[IRTalk] Open Access in the Global South - editorial by Dr Dirk Postma: 'Open Access and Epistemic Equality'

[Ina Smith]

Dear Colleagues

Dr Dirk Postma - Editor of 'Education as Change' (open access journal accredited by the SA Dept. of Higher Education and Training and DOAJ 2016 listed) - makes an excellent case for Open Access in his editorial: 'Open Access and Epistemic Equality'. This editorial could not have come at a bettertime, with International Open Access Week celebrated recently and support for Open Access to continue to grow.

See Vol. 20 No. 2 (2016) at https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/EAC/index

"The privatisation and commodification of knowledge increase epistemic inequalities. The Global South is further marginalised through the cumulative effect of the monopoly of knowledge production and distribution, the unprecedented increase in subscription fees, and the impoverishing effects of changing exchange rates. Commercially bundled journals are not available to trade unions, community organisations, cultural groups, environmental groups and activists who do not have access to large libraries."

Please take a few minutes to read, and also share with others.

Kind regards
Ina