ARIPO and the European Patent Office (EPO) launched the ARIPO Regional Patent Examination Training (ARPET) Programme on September 8, 2021. The programme is organized within the framework of the Reinforced Partnership between the EPO and ARIPO, and the two organizations jointly deliver it.
At the launch, the EPO President, António Campinos, said that EPO was committed to building a patent network with a global outcome. He noted that the training was the largest training programme undertaken by EPO outside of Europe and was looking forward to tangible results from the training.
The ARIPO Director General, Bemanya Twebaze, thanked the EPO President for the unwavering support that would address one of the main barriers to more pragmatic and relevant IP training: the lack of practical skills, especially in patents.
The training will enable the participants to use patents as a source of information & build their search and examination capacity, thus stimulating the filing of patent applications in Africa that has recorded an average of 0.6% of the global patent applications over the years.
The training attracted more than 100 participants from the ARIPO Member States national Intellectual Property offices and research and development (R&D) institutions, as well as Angola and Ethiopia, that are ARIPO Observer States. The Director General of the Angolan Institute of Industrial Property (IAPA), Ms Ana Paula Miguel, thanked the two organizations for the training which she said most IP offices had no skills in. The Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO), Mr Ermias Hailemariam, was also grateful for the training. He said it would help increase the efficiency of EIPO as well as reduce the examination backlog.
The programme, which is open for scientists and engineers will run for 18-months. It will provide a modular, competency-based training framework and curriculum. The participants will receive training from EPO and ARIPO experts on conducting high-quality and timely searches and examining local patent applications, incorporating EPO’s best practices.
The ARPET program is a modern, comprehensive, and competency-based online training program. It was developed based on IP Australia’s existing patent examiner training framework called the Regional Patent Examination Training. It adopts a blended learning approach, focuses on search and examination; and makes intensive e-learning content and technologies.
ARPET training aims to build the participating Member States’ Intellectual Property Offices’ capacity to conduct patent search and examination based on Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) standards. The training will also build R&D institutions’ capacity to conduct patent searches. In R&D institutions, the patent searches are a necessity in exploitation of patents both as a vehicle of protection and a source of information. Patents contain more than 80% of all technical information worldwide, and this information is never published in any other form.
The training material was developed with a strong focus on robust quality control systems. It was signed off by certified examiner trainers of IP Australia, a PCT International Search Authority (ISA) for over 30 years and with over 110 years of patent application examination experience. The material was further augmented by the EPO.
The Diplomatic Conference for the adoption of the ARIPO Protocol on Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights adopted the following Resolution:
The Diplomatic Conference, having met on 27 and 28 August 2021 in Kampala, Republic of Uganda, for the purpose of adopting an ARIPO Protocol for the Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights;
Aware of the benefits to be derived from a regional system for voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights;
Recognizing the need to provide to copyright holders means of presumption of ownership of rights;
Hereby resolve as follows:
Member States should take the necessary steps to ensure a rapid ratification or accession to the Protocol.
Call on the Administrative Council to develop the necessary implementing regulations under Article 18 of the Protocol, in order to ensure a prompt and efficient implementation of the Protocol;
Call on Member States, Cooperating Partners and other stakeholders to provide financial and material support for the effective implementation of the Protocol;
The name of the adopted Protocol is: THE KAMPALA PROTOCOL ON VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
Adopted in Kampala, Uganda, on 28 August 2021, by the Member States of ARIPO represented at the Diplomatic Conference.
The 40th Session of the Administrative Council held in Harare, Zimbabwe from 5th to 7th December 2016, identified the need to adopt a Protocol on voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights under the ARIPO framework and hence approved a roadmap for the establishment of a Voluntary Registration and Notification system at ARIPO. In pursuance of the objective, a feasibility study, policy, and legal framework were developed.
Following approval by the 17th Session of the Council of Ministers for the Legal Framework on establishing a regional voluntary copyright registration and notification system to be formulated into a Draft Protocol for adoption, a Diplomatic Conference set to be held in Kampala, Uganda in July 2020. However, the Conference was rescheduled due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
The highly anticipated Diplomatic Conference is now scheduled to take place on the 27th and 28th August 2021 at the Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, Uganda. The Diplomatic Conference will be preceded by an Experts’ meeting that will bring together Copyright experts from the ARIPO Member States on 20th and 21st August 2021 and the Eleventh Extraordinary Session of the Administrative Council of ARIPO from 22nd to 26th August 2021.
