The OA2020 Initiative has released a summary report outlining key outcomes from the 17th Berlin Open Access Conference (B17), held earlier this year. The event convened national delegations from research institutions and libraries to assess global progress in open access transition and to navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving scholarly communication landscape.
The Max Planck Society recently hosted B17, an event organized by the OA2020 Initiative (coordinated by the Max Planck Digital Library). This gathering brought together delegates and publishers for discussions on priorities in the transition to open access. Drawing on insights from library consortia across six continents, B17 participants reaffirmed their dedication to promoting fair, inclusive, and author-driven practices in scholarly publishing, while also supporting new, community-led models of open scholarship.
Building on progress made at the previous Berlin conference, participants identified priority areas requiring sustained attention. These include the protection of author rights through open licensing, the promotion of transparent and equitable pricing, the advancement of diverse publishing models, and the maintenance of rigorous quality standards.
The conference culminated in the adoption of the B17 Final Statement, a consensus-based document that defines objectives for the next phase of publisher negotiations. Delegates emphasized the need for coherent regional engagement strategies, better policy alignment, and expanded collaboration across national and institutional boundaries.
As OA2020 and its partners continue their work through thematic working groups and shared learning mechanisms, momentum from B17 is expected to carry through to the next convening, B18. That future event will serve as a stocktaking point to evaluate implementation progress and refresh strategies in the final stages of the open access transition.
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