Fresh ideas engaging the public in science funded

Friday, September 13, 2019

Thirteen African scientists have received funding to implement innovative community and public engagement projects. These engagement projects move African science towards people-centred approaches of conducting research promoting societal impact of health research.  

The 13 are the first to be funded through the African Academy of Sciences (AAS)’s DELTAS Africa Community and Public Engagement (CPE) seed fund. DELTAS Africa — the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science — is a US$100 million programme of the AAS supporting the Africa-led development of world-class researchers and scientific leaders in Africa. DELTAS Africa supports eleven research programmes implemented in more than 20 African countries. The CPE seed fund, created with the support of Wellcome and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), is a 6-month scheme to support DELTAS Africa doctoral and postdoctoral fellows to implement innovative engagement projects aligned to their research projects. This includes: building engagement capacity of the fellows and pilot engagement activities to promote societal impact of DELTAS Africa research.  

The confirmed doctoral and postdoctoralRead more fellows who convened in Nairobi, Kenya on 28-30 August for the first CPE seed fund inception meeting are: 

Adebolajo A. Adeyemo, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, (CARTA+) 
Deafness is one of the most common disabilities in the world with a severe footprint in Africa. Many causes of hearing loss such as ototoxicity are preventable and interventions preventing hearing loss are cost-effective. Adeyemo's project will use short drama videos and social media to explore societal engagement in curbing ototoxicity in Nigeria.