In March 2018 the African Light Source initiative travelled to Abidjan for a landmark dual event that brought new crystallographic capacity to West Africa and forged a lasting alliance with the Pan African Conference of Crystallography.
- Dates
- 22-31 March 2018
- Location
- Laboratory of Crystallography and Molecular Physics, Felix Houphouet Boigny University, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Hosts
- International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) and UNESCO
- AfLS involvement
- Several AfLS Steering Committee members
THE EVENTA dual milestone in Abidjan
The visit combined two connected occasions. The first was the Inauguration of Diffractometers and the launch of the IUCr-UNESCO Bruker OpenLab at the Laboratory of Crystallography and Molecular Physics of Felix Houphouet Boigny University in Abidjan. The second was the accompanying IUCr-UNESCO OpenLab event itself, a hands-on programme of training and collaboration built around the newly installed instruments.
Several members of the AfLS Steering Committee took part in the proceedings. It was at this gathering that the alliance between the African Light Source initiative and the Pan African Conference of Crystallography was formed, strengthening the network of researchers working to build advanced light-based science across the continent.
At this time the alliance with the Pan African Conference of Crystallography was formed.
THE PROGRAMMEWhat the OpenLab programme does
The OpenLab programme develops a network of operational crystallographic laboratories based in different countries worldwide, many of them in less endowed regions of Africa, South and Central America and South Asia. The initiative is aimed at opening access to crystallographic knowledge and technology in all parts of the world, which is key for the fruitful development of science and for creating the possibility of conducting high-level research locally.
It is a joint initiative of the International Union of Crystallography and UNESCO, started as one of the main actions for the International Year of Crystallography in 2014. Activities are normally conducted in partnership with major equipment manufacturers as well as with other institutions, which is why the Abidjan event paired the IUCr and UNESCO with Bruker to deliver and inaugurate the diffractometers.
Why it mattered for the AfLS
Bringing operational crystallographic instruments and training to West Africa advances exactly the kind of local research capacity the African Light Source initiative exists to support. The new alliance with the Pan African Conference of Crystallography linked these communities into a wider, continent-spanning effort to develop advanced photon science in Africa.
