Open Access for the Development of Africa's Science

The 2016 Dakar Declaration on Open Science in Africa called for urgent action by institutions and governments for open access in order to better Science in Africa. Two years later, the continent is making strides in this direction. In this lecture Professor Ismail Serageldin – Advocate for Open Science in Africa, Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt and Former Vice-President of the World Bank – will share his insights and explore the case for the combined power of scholarly information in the service of the public good in Africa.

Date: Tuesday, 4 September 2018
Time: 17:00 for 17:30
Venue: National Research Foundation, Chief Albert Luthuli Auditorium, Meiring Naude Road, Brummeria, Pretoria
RSVP: PLEASE CLICK HERE TO RSVP ONLINE. RSVP deadline: Sunday, 2 September 2018 (RSVP essential) 

For inquiries, contact
lerato.mpetshwa@nrf.ac.za or 012 481 4357

Speaker

Prof Serageldin has held several important high positions including the Vice-Presidency of the World Bank (1993-2000). He also co-chaired the African Union’s high level panel for Biotechnology (2006) and for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) from 2012 to 2013 and was a member of the ICANN Panel for the review of the internet future.

For his public service across the range of these platforms, Prof Serageldin was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. He also received numerous international awards from several countries including the Order of the Rising Sun from Japan; the Commander of the Order of Arts & Letters from the government of France; and the Honorary Sign of the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Prof Serageldin has published over 100 books and monographs and over 500 papers on a variety of topics, including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Cairo University and a Master’s and PhD from Harvard University and has received 38 honorary doctorates in fields as diverse as sociology, agriculture, international affairs, science, economics, laws, and arts. He was also Distinguished Professor at Wageningen University and at the College de France.

In his home country, Prof Serageldin, is fondly referred to as the “most intelligent man in Egypt.” and has lectured widely all over the world including delivering the Mandela Lecture (Johannesburg, 2011), the Nexus Lecture (Netherlands, 2011), the Keynote Address to the First International Summit of the Book (Washington DC, 2012).