The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has once again affirmed its leadership in development-oriented research with its hosting of the “GLocalWater Learning Exchange Session”, a high-level, Town-and-Gown knowledge-sharing forum, which focused on water security and participatory data interpretation in Nigeria.
Held at the Training Room of the ACEDHARS Building, UNILAG, Akoka on Friday, January 30, 2026, the session convened scholars, researchers, public sector officials and community leaders to explore how global datasets can be meaningfully localised to address Nigeria’s water challenges, with a focus on Lagos State.
The event was organised under the research project titled “Localising Global Data through Participatory Interpretation: A Water Security Case Study in Nigeria (GLocalWater Project)”, jointly led by Dr. Feng Mao from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, and Dr. Temitope Sogbamu, Senior Lecturer and Environmental Toxicologist at UNILAG.
The project aims to deepen understanding of how international environmental data frameworks can be interpreted through local knowledge systems to inform policy, planning, and community-level interventions.
Facilitating the session, Dr. Sogbamu underscored the project’s grassroots origins and policy relevance. In her review presentation, she disclosed that “the project started from the Ilaje Community in Bariga, Lagos in July 2025. It extended to other parts of coastal Lagos and it established the fact that availability and accessibility of water remain a challenge. By September 2025, we have reached policy makers and decision makers in Lagos with the preliminary outcomes of our project. They affirmed the utility of our mapping project and committed to leveraging its outcome for environmental policy formulation.”
Delivering his presentation virtually, Dr. Feng Mao shared insights from surveys administered during the project, analysing stakeholder responses and community perceptions. He noted that “from the feedback gotten from our respondents, we see clearly that water challenges are not abstract and that whatever held would be given to solve them should be timely and contextual.” He also expressed appreciation to participants for their feedback, which he described as “immensely useful.”
On hand to anchor the event was Mr. Moruf Gbadamosi, a Research Manager at the Research Management Office, University of Lagos.
The session concluded with a learning exchange and feedback segment, a forward-looking discussion on next steps, and closing remarks.
By convening global and local scholars around participatory data interpretation, UNILAG demonstrated its commitment to translational research, research that moves beyond theory to tangible societal impact. The GLocalWater Learning Exchange underscored the university’s role as a strategic hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, policy-relevant scholarship, and sustainable solutions to pressing national and global challenges.
Initiatives such as the GLocalWater Project position UNILAG at the forefront of evidence-based environmental governance, participatory research innovation, and sustainable development discourse.
