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For a decade, the movement towards open science in C?te d'Ivoire has seen significant progress thanks to the commitment of academic institutions, researchers and the government. Several initiatives have helped position the country. A national symposium on open science in 2022, organized by the Virtual University of C?te d'Ivoire (UVCI), the Ivorian National Commission for UNESCO and CAMES, made it possible to take stock of open science in Africa, assess its challenges and opportunities and develop a roadmap. This event brought together more than 210 participants, including 150 online, from communities of practice of Ivorian universities and research institutions, those of other African regions and international partners.

This symposium was a platform for presenting the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science as well as Ivorian initiatives in the field of open science, including the open science policy of UVCI developed in 2022, the Virtual Library of Higher Education and Scientific Research since 2016, the Open Access Week instituted in 2018 () and a Fund for Science, Technology and Innovation workshop on the challenges and prospects of open science organized in 2021.

Since the symposium, activities have continued with:

i) the promotion of local development through digital technology, open research, collaboration and open dialogue with interest groups and local communities since 2022 via the "Neighborhood Project";

ii) participation in African and international networks, including the activities of LIBSENSE (WACREN) since 2018 and African Open Science Platform since 2023;

iii) promotion of improved visibility of researchers, institutions, reuse of data and research results through the ORCID and DataCite projects since 2023;

iv) establishment of the ORCID and DataCite Consortia for the improvement of research practices and knowledge dissemination, since 2023;

v) encouragement of open access publication through the creation of an open journal in the fields of renewable energy and climate change;

vi) raising awareness since July 2023 on Data Management Plans and the need for skills development. In collaboration with IRD (France), a national workshop was held in September 2024.

Despite advances in open science, resistance to change due to concerns over intellectual property and data sharing, and low funding to support initiatives, requires increased efforts for advocacy with governments and partners for awareness raising and training to ensure that all research stakeholders understand the benefits of open science.

The work in committee made it possible to draw up a draft national roadmap and recommendations for the implementation of open science in C?te d'Ivoire. This involves strengthening existing initiatives and developing a national open science policy that integrates the dimensions of infrastructure, promotion, governance, financing and international cooperation.

Contributed by C¨¦cile Ouattara-Coulibaly, Fernand Koffi Kouame, Ti¨¦moman Kone (Universit¨¦ Virtuelle de C?te d'Ivoire) and N'Golo Aboudou Soro (Commission Nationale ivoirienne pour l¡¯UNESCO).