The UbuntuNet Alliance’s Partnership Programme continues to create meaningful opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaboration, with the recent Crossref webinar standing out as a strong example of its impact. On 20 August 2025, UbuntuNet Alliance hosted a webinar titled Crossref Services for Librarians and Journal Editors. The session, held as part of the newly signed partnership agreement between UbuntuNet Alliance and Crossref, attracted an impressive 212 participants, a strong reflection of the community’s interest in scholarly publishing services and infrastructure.
A platform for visibility and knowledge exchange
The webinar highlighted the value of the partnership in two key ways. For Crossref, it offered visibility within the UbuntuNet Alliance community of librarians, journal editors, and researchers across Eastern and Southern Africa. For Alliance members, it provided valuable exposure to Crossref’s services, including:
- Persistent identifiers (DOIs) for scholarly content
- The Global Equitable Membership (GEM) programme, supporting eligible institutions in Africa
- Metadata services that enhance discoverability, reproducibility, and research integrity
- Tools like Similarity Check and Crossmark for ensuring quality and transparency in publishing
Participants left with a clearer understanding of how Crossref can support their publishing workflows and strengthen the regional research ecosystem. The Q and A section allowed for adequate engagement with participants making use of the opportunity to have direct exchange with Crossref personnel.
The presentation has been made available on AfricArXiv here and the recording of the webinar can be seen here.
Building towards UbuntuNet-Connect 2025
This webinar was not an isolated initiative, but part of a larger journey. Crossref will continue engaging with the UbuntuNet Alliance community by actively participating in UbuntuNet-Connect 2025, the Alliance’s flagship annual conference, where they will deliver a presentation and join in person. Their presence will further deepen connections and expand opportunities for African institutions to benefit from global scholarly infrastructure. Registration for the conference is open and you can join here.
An invitation to collaborate
The success of the Crossref webinar demonstrates the strength of the UbuntuNet Alliance Partnership Programme as a platform for mutual visibility, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. As we build towards UbuntuNet-Connect 2025, UbuntuNet Alliance welcomes more organisations to join the programme and engage with our vibrant community of universities, researchers, and NRENs across Africa.