Speaker
Prof.
Simon Connell
(University of Johannesburg)
Description
The origins of this event have been the long history of a global conversation around the need for a Light Source in Africa. After a consultative process, the Interim Steering Committee for the African Light Source was formed in August 2014. This Committee has organized this week’s deliberations. The Conference section of he event has just been completed where the delegates have heard talks outlining the tremendous impact that light sources have had on quality research in a range of interdisciplinary fields. Ultimately, the impact is also on human and infrastructural capacity building and on sustainable economic development more generally. We have also just seen, in the Conference section of the event, many examples of research conducted by African scientists using the light source as a premier research tool. It is now our task to think deeply and strategically, and engage each other with the aim of laying the foundations towards the goal of establishing a light source in Africa. We have planned several talks as input for discussion, followed by plenaries, where we will workshop the ideas. Finally , we will have concrete outcomes, developing the Roadmap for a Light Source an Africa, as well as establishing a fully mandated Steering Committee, to guide the journey along this Roadmap. In this presentation, we can consider both the vision, and the process, to facilitate our coming deliberations.
Primary author
Prof.
Simon Connell
(University of Johannesburg)