The draft Protocol, upon its adoption, will establish a Regional Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights and create and maintain a Regional Database for Copyright and Related Rights for the ARIPO Member States. This will benefit them in different ways, such as: enhancing an effective and efficient network between the National offices in charge of Copyright and Related Rights and the Regional office, providing an effective means of presumption as to authorship and or ownership, facilitating commercialization, stimulating more creativity, expanding markets, attracting foreign direct investment and facilitating the enforcement of rights.
In conclusion, ARIPO sees the need to nurture, promote and protect Copyright and Related Rights, which is vital to the growth of Intellectual Property (IP) and has enormous cultural, economic, and social implications for the community we live in. Hence, the voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights reassures business communities and opens doors for rights holders. The system will enable effective coordination between Copyright Offices, Collective Management Organizations, rights holders, and users of Copyright at large.
There are always challenges and advantages when you’re homeschooling. If you’re homeschooling just one child, you often face unique challenges and concerns. For example, teaching social skills can be more difficult with only one child.
When your only child is gifted, well, that comes with its own awesome advantages and new concerns.
So what’s it really like to homeschool a gifted child? Keep reading to get the scoop on what has made it challenging. Plus, some of our favorite advantages and success stories while homeschooling a gifted only child.
Homeschooling One Child, Not Necessarily An Only Child
A common misconception about homeschooling an only child is that most people think you have only one child. There are many kinds of reasons why you may choose to homeschool a single child, including age gaps and special circumstances. Whatever the reason, homeschooling only one doesn’t mean there’s only one.
There are lots of reasons a parent might choose homeschooling one child but not the others. Oftentimes these reasons include health concerns for the child or special needs that make traditional schooling less than ideal. Sometimes parents choose to homeschool one child because of special gifts or talents. For example, many elite gymnasts and dancers are homeschooled.
Sometimes you find yourself homeschooling an only because the other kids have completed their education or there’s a significant age gap between siblings. The bottom line is that homeschooling only one child doesn’t mean that’s your only child and that’s ok too.
Is It Helpful To Homeschool A Gifted Only Child?
If you’re still deciding whether or not to homeschool your gifted only child, you might have some concerns. There are a lot of myths about homeschooling gifted children and myths about homeschooling an only child too.
One of the top myths about homeschooling a gifted only child centers around socialization fears. Homeschoolers are not strangers to the socialization argument, but it can be a real concern when you’re homeschooling only one child.
If you’re your child’s only source of socialization throughout the homeschool day, you might have extra concerns about homeschooling a gifted only child. After all, gifted kids can struggle with anxiety, emotional intensity, and existentialism.
So how do you socialize an only child while homeschooling? The easiest way to overcome this hurdle is by teaching your child to interact with people of all ages. Then, take advantage of opportunities to socialize and practice social skills in the community.
What It’s Really Like To Homeschool A Gifted Child Alone
Homeschooling a gifted child alone can definitely be challenging at times, but there are also lots of amazing successes that come from this unique journey.
The Struggles
There are a few unique challenges to homeschooling with just one child. For example, homeschooling only one child means I have to be on all day. There are no other kids for her to interact with during a typical homeschool day and there are no other teachers to ask questions.
Sometimes I struggle with the stress of being all the things. I’m her teacher, her mom, her playmate, her sounding board, everything. At times, wearing all those hats can be difficult. This unique stress is called safe place fatigue and it can be exhausting. Being your child’s everything all the time isn’t always easy.
Taking time for myself when possible is a really important part of regrouping at the end of a long day or week. It really helps me to prepare for another week of homeschooling my gifted only child.
The Successes
Homeschooling an only child can be great! We have had a lot of challenges, but we have also experienced a lot of amazing successes. Here are some of our favorite things about homeschooling our only child:
More one on one time together
Less cost means we can do more
Homeschooling an only takes less time
Opportunities to build strong relationships
In the end, homeschooling a gifted only child is not without its challenges, but there are many amazing advantages and opportunities too. I absolutely think that the advantages far outweigh the challenges.
This post was written by Jessica Waldock, a longtime reader and friend of Raising Lifelong Learners and the owner of The Waldock Way. Her daughter Emily is one of the most creative and precocious children I know and her giftedness is a part of all they do in their homeschool.
