The African Regional O.R. Society held its first conference in early July in Tunis, Tunisia. It was well organized by the Tunisian Decision Aid Society and supported by a number of O.R. organizations, including INFORMS and INFORMS members who were invited to speak.
Mike Trick (president of IFORS and former INFORMS president) delivered the opening plenary session on Business Analytics; Jim Cochran (University of Alabama) took part in a panel discussion on the topic 'Securing the future of O.R. in Africa', gave a plenary talk on 'Are p values the problem?', another on How to Design an Undergraduate Honors Program in O.R., and helped facilitate a doctoral workshop; Samir Elhedhli (University of Waterloo, Canada) gave a plenary talk on data-driven modeling and optimization for warehouse analytics; Hans Ittman (University of Johannesburg, South Africa) described the 'State of O.R. in Africa'; and Sue Merchant (chair of INFORMS International Activities Committee) facilitated a brainstorm session on actions that could be taken to help secure the future of O.R. in Africa.
Seven African countries (and seven others) comprising nearly 120 delegates were represented. The enthusiasm of the delegates and organizing committee and their work moving O.R. forward in Africa was marked and greatly inspiring. In his talk, Hans Ittman gave an enthusiastic prediction that by 2023 the number of African countries with O.R. societies would rise to 20 from the current three!
Sue Merchant
Vice President, International Activities
Chair, International Affairs Committee
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Sue Merchant
Chair
IFORS Developing Countries Committee
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