Living Labs
Supported by the European Commission (EC) and African Union Commission (AUC), IST-Africa has taken a leadership position in promoting the adoption of Collaborative Open Innovation and Living Labs Methodologies to support socio-economic development in Africa. As a founding member of the EC – AUC Living Labs Taskforce for Africa, and at the request of the EC and AUC, IST-Africa undertook a comprehensive survey of existing and emerging Living Labs across Africa from May 2011 – January 2012, and in cooperation with LLiSA (Living Labs Network for Southern Africa) and other key stakeholders, identified priorities and recommendations for sustainable Living Labs and Living Labs Networks in Africa. An extensive public consultation was undertaken and the report findings were further validated at a series of interactive workshops in IST-Africa Partner Countries across East Africa and Southern Africa. These sensitisation and validation workshops have been complemented by annual IST-Africa Living Labs Working Group Meetings in 2011 (Gaborone), 2012 (Dar es Salaam) and 2013 (Nairobi). Having sensitized conference participants to Living Labs Methodologies and Living Labs based activities in Africa, this half-day participatory workshop will provide an opportunity for all key stakeholders interested in learning more about the potential of Living Labs for socio-economic development to work together to co-create a framework for future emerging Living Labs focused on eAgriculture in a developing country context.
Room: Booth 1