Jessica has created a free grade level checklist to help parents plan their year that are ideal for parents of asynchronous kiddos. You can take a peek at skills that are typically taught for all grade levels and use these to best plan for your homeschool year (and they are FREE – thanks Jessica!)
Effective today, 3 August 2021, the Banjul Protocol is now effective in The Gambia, making it the 12th contracting State of the Banjul Protocol.
The Gambia can now be designated in any ARIPO mark application under the Protocol.
The Government of the Republic of The Gambia deposited its Instrument of Ratification to the Banjul Protocol on Marks with the Director General of ARIPO on 3 May 2021.
Furthermore, The Gambia nationals and residents are entitled, as of 3 August 2021, to file mark applications directly with the ARIPO Office if they so wish.
It is incredibly difficult to watch your child struggle when it comes to planning, staying organized, and regulating their emotions. When we witness this struggle, as parents, we know there has to be a way to help them find not only tools, but tools that really work. It is so important to hone in on those skills because they affect every part of their lives. Managing time, making decisions, and controlling emotions are just a few executive function skills that can be improved, with a little help from these books.
The Best Books for Teaching About Executive Functions Skills
To start, let’s take a look at the best books for teaching about executive functions skills. Reading about organizational skills, planning, cause and effect, and more can help both parents and kids gain the knowledge and understanding they need to get a handle on executive functions skills.
Executive Functions Skills Books for Kids & Teens
Helping Your Child Strengthen Their Executive Function Skills Workbook: This workbook will help both parents and kids. I wrote it to help you focus on identifying areas in which your child struggles. It includes information on executive functions skills as well as thought-provoking questions that will help guide you to find solutions that fit your child’s needs.
A Quiet Place: When schedules get full, quiet time falls off the plate. Read this book as a reminder to take a timeout, find a quiet place that allows you to relax. Life gets overwhelming, let’s give our kids permission to have their own space to unwind. This helps to clear their mind to master executive function skills.
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes: Our kids face a tremendous amount of pressure to always be right. The moral of this story shows us that life wouldn’t be the same without the lows and the highs. Even though we do make mistakes, everything will still be okay.
Your Fantastic and Elastic Brain: Just as we exercise our bodies, we should also exercise our minds. This book is full of fun and thoughtful activities to get those brains moving.
My Day is Ruined!: When the unexpected happens emotions can build up and explode. Use this book to teach your kids how to handle the unexpected, even when the world seems to be crumbling around them.
Mindset Matters: A fantastic kid’s book about having the right mindset. The perfect way to teach kids about being intentional about their attitudes.
Executive Functions Skills Books for Adults
FLIPP the Switch: Parents and educators can teach kids how to be flexible, control their emotions, learn how to plan, and more. I like this book because it applies to such a wide age range, 3 years to 22 years old.
Smart but Scattered Teens: If you have struggled to strengthen your kids executive function skills, give this book a try. The author has a unique approach that helps gifted students find ways to weigh risks, stay organized, resolve problems, and follow through.
Remember — every kid learns differently. For some, changing the type of instrument they use to take notes can make a world of difference. What might work for one, might not work for the other.
A great place to start is by using my new workbook, Helping Your Child Strengthen Their Executive Function Skills, with your kids. Coupled with a book or two from the list above, these best books for teaching about executive function skills will do the trick.
Please feel free to share your story with me in the comments. I would love to hear what has helped your child strengthen their executive function skills. We’re in this together — I’d love to add more books, tips, and tools to my own toolkit.
I never planned to homeschool. If you’d asked me 15 years ago if I’d even consider it, I would have told you that, not only wouldn’t I have, but that homeschoolers were strange and that schools were perfectly equipped to handle all that came their way. That kids needed to be with same age peers. Even a profoundly gifted child.
And then my first born went to school.
You see, Trevor was a curious kiddo from the get-go. Never slept as a baby, watched everything, was verbal from early on and got into everything. He asked big questions, had big worries, and thought big thoughts. His preschool and daycare teachers called him “an extreme thinker.” I thought he’d adore school.
And he did — at first.
It all started changing in first grade. Little things. Then bigger things. Until one day it became clear to us that the public school in our area just wasn’t going to work for our son.
