Science BarCamp Ghana Examines Scientific Solutions for Economic Progress

Science BarCamp logo

Scientific developments in a country or society cannot proceed without a nurturing community, a collection of critical thinkers and willing actors. These people are usually buoyed by curiosity, to understand the underlying mechanisms of natural phenomena, and creativity, to devise solutions to day-to-day challenges humanity faces. Ghana’s first Science BarCamp, held last Saturday 9th January, witnessed a collection of such passionate thinker-doers at the National ICT and Science Resource Centre, Accra. The programme was put together by GhScientific, in partnership with GhanaThink Foundation, and supported by Novan Education and Training. The theme, “scientific solutions for economic progress”, could not be timelier, with the country facing challenges in energy, youth employment, sanitation, and public services. “What’s a barcamp?” you may ask. A barcarmp is a participatory ‘unconference’ where the programme and content are user-generated. Unlike your typical conference, everyone is encouraged to be a speaker and a member of the audience at the same time. Featuring various interactive formats, the programme seeks to engage all participants to learn and share in an open environment. GhanaThink has been spearheading barcamps, as a youth social changemaking movement, in Ghana since 2008. Science BarCamp remixed GhanaThink’s barcamp format, including science demo sessions, and an engaging panel discussion focused on issues affecting science in Ghana. The event brought together established scientists, professionals, young researchers, students, and general science enthusiasts. I was delighted to be the MC for the day.

Science mentors, L to R: Cordie, Gloria, Delali, Sam B, and Sam AF, introduce themselves. Credit: GhScientific 

After a round of self-introductions, the programme started with a panel discussion moderated by Larisa Bowen-Dodoo of Servled Africa. The discussants were Dr Kwamena Sagoe (Ghana Science Association), Dr Elsie Effah Kaufmann (University of Ghana), Mr Anis Haffar (GATE Institute), and Dr Patrick Arthur (University of Ghana). The discussion explored various facets of the theme, addressing issues such as quality of science education, motivation for science careers, and how to make science more marketable in Ghana. Their insights were complimented by contributions from a well-engaged audience. A very interesting discussion point was the role of the educational system (including teachers) in sustaining student’s interest in science. While many held that it was incumbent on schools to provide the needed stimulation and motivation, a few others were of the view that science, being a difficult field of endeavour, requires students’ own initiative and dogged determination to overcome inevitable challenges, irrespective of the environment. Various viewpoints covered the environment-initiative spectrum.

Dr Elsie Effah Kaufmann strongly advocated for student initiative as a key ingredient in learning science

Next, attendees had one-on-one mentoring sessions with invited scientists and industry professionals. The mentors were Dr Gloria Ivy Mensah (Women in Biomedicine Africa), Kobby Blay (GhanaHealthNest), Alain Gbeasor (Gesus Group), Jorge Appiah (Creativity Group), Delali Otchi (Hydra Group), Sam Bhattacharyya (dot Learn), Tunde Alawode (dot Learn), Dr Patrick Arthur (Department of Biochemistry, University of Ghana), Cordie Aziz (Environment360), and Samuel Amoako-Frimpong (University of Energy and Natural Resources). The mentors shared perspectives on their areas of expertise including biomedical research, health communication, industrial chemicals, education, engineering, technology, and environmental sustainability. They gave guidelines on how to proceed on a science career path and practicalising scientific ideas. The group then broke for lunch during which there was a bit of unstructured mingling.

After lunch, Dr Thomas Tagoe, co-founder of GhScientific, led demos and fun games, which were very exciting. Samuel Amoako-Frimpong presented on virtual reality and how it can be applied in education. We also enjoyed #PipetteWars, a game testing the speed and accuracy of players to fill a white tile with water. Dr Arthur ultimately showed his pipetting prowess honed by many hours in biochemistry labs.

