A Conference on "Open Science – The Way Forward"

19 - 20 July 2022

Movenpick Du Lac Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia

Introduction

Under the kind patronage of His Excellency Mr. Moncef Boukthir, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia, the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) and the Tunisian Computing Center al Khawarizmi (CCK) organized a conference on “Open Science – The Way Forward,” held at the Movenpick Du Lac Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia during 19-20 July 2022. The conference was dedicated to the Tunisian Community, featuring 2 days of renowned speakers and experts from Tunisia and the region, who shared best practices and experiences, spotlighted trends, and exchanged information with a focus on Open science and Open Access, in addition to topics related to: Artificial Intelligence, NRENs, Clouds, Infrastructures, and Science Cooperation.

The conference was preceded by a regional meeting dedicated to the Arab National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to discuss and plan NRENs support to research and education communities in terms of providing the appropriate infrastructures and the necessary services to these communities with Open science and Open Access in mind as a priority.

Background and Overview

As research and education became more demanding for resources, applications, massive volumes of data, high performance and grid computing and content, it has become a worldwide trend to establish dedicated networks for research and education away from the commercial Internet to satisfy the needs of research and education communities. National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) have been found to provide dedicated connectivity to universities, research centers, libraries, hospitals and any other organization supporting or conducting these activities.

NRENs services are not limited to connectivity provision. NRENs are expected to provide a set of services that enable collaboration and encourage joint projects and help the research and education communities to access scientific data repositories and computing resources. Furthermore, NRENs are now taking a new role in supporting new global trends in Science Cooperation, Open Science, Science Dialogue, Engagement with user communities and more.

Open Science, Open Access and Open Data are now on the top of the agenda of each country and at the regional and international levels. UNSESCO has recently announced its recommendations on Open Science. Europe has also adopted the European Open Science Cloud to support the R&E communities. More initiatives and activities are taking place around.

Main Conference Topics

• NRENs to sustain and support research and education Infrastructures including Connectivity, Services, Access to resources and enabling cooperation

• The role of AfricaConnect3 LIBSENSE projects in supporting research and education

• Open Science and Open Science Platforms Open Access, Open Educational Resources

• Clouds for research and education and Open Science Platforms including applications, infrastructures and platforms

• Science Cooperation through sustainable infrastructures and open science environment

• Scientific, Research and educational communities and communities of practice

Program

Day 1: Tuesday, 19 July 2022

09:00 - 10:30  (GMT+1)	Opening Session   [Video Record]	Moderator Ms. Aida Snene, General secretary of CCK, Tunisia Welcome speech of Prof. Saoussen Krichen, Director General of Computing Center El Khawarizmi - CCK, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Tunisia Welcome speech of Mr. Yousef Torman, Managing Director, ASREN, Jordan “Recommendations of UNESCO for Open Science”, Prof. Samia Charfi Kaddour, Counselor of the President of the Government, Tunisia Opening speech of His Excellency Prof. Moncef Boukthir, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Tunisia
10:30 - 11:00	Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:30  (GMT+1)	Open Science I  [Video Record]	Moderator Mr. Yousef Torman, Managing Director, ASREN, Jordan  “The University in the Year 2050 and the Metaverse”, Prof. Mohamed Elouedi, Institut Supérieur de Gestion, University of Tunis, Tunisia [ppt] "ASREN Strategy on Open Science", Raed Al-Zoubi, Director of the Centennial Library, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan [ppt] "Strategic Investment in Open Science: Interests and Needs of the Research Community and Society", Nazar M. Hassan, UNESCO Senior STI Regional Advisor for the Arab States, UNESCO, Egypt [ppt] “ORCID Supporting Arabian Researchers”, Nabil Ksibi, Engagement Lead, ORCID, South Africa [ppt]
12:30 - 14:00	Lunch Break
14:00 - 15:30  (GMT+1)	Open Science II  [Video Record]	Moderator Mr. Raed Al-Zoubi, Director of the Centennial Library, JUST, Jordan "LA Referencia - ASREN Collaboration: Building a Regional Aggregator for Arabic Contents", Lautaro Julian Matas, Executive and Technical Director, La Referencia, Latin America (Remotely) [ppt] “LIBSENSE: Building Communities to Strengthen Open Access and Open Science in Africa”, Omo Oaiya, Chief Strategy Officer, West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN), Ghana (Remotely) [ppt] “Open Science: Its Basic Pillars and Operationalization in the Arab Region”, Essam Al-Hanash, Chairman of the Basic Science Sector Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities, Former Vice Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research, Egypt (Remotely) [ppt] "Incentivising Engagement with Open Science and Open Access - Tokens of Appreciation", Abdullahi Bihi Hussein, CEO, SomaliREN, Somalia (Remotely) [ppt]
15:30 - 16:00	Coffee Break

 
Day 2: Wednesday, 20 July 2022