Exploring gender through African oral traditions
By Vanessa Turyatunga
Language shapes and reveals aspects of different cultures and identities. Through my Masters’ work on Yoruba religion, it has become evident to...
WIPO-IGC 47: Resetting IGC after 2024 Diplomatic Conference on Genetic Resources
By Chidi Oguamanam
Delegates and experts reconvene for the 47th instalment of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions...
Complexities of Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship by Two Indigenous Organisations...
Authored by: Britta Rutert and Cath Traynor
Abstract: In this Working Paper, we present our findings in respect of the innovative and entrepreneurial behaviour...
Everywhere Still Invisible: Women and Their Traditional Knowledge
By Ghazaleh Jerban
I was so excited to be travelling to South Africa as an Open AIR NERG and QEScholar, in the middle of Canada’s notorious winter...
US Fails to Block Progress over Genetic Resources Text at WIPO-IGC...
Photo credit: Image by Ville Oksanen via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
By Chidi Oguamanam, cross-posted from ABS Canada.
After six days of deliberations (June 24-29, 2018) to secure...
Innovation, connaissances traditionnelles et ressources biologiques, Yaoundé
Par : Abdelhamid Benhmade
Le Colloque de Yaoundé, 2019, est organisé par l’Université Catholique d’Afrique Centrale, en partenariat avec l’Institut Universitaire d’Abidjan et l’Université Toulouse Capitole....
Expedited COVID-19 R&D: Indigenous Knowledge and ABS Imperative
With the world on edge as the COVID-19 crisis progresses, the scientific community has sprung into gear in search of an effective treatment. Research and Development (R&D) is progressing at unprecedented speeds. Amidst this rapid development, traditional knowledge plays a significant role in scientific endeavours. Through traditional knowledge, medical researchers can gain guidance and inspiration and bypass prolonged and expensive scatter-gun approaches to R&D.
Dr. Kakooza “Dealing with Trans-Border Quasi-Intellectual Property”
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.
Open AIR East Africa Distinguished Speaker Series: Dr. Henry Mutai on...
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.
Women Bridging the Gap of Change and Innovation in Africa
By Mnena Abuku
Women
in Africa have faced a diversity of struggles in their efforts toward
sustainable development. This is largely because globalisation has brought more
burdens upon...