established in many parts of the world, with technological advances driving profound social and economic change. However, for many developing countries, particularly countries in Africa, the 4IR may not offer the anticipated 'leap' forward. This book seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities the 4IR presents to South Africa and the rest of the African continent, especially to workers and marginalised sectors of society.

Recognizing Africa’s innovation revolution: Leaders driving inclusive innovation receive Impact award

Solutions to some of society’s most important challenges require the right regulatory environment to drive innovation. Examples include pioneering models for access to educational...

From Space to Soil: The Potential of Space-based Technologies for African...

Authored by: Ola Mirzoeva This Working Paper 33 explores the potential for space-based technologies to support African agricultural productivity and to address economic transformation hindered...

Open AIR East Africa Distinguished Speaker Series: Dr. Henry Mutai on...

Dr Henry Mutai
On 10 June 2015, the Agreement establishing a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) was signed in Egypt bringing together 26 African countries from three major regional blocs: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Following the signing, the current phase of the TFTA negotiations are meant to cover five agenda items: trade in services, cooperation in trade and development, competition policy, intellectual property (IP) rights, and cross-border investment. The fourth of those five issues was the subject of the second Open AIR East Africa Distinguished Speaker Series presentation by Dr. Henry Kibet Mutai.

Trickles and Spouts: Translating Research on Intellectual Properties to Women’s Entrepreneurship

By Esther Ekong I am currently conducting my PhD research about Nigerian women entrepreneurs in ongoing global debates about the role of intellectual property (IP)...

Chapitre 1: Innovation, propriété intellectuelle et développement en Afrique

Jeremy de Beer, Chidi Oguamanam et Tobias Schonwetter Date de publication : septembre 2017 Télécharger : Chapitre 1: Innovation, propriété intellectuelle et développement en Afrique (3.7MB) ...

WIPO Special Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional...

The World Intellectual Property Organization’s specialist committee charged with negotiating text-based instrument(s) for the effective protection of Genetic Resources (GRs), Traditional Knowledge (TK), and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs), on Friday June 16 2017 concluded its 34th session with partial agreement on its mandate and on the fate of the committee and its work program.

Attention aux accords internationaux d’investissement !!

unsplash photo for blogpost
Par Abdelhamid Benhmade À quelques semaines près, l’Organisation mondiale du commerce tiendra sa douzième conférence ministérielle pour discuter de plusieurs dossiers tant complexes qu’épineux, entre...