Dr Arthur faces off with Freda during finals of #PipetteWars

Four breakout sessions were organised to explore issues of interest to the participants. The areas selected were inspired by the contributions made during the panel discussion. The topics discussed were:

• Moving from scientific ideas to large-scale solutions, led by Freda Yawson (Innovate Ghana)
• Making science education interesting and appealing ,led by Saddiq Mohammed (Ghana Association of Science Teachers)
• Engaging communities with science, led by Billy James Dega (National Society for Black Engineers)
• Applications of virtual reality, led by Samuel Amoako-Frimpong (UENR)

Volunteers from each session summarised their discussion points for the plenary. As part of the closing remarks, the organisers mentioned various STEM projects and groups participants could engage with going forward.

Breakout sessions ongoing at SciBarCamp

Science BarCamp created a rare networking opportunity for both young scientists and their older counterparts. The event was highly interactive and all—round participation was fantastic. Science BarCamp created an intimate atmosphere for kindred spirits to discuss science, its possibilities, and the way forward for Ghana. I found conversations around learning, the environment, biotechnology, science business, and technology invigorating. This type of engagement is often missing in Ghana. Therefore GhScientific and partners must be applauded for their bold efforts in making science mainstream. There are already calls for Science BarCamp to be taken to other regions of Ghana. It would take the support of everyone who cares about Ghana’s future to make this possible.

Photo moment with cross-section of participants after programme. Credit GhScientific

What to know more about Science BarCamp? Check out this collection of photos on ghscientific.com, and follow #SciCampGH and #SciBarCamp across social media.

Towards Open Education in Ghana- What is Happening?

Last Friday, 8th June, I had the opportunity to participate in a forum on Open Education in Ghana. The forum was part of Innovation Week 2012 organised by the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE). The diverse audience included students, educators, software developers, entrepreneurs and people from government. Overall, the discussion was rich, informative and engaging making the event one of the best fora I've been in. Thumbs up to Dorothy Gordon and her team. 

A participant from Central African Republic sharing her joy at being at the forum

 The programme started with a discussion on open education, its relevance and the experiences of the audience. A graduate of SOS College shared how he used the Internet to study thermodynamics, a challenging topic, for his IB examination. An interesting debate on whether the rise of technology signaled the redundancy of the human element in education came up. The consensus reached was that "school was mainly for networking and socialization", and so the human element is still crucial. 

How are Ghanaians using open education resources?

The team from AITI-KACE then presented open courseware platforms such as Khan Academy, MIT Open Courseware, BBC KS3 and Videolectures.net. These platforms serve educationsl content free of tight copyright restrictions. The issue of dearth of relevant local educational content was raised. Someone mentioned that Ashesi University have their course materials freely accessible by the public. I recall that Prof Dakubu and co were working on an online system called Kewl at University of Ghana around 2006/2007. I'm not up to date on the status of the project. Some strategies for building content, including training for both students and teachers were discussed. 

Next was a panel discussion on Open Education resources featuring officials of the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education and AITI. Also on the panel was Anis Haffar, a thought leader in the Ghanaian Educationi space. Some of the key discussion points were on the need for government to step up its interventions to integrate ICT into education and the need for a conscious national effort to create open courseware for the pre-tertiary levels. It was revealed that government will soon roll out e-SHS to minimize the effects of some of the problems facing our educational system: lack of easily accessible textbooks, low number of quality teachers and inadequate science equipment. It was interesting to learn that the educational authorities will be reviewing the policy that restrains students from using various digital devices in schools, so as to ensure that the full benefits of open eduction are realized. 

Speaking on the keynote "Education in the IT Age", Annis Haffar stressed on the merits of deploying ICT as part of an integrated strategy, rather than as a standalone tool. Hands-on activities, schemes of work and teaching methodologies, he said, were other tools that needed to be sharpened to improve the status quo. By showing images of schools that lacked teachers, electricity and books, he demonstrated that much was left to be done in terms of the basic ingredients needed to ensure quality education. Also, he was of the view that educational instruction must be tailored to affect both the affective and cognitive domains of students, stressing that one of the most important things teachers must do is to inspire their students to be able to learn by themselves rather than trying to teach them everything. 

