CALL FOR ABSTRACTS | biodesign for the real world --2014 tech4Development International Conference: UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development

"CALL FOR ABSTRACTS – deadline 14 October 2013 ...  The Openness Paradigm: How Synergies Between Open Access, Open Data, Open Science, Open Source Hardware, Open Drug Discovery Support Development? ... Citizen and open science activities from environmental monitoring to drug discovery, projects supporting Open Data and Open Access, and various Open Hardware initiatives for affordable laboratory equipment define a new paradigm for development, which needs reflection and evaluation. We are seeking for case studies, which document the opportunities, challenges and synergies behind the paradigm of openness:  open data projects, which advocate sharing and publishing of raw scientific data rather than only results, open access advocacy promoting unrestricted access to peer-reviewed scientific publications, open hardware and capacity building for research, but also open drug discovery projects,  which apply these principles to hasten the discovery of affordable and free of licenses drugs. While some projects concentrate on building research infrastructure and networks around open source technologies, other often emphasize the power of crowdsourcing and various e-science platforms and citizen science models of work, which involve the communities in various data collection practices. We would like to discuss these practices and their synergies to understand how they support resilience, agency and self-determination of various communities in the Global South. We are especially interested to hear how they enable novel South to South and South to North research cooperation.  Does the paradigm of openness create conditions for the Global South to become an equal partner in research and development efforts? The panel will map and reflect upon these initiatives and case studies to understand the problems these new networks face and to define the best practices as well as policy recommendations,  which would support the openness paradigm. In addition to the panel, we are planning to organize a hackathon and dedicate a space for showcasing open hardware for science projects, which will be accessible to the public."