[afrinic-discuss] Building momentum for African Research and Education networking

[Benjamin A. Eshun]

The next two months will see unprecedented global attention focused on
the prospects of African education, research and outreach communities
for networking among themselves and linking with global communities.

The first event – organised by Internet2 in Philadelphia on September
18– is entitled Progress and Challenges in Building National Research
and Education Networks in Africa: A View from the Field. It 
acquainted a mainly North American audience with the prospects for
African networks through a series of presentations and discussions by
African experts. .
http://international.internet2.edu/resources/events/2005/2005FMMAFRICA
INFO.html


>From September 25 to 27, CERN, ITU and the United Nations University
organised an International Workshop on African Research and Education
Networking aimed at facilitating scientific and medical collaboration.
The Geneva workshop built on the results of Philadelphia, engaged more
European and international participation, and introduced the concept
of AFUNet – an Africa wide research and education network.
http://event-africa-networking.web.cern.ch/event-africa-networking/pro
gram.html

In Tunis on November 14 and 15, the Association of African
Universities will convene a Conference on African Research and
Education Network Infrastructure followed by a workshop on national
networks.  Many African and international participants in the Tunis
Conference will also have been active in Philadelphia and Geneva. The
AAU event will thus be positioned to capture the results of these
prior meetings. While the international community will be present in
Tunis the main aim is to bring together a critical mass of African
expertise to develop a road map which integrates the many initiatives
that are developing and captures the synergies among them.
http://www.aau.org/tunis;
http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-86675-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Many partners have been involved in planning some or all of the above
events including IDRC and the Partnership for Higher Education in
Africa which both have a long history of working on networking issues
with African universities.

For further information please visit the websites identified above. If
you are interested in attending the Tunis Conference and participating
in developing a road map for future networking in Africa please
register on the AAU site.

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Benjamin A. Eshun
Operations Assistant (IT)		
Association of African Universities	     
t: +233-21-774495/761588 			
f: +233-21-774821
m: +233-24-432-1957
w: http://www.aau.org
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