Global Portal Throws Spotlight On Open Access Movement

The open access (OA) movement — which campaigns for free scholarly information via the Internet — has welcomed a website that aims to be the first port of call for checking the status of OA around the world. The Global Open Access Portal, launched last month by UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) at its general conference, will provide policymakers with information on the global OA outlook and situations at country level. It will also point to examples of successful OA initiatives.

The portal is funded by Colombia, Denmark, Norway and the United States, and will help to fulfil UNESCO's mandate to provide universal access to knowledge, especially scientific research. "It's good to see that UNESCO is joining, in concrete terms, the OA bandwagon," Raoul Kamadjeu, co-founder of the Pan African Medical Journal, told SciDev.Net. He said the website's focus on policymakers will encourage them to support the OA movement...