UNESCO Office in Windhoek 38-44 Stein Street, Klein Windhoek, P.O. Box 24519, Windhoek, Namibia
Regional Workshop on the Benefits of Open Access for Research Dissemination, Usage, Visibility and Impact
UNESCO, in collaboration with the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and EIFL, is presenting a workshop on the benefits of open access for research, dissemination, usage, visibility and impact. The workshop will take place in Pretoria (South Africa) on 22 and 23 November 2010 at the ASSAF premises.
The main objective of the workshop is to share how free and unrestricted access to research materials can increase the impact of research and benefit research institutions, authors, journal publishers, as well as the society as a whole. The context of open access in Africa and the value it can add to productivity, visibility and accessibility of research material will be highlighted. Examples of national copyright laws and how it influences and interact to learning materials will also be presented. Discussions will then focus on critical aspects that policies should address to make learning materials available for Open Access. Workshop participants will also have an opportunity to contribute towards highlighting priority areas for intervention in open access in Africa and the way forward in promoting better cooperation among institutions that are promoting access to scientific knowledge.
Representatives from ten African Universities, Councils for Sciences and Technology, Academies of Science and international partner institutions are expected to attend the workshop and lay the foundation for a more fertile environment for Open Access in Africa.
