April 12, 2021 - Today, LA Reference, RedCLARA and the three African regional research and education networks - ASREN, WACREN and UbuntuNet Alliance - signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to formalize their relationship. The two continents seek to increase their activities linked to open science: promote open science policies, services and infrastructure that reflect the needs and capabilities of each continent within a framework of international cooperation.

Open science is a global trend that focuses on sharing the results of scientific research and this is transforming the way research work is done. As UNESCO works towards the global open science recommendations, this theme has become more visible and there is growing recognition that it will help accelerate the path towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by increasing the impact of research on society.

There are important local and regional considerations in how open science and open access are approached. It is essential that policies, services and related infrastructure are designed with the objective of meeting the needs and strengthening the capacities of different local communities.

“There are many commonalities and shared experiences on both continents,” commented Yousef Torman, Managing Director of ASREN. “Closer collaboration with LA Reference will allow us to learn from their decade-long experience as a regional network, help accelerate our progress towards open science in Africa, and support greater visibility of African and Arabic content.”

The MoU provides a framework for collaboration between the African Education and Research Networks (RENs), through the LIBSENSE Initiative and LA Reference/RedClara, and the possible adoption of the LA Reference aggregation software platform in Africa. This initiative is being promoted by COAR, the Confederation of Open Access Repositories, with the support of the pan-European network GÉANT, OpenAIRE and the EU co-funded project AfricaConnect3.

“Equity and inclusion are fundamental values ​​for our communities,” explained Bianca Amaro, President of LA Reference. “Rather than relying on centralized infrastructure and services hosted elsewhere, our goal is to work together to build capacity and infrastructure in our regions that supported sustainable open science.”

Matthews Mtumbuka, CEO of UbuntuNet Alliance added: “The promotion of digital repositories, open access and open science is very important to UbuntuNet Alliance and its NREN members. Researchers and the public across the region are in great need for services that increase the visibility of local research and this collaboration will greatly assist that goal. We, as UbuntuNet Alliance, stand ready to play our part in achieving our joint vision and common goals.”

“WACREN has led the LIBSENSE initiative, which brings together research and education networks (RENs), librarians and other stakeholders to increase capacity and strengthen infrastructure for open science,” explained Dr. Boubakar Barry, CEO of WACREN. “This collaboration with LA Reference/RedCLARA will increase our momentum and present new possibilities for REN services in support of open science.”

For more information contact: lautaro.matas@larereference.redclara.net or //[libsense-la@ren.africa](mailto:libsense-la@ren.africa)/”>libsense-la@ren.africa

About THE Reference

The Federated Network of Institutional Repositories of Scientific Publications, or simply LA Reference, is the Latin American network of open access repositories. THE Reference is made up of representatives of public science and technology organizations (Ministries and ONCyT) from the member countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Panama, Peru and Uruguay, together with RedCLARA.

LA Reference was born through the Cooperation Agreement, signed in Buenos Aires in 2012, which reflects the political will to offer open access to the scientific production of Latin America as a regional public good with emphasis on results financed with public funds. Through its services, it supports national Open Access strategies in Latin America, sharing and giving visibility to the scientific production generated in higher education and scientific research institutions.

About LIBSENSE

The LIBSENSE initiative, which launched in 2017, has been building a community of practice for open science and progressing the adoption of open science services and infrastructure in Africa. LIBSENSE is led by the West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) in collaboration with sister regional African RENs (ASREN and UbuntuNet Alliance). Other participating partners include several national RENs, libraries, library associations, universities and research communities in Africa, along with COAR, EIFL, University of Sheffield, National Institute of Informatics (Japan), GEANT and OpenAIRE.

About RedCLARA

RedCLARA is the Latin American Research and Education Network, regional leader and promoter of telematic collaboration in education, science and innovation, through its e-Infrastructure and services adapted to the needs of its community. RedCLARA, the network of Latin American academic networks, provides regional interconnections and global connections through its international links, and promotes the development of tools, services and research projects to enhance regional scientific and educational development and the collaboration of Latin American and Latin American research and education institutions with the rest of the world, paying special attention to less developed regions.

For more information, please visit:www.redclara.net