Annis Haffar in action: teaching methodologies and planning must accompany technology to make any headway

Presentations of various innovations interspersed segments of the programme. Anita Hato, a fresh graduate of the University of Ghana, presented her undergraduate project, Kiddie World, an online system to help kindergarten children to build basic literacy and numeracy skills. Another presenter spoke about a software system he built that uses 2D barcodes to check the authenticity of drugs. 

The forum on open education was a refreshing change from all the talk shops we are greeted with every now and then. The practical demonstrations of what is being done and what could be done was inspiring and challenging. What are your views on integrating open education into Ghanaian education? What should be done to ensure that it is done right? If you're a teacher, school administrator or just someone interested in contributing change to education in Ghana, join the Ghana Educators Network now.

BarCamp Ho: Harnessing Local Competencies and Opportunities for Global Impact

BarCamp Ho 2011 is a free networking event to bring people together for a day of discussion, demonstrations and dialogue about Ho, the Volta Region and beyond. BarCamp Ho 2011 will take place on December 3, 2011 at Centre for National Culture in Ho, Ghana. The theme is “Harnessing local competencies and opportunities for global impact”. The first Barcamp Ho event will create a supportive community for entrepreneurs, change makers, innovators and other leaders in Ho and the Volta Region. Ho is well primed to support development in Ghana and Togo as well.
 

The BarCamp Ghana team has successfully organized eight BarCamps in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Cape Coast and Tamale, resulting in a network of Ghanaian doers, entrepreneurs and change makers. Barcamp Ho 2011 is organized by the GhanaThink Foundation in conjunction with a local team of Volta Region-based change makers. This BarCamp will focus on networking like-minded entrepreneurial and change making Ho residents to partner in adding value to their businesses and community. It will also promote successful young entrepreneurs from the region, further inspiring similar activity in attendees and birthing new businesses, initiatives and projects.

Like all Barcamps, there will be user-generated sessions and discussions where attendees get to set the agenda and topics for the day. BarCamp Ho 2011 will have a panel discussion on tourism featuring Donald Diaba (iRokko Concepts), Eli Aidam (Centre for Creative Youth and Centre for National Culture) and Eric Tackie Tawiah (Ghana Tourist Board). There shall also be sessions about starting up businesses, social media, blogging and topics relevant to the Volta region and beyond.. The social media sessions will be led by Mac-Jordan Degadjor. Leti Games CEO Eyram Tawia will share his story of building one of Africa's premier gaming companies. Alex Titiloye Ojo, a recent award winner at the World Youth Summit Awards, will also be there to share his insights. 

The unmistakable Wli water fall is one of the many tourist attractions in the Volta Region. How do we project it better?

Register/RSVP today at the BarCamp Ho eventbrite website. You may also contact the BarCamp Ho team through this website for sponsorship opportunities. If you are interested in organizing a breakout session, let us know, especially if you have special needs. You may also register by sending "Barcamp Ho [name] [email address] to 1945 on all networks.

BarCamp Ho 2011 is sponsored by the GhanaThink Foundation, Google, Centre for National Culture, Volta Regional Trade & Investment Fair, Fienipa Group, Nandimobile, iROKKO Concepts, Leti Games, GhanaBlogging,Cenre for Creative Youth, etc. Our media partners are ModernGhana.com.

Register at http://barcampHo11.eventbrite.com/
See you there!

Contact: http://barcampghana.org/contact or barcamp at ghanathink.org

[Press Release]: Celebrating Software Freedom Day 2011 in Ghana!

The Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE) in collaboration with the Linux User Group, Accra(LUGA) will again be hosting a special event on Saturday, September 17^th under the theme “Open Source a viable option for achieving MDGs”. The venue for this year's celebrations is the AITI-KACE premises and the time is 9:00 – 16:00. This is the biggest international celebration and outreach event for Software Freedom globally involving 500 volunteer groups all around the world.

