Open scholarship in the developing world, a video presented by Leslie Chan, 24.10.11

Leslie Chan, EPT Trustee and Director of Bioline International at the University of Toronto, gave the following video presentation at the Open Access Conference at the Kwama Nkrumah University in Kumsai. Ghana, see: http://vimeo.com/30922669. Titled, 'Opportunities for open scholarship in Africa', Leslie Chan first described the structure and use of the Bioline project, which aims to provide visibility for local research, and then went on to discuss the importance of relevant research and the need to consider new ways to distribute research findings in areas with limited infrastructure. He discussed the need for new and relevant standards, the need for widening the development of open scholarship to include new value metrics, new standards and new technologies that address local conditions. His presentation included two clips from videos of two African Professors from Kenya and Botswana who support the value of Open Access for research in their countries and have personal experience of its impact on development.

This presentation introduced new concepts that may provide better, more appropriate means for the exchange of essential research findings from the developing world.

     

Open Access week is here, and one of the major events taking place is the important Berlin 9 conference, to be held this year in Washington DC. See http://www.berlin9.org/program/index.shtml for the programme.

Of particular interest is a pre-conference workshop on OA policy on the afternoon of Tuesday 8 November, from 2-4 pm.

The purpose of the session is to describe the different policy approaches that have been taken and how effectively they can be made to work in practice.

There are four speakers, as below, and the session has been organised by the OA expert, Alma Swan of Key Perspectives Ltd.:

1. Welcome and introduction (10 minutes):  Alma Swan
2. Mandatory policy with rights retention [Harvard, Kansas SU]: Stuart Shieber, Jeff Vitter]
3. Mandatory policy without rights retention (but inked to assessment processes [Liege]: Bernard Rentier
4. Mandatory policy with intense library advocacy [Glasgow]: William Nixon
5. Q and A / discussion