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| Information Experts at the Workshop |
More than 80 information experts who met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2 to 4 May 2011, have called upon librarians in Africa to integrate Web 2.0 applications into their work to enhance provision of innovative information services and the engagement with their communities; to discuss Open Accesss initiatives on the continent; and to create awareness on the benefits and importance of Open Access in order to have buy-in from the senior management and create confidence in faculty, academia, researchers, students and community to disseminate their research and scholarly works using the Open Access model.
During the three-day workshop on the theme “Promoting Innovation Development and Diffusion in Africa through Open Access Publishing" which was held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the information experts discussed, among other themes, open access publishing in Africa, capacity building initiatives and partnerships to promote local content development in Africa, policy and technical issues, and new trends in information management.
The experts also recommended to the ECA to spearhead, with assistance from member states, the development of an action framework to facilitate the adoption of Open Access model in member states in Africa; and called upon the Governments in Africa to invest in information for development, and to develop information policies that should incorporate management and dissemination of content in digital formats.
