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The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) announces the launch of the Africa Portal, an online knowledge resource offering researchers and opinion leaders a forum to share their insights on Africa and publish their work on pressing areas of concern to policymakers and the public.

The Africa Portal aims to fill the gap in accessibility to research and information on policy issues critical to the continent. The project is a collaborative undertaking between SAIIA; the Centre for Governance Innovation (CIGI), in Canada; and Makerere University, in Uganda.

The Africa Portal offers open access to a suite of features including an online library collection, issues section, experts’ directory, and international events calendar — all aimed to equip users with research and information on Africa’s current policy issues. The Africa Portal’s online library collection holds over 2,500 books, journals and digital documents. The entire online repository is open access and available for free, full-text download. A portion of the digital documents housed in the library have been digitised for the first time as an undertaking of the Africa Portal.

“Through broadening access to researched material on Africa,” comments Jonathan Stead, director of marketing and communications at SAIIA, “this landmark project has the potential to enhance policymaking activities across the continent. It also provides a valuable resource for the international research and policy community working on issues of critical importance to the development of Africa.”

For more on the Africa Portal, visit www.africaportal.org or contact Shona Kohler (shona.kohler@wits.ac.za)

For more information on SAIIA, visit: www.saiia.org.za