[IRTalk] Open science crucial to reversing scant access to knowledge

[Ina Smith]

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20251111102146910&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AFNL0518
Open science is presented as a non-negotiable route for Africa to reclaim intellectual sovereignty and overcome colonial-era marginalisation by making African knowledge openly created, owned, and shared through African-led, non-commercial infrastructures (like Diamond OA platforms). To reverse scant access to knowledge, the speakers argue that African universities and governments must prioritise local, community-relevant research, remove financial and structural barriers (for both authors and readers), confront Northern bias in publishing, and invest in credible, high-quality open platforms and data systems so that all communities - not just elites - can benefit from science.

Ina Smith (her/she)

SciELO SA Planning Manager | Scholarly Publishing Programme
Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
<http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9710-3668>

[cid:d4470993-7c6b-480a-843d-8eb0bdcf36c2]

Senior Ambassador for Africa
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

[https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4xbjCrv5gVyyl84VvHNx8ocgrBYSBjggNNyva45_YzaCvj6fTvWD7f3cVI7JDH06vkvS21npNmjTLlc]
DOAJ & Diamond: 22 years<https://blog.doaj.org/2025/04/15/doaj-and-diamond-our-focus-for-2025/>
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