Open Access to Scientific Information
Scientific information is both a researcher’s greatest output and technological innovation’s most important resource. UNESCO promotes and supports Open Access—the online availability of scholarly information to everyone, free of most licensing and copyright barriers—for the benefit of global knowledge flow, innovation and socio-economic development.
UNESCO promotes Open Access (OA)
UNESCO promotes Open Access (OA), with particular emphasis on scientific information (journal articles, conference papers and datasets of various kinds) emanating from publicly funded research. Working with partners, UNESCO works to improve awareness about the benefits of OA among policy makers, researchers and knowledge managers. Through its global network of Field Offices, Institutes and Centers, UNESCO facilitates the development and adoption of OA-enabling policies. In addition, UNESCO engages in global OA debates and cooperates with local, regional and global initiatives in support of OA.
UNESCO’s OA programme pays particular attention to African and other developing countries where, notwithstanding important gains in ICT availability, OA prevalence, both in terms of output and usage, remains low.
Open Access benefits researchers, innovators, teachers, students, media professionals and the general public. It promotes global knowledge flow for the benefit of scientific discovery, innovation and socio-economic development.
News
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29.01.15
A Consultative Forum on Open Access for Africa is taking place in Nairobi
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27.01.15
UNESCO and SciELO launch a new publication on 15 years of Open Access
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19.12.14
UNESCO launches Open Access Curricula for Researchers and Librarians
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22.09.14
Role of Open Access in the post-2015 development agenda highlighted in a conference at UNESCO