The first United Nations Open Science Conference took place on 19 November 2019, organized by the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library in collaboration with the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC).
The theme of the conference was “Towards Global Open Science: Core Enabler of the UN 2030 Agenda”. With a desire to elevate the discussion about open science and open research to the global level and to examine the role of open science in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the conference brought together representatives of open science initiatives (OpenAIRE, Hindawi, LA Referencia, AfricanLII and others), early career researchers, library directors and policymakers.
Towards Global Open Science: Core Enabler of the UN 2030 Agenda
A Conference at United Nations Headquarters, 19 November 2019
Openness is an essential component of the scientific process. With the fundamental changes technology is bringing to scholarly communication, the principle of openness should be reinforced to become a core element of the research cycle. New, open tools and practices enhance every aspect of the conduct of research: from hypothesis formulation, data collecting, data/results storing and publishing/distribution, to long term preservation and reuse; it is the sharing and collaboration that secure increased transparency, reproducibility – and credibility – of research results. All, of paramount importance to society. As research institutes, scientific organisations, academic institutions, libraries, and – recently – international or inter-governmental organisations transition to a model of knowledge sharing which is open by default, they will also need to play a key role in supporting the infrastructure necessary for open data, open peer review, open source, scientific/social networks, citizen science and open educational resources.
The global move to Open Science will directly facilitate the United Nations 2030 Agenda. As an enabler of several Sustainable Development Goals, Open Science can become the driving force behind scientific integrity in the service of humanity, democratisation of the research cycle and an impetus for regional development in scientific conduct – especially relevant for public health. At times of threats to multilateralism, Open Science through inter-governmental cooperation programmes strengthens international collaboration. Using global collaborative platforms, open science can provide equitable access to and participation in the scholarly communication cycle across the world. As these new platforms are now being designed, the principle of equity and the diverse needs of the global scientific community need to be built-in from the beginning.
This one-day Conference organised by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) aims to bring the global discussion on open science to the United Nations and highlight Open Science initiatives from around the world. In cooperation with the global OpenConn community, the conference will also bring early career leaders advancing openness in research and education into conversation with established leaders and policy makers in this key area for the UN 2030 Agenda.
On the occasion of the UN Open Science Conference on 19 November 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York, the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library invited speakers of the Conference to a closed roundtable discussion which took place in the afternoon of 18 November 2019. The informal discussion with the theme “Towards a Global Science Commons” was moderated by Professor Jean-Claude Guédon. It focused on “connecting” infrastructures and processes, on identifying opportunities for global collaboration, as well as on current progress in the field of Open Science (OS) and its central role to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda. The constructive and creative spirit of the discussion resulted in the Group reaching a consensus on six main views. A roadmap towards achieving a global Science Commons surfaced in the discussion. Four additional significant and meaningful perspectives were also brought up by several of the participants.
Find the text of the outcome document attached below.