Two IP events relevant to Africa recently wandered onto this Little Leo’s hunting grounds. For those who have the inclination and ability to travel, these are worth checking out.
Uganda
Next Monday, 27th October, the Uganda Christian University and Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) as a participant in the Open AIR project are presenting a public lecture on Intellectual Property and Innovation in Africa.
The program will feature world renowned experts and Open AIR researchers Dr. Jeremy de Beer and Dr. Chidi Oguamanam, both coming from the University of Ottawa in Canada. Both are also contributors to the Open AIR books Innovation & Intellectual Porperty: Collaborating Dynamics in Africa and Knowledge & Innovation in Africa: Scenarios for the Future, which were released last December at the Open Air conference in Cape Town. (Afro-IP posts on the conference here.)
The lecture is from 2pm – 4pm Monday in lecture room (M3) at Uganda Christian University Mukono. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP with Ms. Primah Kwagala at kwagalap@gmail.com. There is a book launch event the following day, 28 October at Protea Hotel Kampala from 9am – noon. Tickets for the book launch are available through Eventbrite.
Geneva
WIPO, WHO and WTO are collaborating on a program covering Innovation and Access to Medical Technologies – Challenges and Opportunities for Middle-Income Countries on 5 November. This all-day event (8:30am – 5pm) will cover plenty of hot topics, including Ebola, trends in medical technologies, and challenges in ensuring access to medical technologies. Full pdf schedule here.
Since roughly half of the countries on the continent are classified as middle-income countries in some way (one list here), this program could be relevant to a number of Afro-IP readers. It’s also nice to see the big organizations collaborating together to discuss important issues. Registration is open until 3 November through the WTO site.
If any readers are able to attend either of these programs, we’d love to hear reports back about them.
