Open Science Second Side Event at AMASA 2024: Day 3 Insights

On 28 November 2024 (Day 3), NASAC, AAST, the African Open Science Platform (AOSP), CODATA, and Periperi-U organized an Open Science workshop side event on “Harnessing Open Science for One Health and Natural Hazards Resilience in Africa: Strengthening Academies of Science and Universities as Leaders in Open Science.” The workshop provided a platform for participants to explore the role of open science in enhancing Africa’s resilience to health and environmental challenges. It also focused on leveraging open science to address One Health issues and improve natural hazards resilience across the continent.

Participants discussed how open data-driven approaches can strengthen Africa’s forecasting, planning, and response capabilities for both health and environmental crises. Key issues discussed included advancing North-South collaborations for One Health research, improving disaster risk reduction through accurate data, and identifying barriers to effective prevention measures. The workshop examined the adaptation techniques most suited to Africa’s unique challenges, emphasizing the importance of region-specific solutions. The potential of open science in facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations and enhancing sustainable development research, with a focus on building strong academic leadership in this area, was also highlighted, including the transformative power of open science in addressing critical challenges in Africa, thus laying the groundwork for continued collaboration among African science academies, universities, and international partners in advancing resilience to health and natural hazards.