African Center for Aquatic Research and Education

09/22/2026

Our AWIS Making Waves campaign is 25% of the way towards meeting our 10k goal! Your support helps us continue to bring inspiring women in science together, donate here: https://bit.ly/4yWmTbI

The AWIS impact doesn’t stop at the end of the 11-month program—for many it’s just the beginning! When a program year ends, participants enter into the growing AWIS alumnae network to carry the momentum forward. Some even go on to participate in the AWIS Advanced Leadership Program (ALP), which brings alumnae together across different cohorts to build upon the skills from their time in the program. It is also an opportunity to deepen the scientific expertise and networks in the African Great Lakes region, which is a powerful complement to the annual AWIS trip to North America.

This year’s ALP program just took place in Malawi early this September with 8 AWIS alumnae. They had a jam-packed schedule with visits to the Malawi Department of Fisheries in Lilongwe, The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Senga Bay Fisheries Research Center, Monkey Bay Research Center, and the National Aquaculture Center in Domasi, to name a few stops. Overall, this trip was a collaborative deep dive into fisheries and aquaculture innovations in the African Great Lakes. The ALP participants connected with leading research institutions, policymakers, and local fishing communities in the Lake Malawi/Niasa/Nyassa basin while at the same time sharing research and knowledge from their own lakes. Even more than field visits, this ALP cohort discussed leadership skills, mentoring relationships, and even got to spend some time speaking with undergraduate students in science. We love to see our AWIS alumnae continue to make waves in the African Great Lakes 🐟🌊

09/04/2026

Today we are sharing World Lake Day celebrations from both the Lake Edward/Albert Advisory Group (LEEAG) and the Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa Basin Fisheries & Aquaculture Network (LMBFAN). LEEAG has 21 members coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda and LMBFAN has 25 members coming from Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

Learn more about LMBFAN here! https://bit.ly/46Cko1U
Learn more about LEEAG here! https://bit.ly/3Ur62ie

09/01/2026

Our Lake Kivu Advisory Group (LKAG) prepared a poem for their World Lake Day Celebrations to share with the ACARE community. The group has 29 members coming from both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lake Kivu is unique in that it is one of 3 lakes in the world that can experience limnic eruptions from trapped gases underneath the lakebed. If you want to know about Lave Kivu and the LKAG, learn more on our website! https://bit.ly/4iIfyY5

08/31/2026

To celebrate World Lake Day last week, some of the Advisory Groups in ACARE’s network put together a tribute to their lake which we will be sharing throughout the week.

Today we are focusing on Lake Turkana, the largest, permanent desert lake as well as the largest alkaline lake in the world! The Lake Turkana Advisory Group (LTuAG) has 25 members coming from both Kenya and Ethiopia. Check out our website to learn more about LTuAG!
https://www.agl-acare.org/programs/advisory-groups/lake-turkana-advisory-group/

08/27/2026

🌊 Today is World Lake Day, and African Women in Science (AWIS) are making waves!

Over 62 million people depend on the African Great Lakes for freshwater. Yet women scientists remain seriously underrepresented in this field, especially in leadership.

Our AWIS program is changing that. Over 11 months, early-career African women scientists get mentorship, leadership training, and a seat at international research tables. They join a growing network of alumnae — building the next generation of women leading in freshwater science.

Today we're launching our AWIS Making Waves campaign to raise $10,000 so our 2027 cohort can attend ACARE's Annual Meeting next February in Malawi and keep this program going. 💧

Bonus: every dollar you give before Sept 30 will be MATCHED, doubling your impact!

Follow along this campaign for stories of sisterhood, science, and fieldwork fish tales. 🐟

Your support means everything, just as freshwater means everything to life.
Donate here: https://www.agl-acare.org/donate/support-african-women-in-science/

08/25/2026

You can have the best-designed engine in the world but it still won't move anything until someone turns the key. ⚙️

The African Great Lakes Advisory Groups are the ones turning the key.

In June, representatives from ACARE’s six Advisory Groups came together in Kisumu, Kenya, as the Council of Advisory Groups (CoAG) to finalize a strategic plan. The Advisory Groups are now using the new African Great Lakes Advisory Group Strategic Plan to guide their priorities, activities and collaborations.

CoAG’s role is to help keep that regional effort connected and moving forward. Their plan to accomplish this is through supporting accountability, sharing lessons and success stories, encouraging collaboration, and looking for opportunities to bring complementary priorities together.

Ultimately, however, the real work happens through the Advisory Groups and their members, back in their home institutions, countries and lake basins.

The exciting part is just beginning; as the strategic plan is put into action we will see what the groups will accomplish together.
We’re looking forward to seeing their progress at the next Annual Meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi, in February 2027!

06/11/2026

Congratulations to our partner, friend, and colleague, Dr. Anthony Vodacek on becoming a Fulbright Scholar and advancing critical work on the African Great Lakes. We look forward to working with you!

Imaging science professor Anthony Vodacek will be researching the African Great Lakes as a Fulbright Scholar this fall.

06/09/2026

This year’s annual African Women in Science (AWIS) trip to North America took place in Winnipeg, Canada where nine of the twelve 2026 cohort members participated in leadership training, capacity building, and exploring the Canadian province of Manitoba.

The 2026 AWIS cohort represents scientists from Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia. Their research scopes range from eDNA to citizen science to discovering new species of fish!

It was a very busy trip—some of the activities included the Human Rights Museum, The Manitoba Museum, the Lake Winnipeg Research Vessel in Gimli, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Freshwater Institute, University of Manitoba, Fort Whyte Alive, and the Assiniboine Zoo.

There were also lots of opportunities for professional development during this trip. The group met with Dr. Margaret Docker from the Journal of Great Lakes Research (JGLR) to learn about the process of journal publications. They also attended a leadership training with Lorrena Black at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and even visited their Experimental Lakes Area (ELA).

The second half of the trip included attending the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) conference where everyone gave great presentations about their work while expanding their networks of great lakes scientists. For many in our cohort this was their first large conference and first time in North America.

Overall it was an amazing and fulfilling experience. Congratulations to the 2026 AWIS cohort for all their hard work in preparing for this trip, their conference presentations, and showing the awesome work done by women in science!

05/20/2026

Congratulations Herbert for your award. Well deserved and a great paper. The ACARE network and Lake Edward Albert Advisory Group (LEAAG) are all proud and excited for your research and highlighting important issues on the African Great Lakes.

Congratulations to Herbert Nakiyende on receiving the 2025 JGLR/Elsevier Student Award!

Acknowledged for research on light-based small pelagic fishing in Lake Albert, advancing our understanding of fisheries management and community impacts.