The European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) is set to launch on January 15, 2025, in Madrid, Spain, marking a major step forward for Diamond Open Access (OA) publishing in Europe. Hosted by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) at the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT), the event will highlight the EDCH's mission, services, and opportunities for community collaboration.
The EDCH will support institutional, national, and disciplinary capacity centers as well as Diamond OA publishers and service providers, offering resources for coordination, sustainability, training, technical tools, and scalable services. This launch aligns with the Action Plan for Diamond Open Access, addressing the capacity needs within the Diamond OA community. The hub’s work will contribute to an expanding global network, joining other regional initiatives like Redalyc–Amelica and AJOL, and advancing UNESCO's vision for a worldwide Diamond OA framework.
The launch comes as Diamond OA gains momentum, with the Council of the European Union advocating for high-quality, transparent, and equitable scholarly publishing and UNESCO supporting open science through its 2021 recommendation. The EDCH has received early funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) and CNRS and developed initial tools under the CRAFT-OA and DIAMAS projects.
A related event on January 14 will introduce the EU-funded ALMASI Project, a collaborative three-year initiative with 15 partners across Africa, Latin America, and Europe. ALMASI aims to strengthen non-profit OA publishing, with a focus on co-developing quality standards, training, and policy measures across diverse regions.
OPERAS, the organization behind the EDCH, continues to drive open scholarly communication and equitable publishing throughout Europe. More details on registration and programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
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