Collaborative Pathways: Enhancing Local Ecosystems through Living Labs in Africa
TIME
10:00 – 12:15
TRACKS
TRACK 3: LLs for Inclusive Soci(et)al Enggement
TRACK 5: Living Labs Operation, Methods, Tools, and Impact
ORGANISER
Damiano Petruzzella (CIHEAM Bari), Marta Martorell (i2Cat)
Target Audience
Policymakers and city representatives; Companies and entrepreneurs; Researchers and academics; Living Lab representatives and practitioners.
Type of Session
Roundtable
DESCRIPTION
In this session, we aim to highlight the growth of Living Labs (LLs) ecosystems across Africa as a successful methodology for addressing regional challenges, strengthening local ecosystems, and developing locally tailored solutions. Drawing on experiences in Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa and Egypt, we will foster a collaborative environment for sharing best practices and fostering territorial cooperation.
The objectives include accelerating the design and development of solutions, fostering innovation, attracting investment and achieving sustainable economic growth, social inclusion, job creation and poverty reduction, while reducing inequalities, rural resilience for women and young people, migration and depopulation.
Key areas of focus include public health, green transition, rural development, innovation and technology, and science capacity, paving the way for systemic change across Africa. These ecosystems also facilitate the exchange of knowledge between African and European actors and strengthen R&D cooperation between universities, research centres, companies and governments.
Participants are invited to share insights from their LLs initiatives and discuss challenges, opportunities and aspirations. Through peer-to-peer exchange, we aim to identify new models for collaboration and innovation and explore how LLs can drive social, economic and technological progress across Africa. Together, we can harness the power of LLs to unlock Africa’s potential and promote prosperity, equality and innovation for future generations.
Meanwhile, rural areas in the EU face challenges such as declining populations and limited job opportunities, infrastructure and services, making them unattractive to young people. Despite these challenges, rural areas are crucial for food production, natural resource management and for contributing to the EU’s green and digital transition. Involving young people and women in the revitalisation and innovation of rural communities is essential to maintain the economy and vitality of these regions. By addressing these challenges, rural areas can play an important role in achieving wider social and economic goals.
Agenda
- 11:00 – Welcome and introduction – ENoLL
- 11:05 – LLs as catalysts for inclusive growth, social, economic, and technological advancement across Africa – Artur Serra Hurtado, Deputy Director i2cat
- 11:20 – A Living Lab experience in Senegal – Mamadou Ndir, Head of the Projects and Programs Department, FDSUT
- 11:35 – Creation of a metalivinglab in Africa for Local Food Policies Development – Andra Calori, ESTà & AfriFoodLinks Project (online)
- 11:50 – Open Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean and Africa agrifood sector - Damiano Petruzzella, CIHEAM Bari / LL Manger MEDIL
- 12:05 – Q&A Session
SPEAKER BIOS
Damiano Petruzzella
Scientific Administrator - CIHEAM BARI
Damiano Petruzzella
Scientific Administrator - CIHEAM BARIDamiano is Scientific Administrator of CIHEAM BARI - International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (intergovernmental organizations www.iamb.it), Coordinator of the Unit “Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem†dedicated to training, research and international cooperation on empowering the entrepreneurial culture of young people and supporting the open innovation processes of businesses in the mediterranean region. Responsible of the Mediterranean agrifood Innovation Hub and the MIP Network - Mediterranean Innovation Partnership with ten Mediterranean countries members, and MEDIL Living Lab for Mediterranean Rural development (ENOLL Certified) and from this year is chair of the ENoLL WG on agriculture and rural development. He is Scientific Coordinator of the Master in "Open Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean agrifood sector†in Bari and Tirana. He is component of the steering committee of Italian network on local food policies. He coordinates many international projects on food system transition, innovation and startups empowerment and local food policy, mainly in Mediterranean region and Africa.
Andrea Calori
President - EStÃ
Andrea Calori
President - EStÃAndrea Calori PhD expert in territorial policies, local development and sustainable food systems with participatory approach; since the early ‘90s he has been working with local, national and international institutions (OECD, EU Commission, Council of Europe, FAO, UNDP, etc.). From 2000 to 2010 Contract Professor at Politecnico di Milano in regional planning and local development. In 2002 co-founder of RES (Rete italiana Economie Solidali), then president of Urgenci, world coalition of networks of Community Supported Agriculture (2010-2015) and active member in the Civil Society Mechanism within the FAO World Committee on Food Security.  President of EStà , an independent and non-profit research centre that works on a systemic approach to sustainability and, with EStà , scientific responsible of methodologies and research supporting the Food Policy of Milan, the MUFPP (Milan Urban Food Policy Pact) and other researches and activities on local food policies in EU and international contexts.
Artur Serra Hurtado
Deputy Director i2cat
Artur Serra Hurtado
Deputy Director i2catArtur Serra Hurtado is Deputy director of i2cat research center and Former Vicepresident of European Network of Living Labs. He is conducting now the research project Catalunya Collaboratory, based in the vision of universal innovation ecosystems. He is co-leading with Antonia Caro, the new Horizon Europe project INTEGER (2022-2024), integrating social innovation into the European Innovation Ecosystems in three European regions: Catalonia, Krakow and Hamburg. Currently he is the head of the ENoLL Action Oriented Task Force on Social Innovation, promoting the collaboration between the ENoLL and the European School of Social Innovation (ESSI) supporting a more human-centric innovation ecosystems. Finally, he is leading a cooperative project with FDSUT, Fondation pour le Dévelopement du Service Universel de Telecomunications de Senegal promoting the first national network of Living labs in this African country. 
Alboury Ndao
Telecommunications Engineer and Project Manager, FDSUT
Alboury Ndao
Telecommunications Engineer and Project Manager, FDSUT"My name is Alboury NDAO, I am a Telecommunications Engineer and Project Manager at the Universal Telecommunications Service Development Fund (FDSUT). I hold a master's degree in Telecommunications, specializing in Core Network, and I am a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). I graduated from the Multinational Higher School of Telecommunications (ESMT) in Dakar. Previously, I was a Telecommunications Engineer at ORANGE & NOKIA SENEGAL. Je me nomme Alboury NDAO, je suis Ingénieur Télécoms et Chef de projet au niveau du Fonds de développement du service Universel des Télécommunication (FDSUT). Je suis Titulaire d’un master en télécommunication Technique mention core network et certifiée Project Management Professional PMP°R. Diplômée de l’Ecole Supérieur Multinational des Télécommunications (ESMT) Dakar. Auparavant Ingénieur en Télécommunication chez ORANGE & NOKIA SENEGAL"
Prof Bernadene de Clercq
NRF-rated researcher in the College of Accounting Sciences at the University of South Africa
Prof Bernadene de Clercq
NRF-rated researcher in the College of Accounting Sciences at the University of South AfricaProf de Clercq is an NRF-rated researcher in the College of Accounting Sciences at the University of South Africa. Her research interest regarding pathways towards economic and financial wellbeing provides the platform for local and international collaboration, as she is a member of the OECD/INFE Research Committee as well as the G53 group – both international research networks consisting of researchers across the world focusing on the improvement of economic and financial well-being. Furthermore, she is an Associate Member of the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing (CPFW) at Aston University, UK and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM) at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her personal research interest is embedded in the quintuple helix innovation model, which allows for collaboration between government, academia, business and society towards sustainability. She is also a member of the South African National Committee on Financial Education (NCFEC), a national committee chaired by the National Treasury focused on developing and implementing the National Policy on Financial Education. Prof de Clercq’s research output to date include inter alia several research reports, conference proceedings (both local and international) and several academic articles.