In an increasingly digital age, more and more of our everyday experiences depend upon software. Software influences how we interact with each other, enjoy different media, get paid, and even navigate our roads. Software underpins our very way of life, our basic freedoms such as freedom of association, freedom of thought, freedom of choice and much more, yet many people do not realize the importance and influence of software and other technologies on their lives. What is even much more important is that open source is proven to be a viable technology option capable to aid achieving the Millennium Development Goals(MDG's).

Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Over 500 volunteer groups in over 120 countries all around the world are celebrating the sixth SFD this year on September 17. SFD is an annual grass roots effort to educate the public on the virtues of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) and also to encourage its use. The goal in this celebration is to educate the worldwide public about the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, in government, at home, and in business - in short, everywhere!

The AITI-KACE and its partners have been celebrating Software Freedom Day for a number of years and with support from the general public and the IT Community. We would like those that have attended or are attending for the first time to bring a friend along. Come and see demonstrations of open source software to suit just about every usage that you might think of. Take home some ideas, and CDs/DVDs full of software that you can use straight away.

People in Ashanti Region of Ghana can also join the Ashanti Linux User Group to celebrate the day at the University of Education, Kumasi Campus, Tanoso.

AITI-KACE is located near Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), adjacent to the Council of State Building on 2nd Avenue, Ridge, Accra. Contacts : Fred Yeboah - Tel 0302 679542-4 or e-mail: fredericky(at)aiti-kace.com.gh

Python African Tour Ghana (Day1)

Picture Credit: @Nnenna

Python African Tour (PAT) Ghana started yesterday, 18th January, at African University College of Communications, Adabraka. The week-long Python programming workshop attracted a handful of students, developers and tech entrepreneurs in Ghana.

Day 1 commenced behind schedule with a brief welcome address by Mr Kwabena Mantey of African University College of Communications. Mr Mantey stressed in his delivery that technology plays a key role in communication and AUCC's mission; that is why the university is supportive of initiatives aimed at improving technology in Africa. Next, Gameli Adzaho of the PAT Ghana team explained what PAT was all about and how Ghana is excited to be the fourth stop of the continental tour. Day 1's training was handled by the Hutspace team composed of Emmanuel Okyere and Kweku Danso. They took participants, mainly programming newbies, through:

1. What is programming?
2. Computer languages-interpreted versus compiled
3. Intro to Python-General overview of features
4. Installation of Python interpreter on windows machines
5. Python versus Java
6. Playing with Python in interaction mode
7. Different types of errors
8. Value, expression, variables, functions
9. Making a simple function to evaluate the area of a circle

Attendees were engaged throughout the day and were enthusiastic about attending subsequent days of training.

Python African Tour Ghana runs from 18th January to 22nd January, from 9 am to 5 pm. It has been put together by the Python African Tour (Ghana) team supported by Hutspace, Ghana Google Technology User Group (Ghana GTUG) and Fedora Linux Project. The tour is generously sponsored by Google, BECATEC, Ageliaco and Python Software Foundation/Python Sprints.

Open Source and Global Health Unconference Held in Accra

Last week, from 20th to 24th September, a special unconference, aimed at improving the deployment of Health Informations Systems (HIS) in West Africa, using open source technology, was hosted in Ghana. I first learnt about the conference through a post on Intra Health Intenational's website. This is a great example of how technology can be applied to a pertinent area of development. The training was held at Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in InformationCommunication Technology (AITI-KACE).

What happened at the Unconference?

Assessment of the need to use local adaptations of technology in healthcare

Training in the deployment and customisation of open source tools for healthcare

Formation of a regional collaborative network

Reading through the reports coming in from the event, I got the impression that it was well attended and very educative. Hopefully, we'll see some improvements in the area of information management in healthcare as this is crucial to the overall progress of the healthcare system itself. Big thanks to West African Health Organization (WAHO), WHO, the University of Oslo, Health Metrics Network (HMN) and the CapacityPlus project for putting this together.