Workshop in Moldova paves the way for Research4Life and AGORA in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

Published: Thursday 17th October 2019
Category: News
Karna Wegner (FAO) discusses Research4Life

The first regional AGORA workshop took place in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova on 3-4 October. 26 selected participants joined the workshop from five Eastern European countries: Belarus, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine, and two countries from the Caucasus: Armenia and Georgia.

After a general introduction to Research4Life and its programmes, the participants shared their experiences and challenges with regards to accessing scientific information, including agricultural sciences, in their institutions and countries. This exercise helped to break the ice between the attendees.

The participants in front of the State Agrarian University of Moldova in Chișinău.

The workshop continued with an extensive training on AGORA as a possible solution to facilitate access to recent peer-reviewed scientific research in the agricultural domain. This part included a practical session on how to use the interface, search features and how linked services like Google Scholar and Dimensions can add to the experience with Research4Life.

Part of the training included a full immersion on advocacy skills for Research4Life to support librarians to act as ambassadors for Research4Life in their communities and institutions. The participants learned about useful materials on the Research4Life website, and various case studies. In addition, the training section of Research4Life was presented together with an outlook to upcoming online training opportunities.

The workshop included feedback sessions and how Research and AGORA can further support their users. The two-day event was an opportunity for the participants (and for the trainers as well!) to network among each other and to strengthen future collaborations.

The AGORA team of Research4Life wishes to thank all participants for their active participation and the State Agrarian University of Moldova (SAUM) for an excellent organization of the event.

Hinari