AFRO-NETS> New website for science, technology, and development

[Dieter Neuvians MD <neuvians@mweb.co.zw>]

New website for science, technology, and development
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http://www.scidev.net

Called SciDev.Net, the site aims to be both a source of information 
and a forum for the exchange of ideas of relevance to the developing 
world. Two prestigious journals, Nature and Science, are backing the 
initiative and will give free access to selected articles each week. 
In addition, a network of correspondents will bring news about scien-
tific and technological developments in the South to a global audi-
ence. 

The site's broad objective is to help empower individuals, communi-
ties and decision-makers in developing countries, in particular by 
increasing their ability to ensure the effective contribution of sci-
ence and technology to public health and economic well-being in an 
environmentally sustainable way. Examples of recent features are: 
"Ethical and social considerations of stem cell research" and "New 
research sparks excitement about hepatitis C".

An integral part of the website will be a series of 'dossiers'. These 
will bring together various types of material - ranging from short 
news items and opinion articles to authoritative 'policy briefs' - on 
key topics at the interface between science, technology and society, 
with a particular focus on the relevance of these topics to develop-
ing countries. There are several dossiers planned in the biomedical 
sciences, such as: AIDS/HIV, gene patenting, human cloning, malaria 
and tuberculosis.

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Regional Networks: we seek your comments

A critical factor in the effectiveness of SciDev.Net will be its 
ability to provide access by individuals in developing countries to 
news and other information about the science and technology that is 
relevant to their needs. And an essential element in achieving this 
will be the way that functional links are established with individu-
als and organisations 'on the ground'.

To help achieve this, we are planning to set up a series of regional 
networks. These will bring together individual and institutions that 
share our goals and aspirations. In doing so, we hope that these re-
gional networks will perform two main functions. Firstly, they will 
help ensure that the website remains abreast of key science and tech-
nology issues in developing countries, meeting its commitment to re-
flect a 'Southern' perspective on such issues.

Secondly, they will be needed to create strong links to the local or-
ganisations, such as government agencies, policy research institutes, 
journalist organisations or non-governmental organisations, that are 
vital to disseminate the material commissioned by or published on 
SciDev.Net. This is the level at which the effectiveness of the web-
site will ultimately lie, and the regional networks will therefore be 
necessary to ensure that the website genuinely meets local needs.

At present, we are considering the creation of six networks covering 
the following regions: Latin America, Middle East, Sub-Saharan Af-
rica, South Asia, East Asia and Pacific and South-East Asia.

We have drawn up a set of proposals on how these regional networks 
might operate in practice - posted at: 
http://www.scidev.net/proposal.html

Membership of a particular network would be through application to 
SciDev.Net, and be based mutual acceptance of shared goals.

Each network would be run by a regional co-ordinator, working either 
full-time or part-time depending on available funding, and operating 
out of a host institution. The activities of a regional network would 
be overseen by a regional advisory committee, for which volunteers 
would be sought.

One of the most important responsibilities of each regional network 
will eventually be to maintain the content of the appropriate re-
gional gateway on the SciDev.Net website. This will involve commis-
sioning, editing and posting items appearing on the website, working 
in close liaison with the main office and within mutually agreed edi-
torial procedures and guidelines.

We welcome comments and suggestions about these proposals. Our aim is 
to explore the full potential of the Internet to bring together  
even if only 'virtually'  individuals and institutions committed to 
our goal of strengthening a knowledge-based dialogue on development-
related issues. By doing so, we hope that the regional SciDev.Net 
networks will help inform and empower all those who can benefit from 
the contribution of science and technology in this area.

Please send all comments to <editor@scidev.net>. These should be re-
ceived by Friday 2 February 2002.

David Dickson
Director, SciDev.Net
11 Rathbone Place
London W1T 1HR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44-20-7291-3690
Fax: +44-20-7291-3697
mailto:editor@scidev.net

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