Opportunities for Women in Transformative Innovation and 4IR in Africa
By Pamela Mreji
Since the beginning of time, women and men inventors and entrepreneurs have transformed our world through the power of their imagination and...
WIPO-IGC 43: Logjam Over Two Genetic Resources Texts
By Chidi Oguamanam, cross-posted from ABS Canada
Last Meeting on the GR Text Under the 2022-23 Biennium
May 30-June 3, 2022: Delegates met in-person and virtually...
Behind the Number: A Review of Index Methodologies to Improve Innovation...
This paper reviews the methodologies of 16 indices in innovation, information and communication technologies, economic environment, governance, and development.
Perspectives on Research Excellence in the Global South: assessment, monitoring and...
This paper discusses various features of research excellence (RE) in Africa, framed within the context of African science granting councils (SCGs) and pan-African RE initiatives.
Access to COVID-19 Vaccines: the Patent Freeze Proposal and a New...
By Chidi Oguamanam and Sarah O’Flaherty
The State of Affairs
As the vaccination rate rises in Canada and other developed nations, developing countries globally continue to record an...
The Maker Movement in Gauteng Province, South Africa
This paper sets out findings from research into the dynamics of the emerging “maker” movement in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. The authors position the maker movement as a potentially strong contributor to, and manifestation of, informal-sector innovation on the African continent.
Innovation by “makers” in South Africa’s Gauteng Province
The “Makers” who come together to tinker and hack in the maker collectives of South Africa’s Gauteng Province display a wide range of innovation practices, our research for Open AIR has found.
Our study, Collaboration and Appropriation in Gauteng Makerspaces, investigated the activities of eight Gauteng maker collectives. The findings have now been published in Open AIR Working Paper 6, entitled The Maker Movement in Gauteng Province, South Africa.
How NOT to Review a Research Paper: Reflections from Harvard Law...
By Jane Ezirigwe
In late January, I had the privilege to be selected as one of the scholars to be part of the Harvard Law...
Fablabs et le développement durable de l’Afrique
Par Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou
Je suis Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou, doctorant en Communication Publique à l’Université Laval (Québec, Canada). Je m’intéresse à la contribution des tiers-lieux de...
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.













