Launch of the COSTECH Tanzanian Consortium of Academic Publishers

On June 16th, the launch of the Consortium of Academic Publishers in Tanzania was held at the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH).

The staff involved in the project will face exciting challenges and possibilities regarding the future of academic and digital publishing in Tanzania – a country in which both production of and access to high quality publications are certainly not an easy part of the academic life.

Among the tasks of the Consortium, a partnership with the Tanzanian Commission for Universities for a standardized lists of journals will have a relevant position, so to help raising awareness on indigenous publications.

In her article on the launch of the Consortium, Maaike Duine, VSO Professional Volunteer and on the ground project coordinator, writes that she “[…] presented the results of the needs assessment and the next steps to be taken in the project. This included organising training for publishers and the formulation of advocacy strategies to create a positive effect on research output in Tanzania. […] Also, by strengthening digital publishing in Tanzania, more people will have access to online publications and will be able to access content through their phones. Hopefully this will lead to a strengthened reading culture in Tanzania.”

Read the entire article about the Tanzanian Consortium here.