In January 2026, WACREN, in close collaboration with TogoRER (the Togolese NREN), will host a series of three strategically aligned events designed to connect key stakeholders to advance Togo’s research and education ecosystem. The intent is to galvanise the Togolese research and education community and its stakeholders to support TogoRER’s mission and activities actively. The three-day activity will commence with the LIBSENSE Open Science Symposium, which brings together researchers, librarians, publishers, policymakers, and research administrators to engage in critical conversations around open science and related matters. The symposium provides a vital platform to align national aspirations in research and innovation with global open science movements, ensuring that Togolese research is discoverable, reusable, and globally connected, while remaining locally relevant. The symposium also serves as a convening space for dialogue between institutions and government stakeholders, reinforcing the role of policy, infrastructure, and coordinated action in building a robust open research environment. Complementing the focus on open science is a Trust and Identity (T&I) Workshop, which will address a critical enabling layer of modern research and education infrastructure: federated identity management. This workshop will focus on how TogoRER can leverage federated identity to provide secure, seamless access to digital services across the NREN ecosystem. Participants will explore practical use cases for federated identity, including access to eduroam WiFi via geteduroam, as well as to key services such as repositories, publishing platforms, and other digital-enabling tools. The January programme culminates in the TogoRER Community Day – a national conversation bringing together universities, research institutions, libraries, government ministries, development partners, and service providers to discuss shared challenges, opportunities, and priorities. The Community Day provides a forum to reflect on the current state of research and education in Togo, identify gaps, and co-create pathways for scaling TogoRER’s services and impact. It reinforces the idea that a strong NREN is not built in isolation, but through sustained collaboration, shared ownership, and alignment with national development goals. The January engagements in Togo exemplify WACREN’s demonstrated intent to strengthen NRENs as catalysts for national and regional research and education advancement.
