Lightsources for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Middle East project (LAAAMP): An IUPAP and IUCr ICSU-funded project

We describe a new initiative funded by a 3-year, 300K-Euro grant from the International Council for Science (ICSU) to the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) in collaboration with over thirty partner organizations that include approximately fifteen advanced light sources to enhance the utilization of advanced light sources and crystallography in five targeted regions of the world, namely Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Middle East. LAAAMP’s programs include the development of a Strategic Plan for each region; a Colloquium program that sends experienced advanced light source and crystallography users to those regions; establishment of new IUCr-UNESCO Crystallography OpenLabs; design and distribution of a Brochure that describes advanced light sources and crystallography for government officials and the layperson; 2-month Faculty-Student (FAST) Team training visits to advanced light sources, with approximately forty new users participating in 2018; and culminating in a December 2019 meeting to chart a path forward beyond the ICSU grant.