The longer I homeschool my gifted children, and the more I see and talk to other parents of gifted and twice-exceptional kids, the more I believe that homeschooling is the best educational option for our nation’s above-average children.
Homeschooling is “best-practice education” for gifted kids. Throughout my coursework in gifted studies, I came to the conclusion that the basic underlying tenet of gifted education – meet children where they are, wherever that is, and move them forward towards their potential – is best-practice for ALL children.
Do You Have a Profoundly Gifted Child?
Gifted kids tend to:
learn basic skills quickly and with little practice.
construct and handle abstractions easily.
pick up nonverbal cues and draw inferences that are tough for children their age to see.
take little for granted, preferring to know the ‘”hows” and “whys.”
be wildly eclectic and intensely focused on their interests.
have boundless energy {causing many to be misdiagnosed as ADHD}.
relate well to adults, preferring to spend their time conversing with older children and grownups.
be highly inquisitive.
be interested in the unusual.
want to explore their world persistently.
observe deeply.
be single-minded.
ask “what if” all.the.time.
to learn faster & with greater depth than same-aged peers.
Any of these characteristics in isolation is tough to address in a typical classroom, a kid with many of them is completely lost in the masses. There is simply no way one teacher can meet these needs while remediating for those who struggle, and teaching the typical students well. And my son’s needs were not being met.
Too often, gifted students get pushed aside because they “already know the material” and “will be just fine.”
At home, you are able to talk to your son about what he wants to learn. Self-directed, interest-based, engaged learning is the best kind of learning for a gifted child.
You can choose to skip whole chapters in the math series if you see that your daughter has already mastered those concepts — in fact, I encourage you to do so.
If your child struggles with his thoughts coming faster than he can physically write, you can be his scribe for a while. Or you can hand over your old netbook or laptop. You can even do what we do with our teen and remove the hand from handwriting altogether when it comes to essays and stories, and purchase a program like Dragon dictation and let him dictate his work, going back over it later to edit and revise the work.
You can easily incorporate movement into the day for your child who seems like he is in constant motion. We’ve had a mini-trampoline inside the house since we began homeschooling, and my overexcitable kiddos can take any breaks they need in order to be completely successful.
Lessons can be chopped to the five or ten most difficult problems. If those are answered correctly, why bother having your daughter do the rest of them? She clearly knows the material.
Is your child intensely interested in astronomy? You can see that he visits the local science center, writes to an astronomy professor at a local university, joins a junior astronomical society, finds books in the library that match both his interest-level and reading ability, and that he pulls all his knowledge together to share it with someone and solidify his learning.
During his first half-year of homeschooling, right after we pulled him out of first-grade mid-year, Trevor did just that. He immersed himself (as a 7-year-old) in the world of advanced astronomy. While he couldn’t read all of the books we found at his intellectual and interest level, I was able to incorporate them as read alouds. He pulled everything together into a lapbook so thick it has to be rubber banded closed, and shared it with anyone who stopped by ) for a r-e-a-l-l-y long time).
But he KNOWS about advanced astronomy still. He asks great questions when he visits the science center and someone from the NASA-Glenn Space Center is visiting. By tapping into his interests, and running with them, we were able to cover science, reading, writing, and history in a way that was motivating and engaging for him.
Homeschooling works for gifted kids because their needs can be met in ways that are as unique as they are. It allows us to raise them to be lifelong learners — fully in charge of their own learning potential.
The hardest part of homeschooling your gifted kids, for you, will be getting out of the way. I don’t mean leaving them to their own designs, though many would argue that unschooling is a good option for gifted kids – I’m too, well, controlling to give up the reigns completely, and I know my kids’ personalities. They don’t do very well when things get too unstructured.
Resources For Homeschooling A Profoundly Gifted Child
By getting out of the way, I mean not getting tied to one thing. Be flexible and ready to embrace new topics and methods. It might be pirates one month, and astronauts another, with butterflies and lifecycles thrown in there for a week when your child has stumbled across a cool fact and wants to explore, but learning will take place.
When you make the leap to homeschool your profoundly gifted child, worlds of possibilities open up. The hardest part for me was shifting paradigms and embracing a homeschooling lifestyle fully.
It’s so worth it.
And Trevor? That “extreme thinker?”
