The second African Light Source Conference AfLS2, took place in Accra, Ghana from 28 Jan – 3 Feb 2019. It was held in parallel with the second Pan African Conference on Crystallography PCCr2. The conference was an opportunity to showcase African Science conducted at international light sources, to assess the evolving capacity of light sources to support Research and to discuss the strategic vision and implementation programme for an African Light Source.
The Conference Programme can be found in the timetable link of the Conference Page, where one can explore the programme and download this talks which have been uploaded.
The African Light Source Project and its current operational programme and vision and implementation (Roadmap) have been encapsulated in its Roadmap is described a recent paper – The African Light Source Project. Most of the previous and current effort has been focussed activities that develop human capacity (including visits, schools, workshops, internships); developing international collaborations, linkages and partnerships related to Advanced Light Sources (AdLSs); promoting mobility and access to currently operating AdLSs; developing local feeder infrastructural capacity to support access to AdLSss; broadening the user base; involving industry; and building formal structures and procedures in support of the Roadmap.
This AfLS event represents a great leap forward, now also developing the Pan-African and the political aspects of the Roadmap.The Ghanian government came out strongly in support of the project, as did the African Academy of Science, leading to two additional approaches to the African Union and also to African Governments more generally. These seek to establish the Pan-African political and scientific prioritization of the African Light Source. Three kinds of consortia are being established. These include multi-national Consortia (distributed) to jointly access International Synchrotrons, multi-national Consortia (regional) to jointly apply for large scale funds and assemble regional funds to develop regional infrastructure as feeder / training / research infrastructure towards building the User Base and multi-national Consortia (regional) for African Beam-lines (Tomography for Palaeontology, Crystallography drug discovery, Materials Science for the Environment, Energy, Minerals beneficiation etc). We will also co-ordinate funding applications in a multi-national way to support the mobility and access for research visits, and longer term access for training visits, as well as for schools, workshops and specialist User Meetings. We will make high level inputs into strategically important international meetings. Also in the near term we will lay the groundwork for the preparation of the Conceptual Design Report, which examine the detailed scientific, business and technical issues, laying the framework that answers the questions of what, why, how and when. The questions of where and who funds come much later, after the process has matured considerably. What is important for now, is the progress along the Roadmap, and the case for the AfLS, is becoming ever more compelling.
