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Hezekiel DlaminiCommunication and Information Adviser

UNESCO Nairobi Office

UNESCO’s

Open Access (OA) Strategy

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UNESCO’s Communication and Information mandate

One Overarching Strategic Objective : Build Inclusive Knowledge Societies

OPEN SUITE STRATEGY Open Educational Resources (OER) Open Access (OA) to scientific information Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)

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State of Open Access

People in Africa and most developing countries are least able to pay to access information.

There’s “Lost Science” from developing countries (DCs) and Africa – information that is either not published or made accessible to all—needs to become accessible, for the sake of development and innovation.

OA is weak in Africa and DCs – see map, yet these countries would benefit greatly from more widespread OA – both in terms of achieving global visibility of their work, and being able to access work published by researchers elsewhere.

Why Open Access?

Knowledge societies are informed societiesN-S disparity in information access and exchange

http://maps.repository66.org

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UNESCO OA Strategy – 2010 - 2011

A new programme (started mid-2010) Increase access to scientific information Target universities, think tanks, research institutions,

Government policy units, publishers Undertake 2010 Global Map within the World Summit on the

Information Society (WSIS) United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS)

Increase awareness and links to existing global OA repositories and activities

Building capacities to create dynamic, viable local OA repositories

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UNESCO OA Programme – 2010 - 2011

Launch of UNESCO OA website – Live on 23 July 2010– Public statement of support for UNESCO’s support of OA– Posted materials related to UNESCO’s OA work, events– Over 2500 visits in September & October 2010

Open Access to Knowledge and Information: Scholarly

Literature and Digital Library Initiatives – The South Asian

Scenario (2008)

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UNESCO OA Programme – 2010 - 2011

Global Knowledge Map– Country and regional analysis of the current state of OA:

– Critical success factors– Enabling environment– Best practices &

lessons learned

Current phase: planning & gathering feedback

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UNESCO OA Programme – 2010 - 2011

How to contribute to or participate in the Global Knowledge Map?

- Information about the state of OA in your country, details about policies, OA projects or activities, experts, institutions/organizations

- Funding opportunities

- More information will be published on the UNESCO OA web site soon

Contact Abby Clobridge, Open Access Consultant (a.clobridge@unesco.org)

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UNESCO OA Strategic Partners

Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) Open Society Institute (OSI) Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS) EIFL Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics

(ICTP)

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Target Groups

UNESCO’s Open Access programme pays particular attention to African and other developing countries where OA prevalence remains low – both in terms of output and usage.

– Africa– LDCs

UNESCO is working with other groups such as SciELO, EIFL, OSI to support OA infrastructure, policy, and initiatives in developing countries around the world.

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UNESCO OA Activities – 2010 - 2011

Regional Workshop on the Benefits of Open Access for Research Dissemination, Usage, Visibility and Impact Open Access in Africa In collaboration with the Academy of Science of South

Africa (ASSAf) and eIFL 22-23 November, Pretoria, South Africa

For more information, contact: Jaco du Toit, Communication and Information AdvisorUNESCO Office Windhoek+264 61 297 7217j.dutoit@unesco.org

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Pretoria Workshop Purpose

Regional OA workshop in Africa – planned for November 2010 – UNESCO/eIFL/ASSAf– Discuss how free and unrestricted access to

research materials can benefit and increase access to research.

– Look at strategic approaches to OA in Africa– Contact Jaco Du Toit if interested in participating

Mapping of OA initiatives worldwide

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Regional Workshop on the Benefits of Open Access for Research Dissemination, Usage, Visibility and Impact Open Access in India In collaboration SciELO Early 2011 – dates TBA

For more information, contact: Abby Clobridge, Open Access ConsultantUNESCO Headquarters, Paris+33 1 45 68 4224a.clobridge@unesco.org

+33 1 45 68 4224

UNESCO OA Activities – 2010 - 2011

UNESCO OA website

www.unesco.org/webworld/en/openaccess