I just graduated him from our homeschool. Eleven years and countless challenges and adventures, and he’s thriving. He’s running his own business, one he founded when he was fourteen, and plans to live at home, take classes, and grow that business before heading out on his own.
I’m so grateful we took the chance on homeschooling all those years ago.
One of the best ways to help our children practice and retain what they are learning is through games. Adding games to our homeschool has helped my kids understand different topics and better engage in the learning. Plus, it’s a lot more fun.
This compilation of lists of games for learning is essentially every game you will ever need for your homeschool, all in one place!
One of the best ways to help our children practice and retain what they are learning is through games. Adding games to our homeschool has helped my kids understand different topics and better engage in the learning. Plus, it’s a lot more fun.
This compilation of lists of games for learning is essentially every game you will ever need for your homeschool, all in one place!
By Bemanya Twebaze, Director General of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization
The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), with support of the Government of Uganda through the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) is organizing a Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of the Draft Protocol on Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights to take place at the Speke Resort Munyonyo, in Kampala, Uganda from the 23rd to the 24th of July 2021.
The Protocol will establish a regional voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights, create and maintain a Regional Database for Copyright and Related Rights. The protocol is the first of its kind in Africa and will help protect the ARIPO Member States and Africa’s creative industry by ensuring that the creators benefit from their creative works. According to the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) Global Collection Report 2020, based on data collected for 2019, €10bn Euros were collected globally, and 37 Collective Management Organizations from 32 African countries reported €79.3million in total collections. This is evidence that exploitation of copyrighted works is a source of revenue for creators and contributes to growth of the economy.
Copyright has a competitive advantage in Africa. However, it is yet to realize its full potential. ARIPO, in cooperation with strategic partners, is working hard to ensure this changes. Having a regional voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights in Africa will create a conducive environment to ensure respect for the copyrighted works. The rights holders -will be incentivized to create more and explore new markets, thereby increasing their income.
It is worth noting that the creative industry contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment in countries, as evidenced from the WIPO Studies on the Economic Contribution of the Copyright Based Industries in Africa. According to the WIPO Study data from 2016, Botswana’s contribution to GDP was 5.46%, which is the highest, followed by Kenya’s 2007 data at 5.32%. South Africa is the highest on employment at 4% in 2008, followed by Malawi at 3.35% in 2009. In Tanzania, the creative industry contribution was higher than the mining and quarrying sector in 2009 and 2010 at 3.2% and 2.8%, respectively. In Malawi, the creative industry contribution was higher than that of the mining and quarrying, human health, education, construction and transport and storage sectors. Botswana’s 2018 creative industry surpassed other essential sectors such as water and electricity (0.3%), agriculture (2%), and manufacturing (5.20%). The statistics above show a great need to harness the sector and intellectual property protection in Africa by pooling our resources and cooperating with strategic partners.
The regional voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights will enhance ARIPO’s cooperation with the national offices responsible for copyright to achieve the Protocol’s purpose. The national registration systems often hold valuable information on creativity from legal and economic perspectives and provide statistics on authors, performers, right holders, and their works, recordings, and productions in their countries.
Benefits of Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights
The voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights will also enable an author to have a registration certificate that can be a prima facie evidence on owning that property (Copyright and Related Rights works, recordings and productions). He may approach the financial institutions for loans, collaterals or engage foreign direct investors or enter into partnership or use the different means to commercialize the property such as licensing, merchandising, selling, etc. Furthermore, in case of any disputes regarding the property, the certificate may be used as a prima facie evidence of ownership. The onus lies with the parties to prove otherwise during the settlement, and this will assist in the management and enforcement of the owner’s and rights holder’s rights. If known, the owner’s information is easier to link with a prospective investor or business person who wants to have legal access to the property. ARIPO will contribute to preserving information on creative content in the continent.
ARIPO sees the need to nurture, promote and protect Copyright and Related Rights, which is vital to the growth of Intellectual Property (IP) and has enormous cultural, economic, and social implications for the community we live in. The voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights reassures business communities and opens doors for rights holders. The system will enable effective coordination between Copyright Offices (COs), Collective Management Organizations (CMOs), rights holders, and users worldwide.
Ministers from ARIPO Member States will attend the Diplomatic Conference. ARIPO has 20 Member States, Botswana, The Kingdom of Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, The Kingdom of Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
English 
Kiswahili