The event was organized with the collaboration of College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) at Makerere University in collaboration with Prof. Samuel Majalija, Kato Sebunya Emmanuel (iGEM Ambassador to Africa), College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS), National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) and College of Health sciences (CHS) at Makerere University.

Dr. Deepak Balaji Thimiri Govindaraj, from the Center Manager for Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), was invited as the keynote speaker for the event. CSIR hosts a dedicated synthetic biology and precision medicine center in Pretoria, South Africa. The event opened with talks about the impact of synthetic biology on African communities, and how it can contribute to sectors such as agriculture, health, and energy in Africa.

Kato was given an opportunity to have one-on-one round table discussions and informal conversations with the seminar attendees. During these discussions, many questions about iGEM came up, such as: What is iGEM? What is the difference between iGEM, iGEM Community and iGEM Competition? How can a lecturer benefit from participating in iGEM? Who is eligible to participate? How many years has iGEM existed for and what has been its contribution to the world? Is iGEM the founder of synthetic biology? How can I apply synthetic biology in my daily life? What are the unique things can iGEM and synthetic biology bring to Africa?

Through this in-person and other online events, Kato discovered that iGEM seems to be widely known by students and a few other stakeholders in Africa. Most people in decision-making positions such as government officials, policymakers, heads of academic and research institutions, media and other science supporters have little to no knowledge about iGEM in Africa. This is one of the many reasons why most of the iGEM teams in Africa fail to succeed and fail to raise local support.

To find more information about the iGEM Ambassadors & Promoters for Africa and regional synbio activities visit our Africa webpage. Learn more about the Ambassador Program here.

To stay up-to-date about news, events and opportunities from the global synbio community, subscribe to our newsletter ↗.