News
UNESCO Regional Consultations on Open Access
UNESCO Member States recommend elevating the context of Open Access to Scientific Research and Scholarly Communication within the framework of post 2015 development agenda and suggest strengthening the understanding of the human rights framework for Open Access.
Despite rapidly advancing technological developments, fully open and accessible research and innovation has not been put into widespread practice until today. Appreciating the continuous persistence of the 鈥漦nowledge challenge鈥, UNESCO鈥檚 is designed to foster the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to make peer-reviewed research accessible to all.
Within the same context, UNESCO co-organized with the German and the Netherlands National Commissions for UNESCO, a Regional Consultation on 鈥淥pen Access to Scientific Information and Research 鈥 Concept and Policies鈥 on 20 and 21 November 2013. Third in its series, the Consultation was hosted by the German Commission for UNESCO in Berlin. The meeting for Europe and North America followed previous Regional Consultations on Open Access for Eastern and Central Europe and the Baltic States (5-7 September 2012) as well as Latin American and the Caribbean (5-8 March 2013). The consultation discussed issues such as:
- Implementation of the UNESCO Open Access Strategy;
- Open Access implementation in participating countries, essentially to identify current barriers, and share best practices;
- GOAP templates and country information, and possible improvements;
- Analysis for anticipating foreseeable trends and emerging challenges;
- Partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders as an enabling mechanism.
The recommendations agreed during the consultation are expected to provide a new dynamism and context for the Open Access to Scientific Research and Scholarly Publications. It will also help to develop measures for continuous assessment of implementation of the strategy in relation to its agreed schedules, the use of inputs, priorities, and to develop basis to involve relevant stakeholders.
