African Crystallographic Association (AfCA)

IUCr Representative on AfCA

• S. Bourne

Strategic vision of AfCA

The AfCA plans to realize its mission via the following actions:

1. Create a network of African crystallographers and assist in creating a database listing African crystallographers, and ensure the registration of African Crystallographers in the IUCr World Directory of Crystallographers (WDC);
2. Facilitate the establishment of National Associations of Crystallography in African countries, or groups of local crystallographers on the continent, and support the activities of the existing associations;
3. Support the application of AfCA to become a regional member of IUCr;
4. Organize the Pan African Conference on Crystallography (PCCr) every two years to enable interaction, discussion and sharing of results in the community;
5. Establish a public awareness and engagement program that will create fact-based understanding of crystallography through awareness, dialogue and education in the region;
6. Support training activities: OpenLabs, Pan African Crystallography Schools, crystal growth competitions and so on, on the African continent;
7. Assist in the promotion of crystallography and science in education programs;
8. Help to acquire diffraction equipment for crystallographers firstly in one country in each of the five regions of the continent (Central Africa, West Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa and East Africa) to allow research activity in crystallography and balanced partnership collaboration across Africa and beyond; and ultimately in all the countries of Africa;
9. Assist in providing the very poorest countries with minimal infrastructure and materials for research such as powerful computers for data analysis and servers;
10. Encourage the mobility of researchers within the region for experiments; promote joint research projects across Africa;
11. Leverage national bodies, institutions and international funding agencies for financial support;
12. Facilitate (with the involvement of IUCr and UNESCO and the African governments) the establishment of an African IUCr Cooperation Fund to support the above actions;
13. Lobby for the introduction of a scientific visa to ensure mobility of researchers between African nations, thus allowing for exchange and collaboration between African countries and the sharing of scientific resources and expertise to address common developmental targets, for the benefit of all. This scientific visa should be free of charge, be valid for at least a year, and should be issued quickly once certified by appropriate higher education and research bodies.