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The goal of this conference is to bring together librarians, researchers, policy makers and university leaders, to support the exchange of ideas, and facilitate the development of new collaborative communities and partnerships. In our previous Annual Forums, we focused on sharing knowledge, exchanging ideas, and building communities. This year we will focus on Transforming Knowledge into Action. We are therefore especially delighted to be partnering with the Qatar National Library for the 2024 Annual Forum, reflecting QNL’s mission to empower the people of Qatar in their research and learning journeys.
Open Science in higher education institutions and research communities is a highly complex and rapidly evolving landscape, and there are many ways of transforming knowledge into practical action. We have therefore identified 4 thematic areas for this year’s Annual Forum, reflecting the priorities of our members and wider network across the Arab states:
This year, the Annual Forum will offer a mixture of individual presentations, moderated round table discussions, and workshops. As accessibility lies at the hearts of everything we do, this will be a fully hybrid event, with all in-person activities live streamed, in English and Arabic. The programme will include a full day of online presentations, two days of in-person presentations, and a half day of high-impact workshops.
We therefore invite proposals for presentations, round table discussions, and workshops (in English or Arabic) linked with any aspect of the themes and topics listed above. Particular preference will be given to regional case studies relating to the challenged and solutions within our thematic areas, offering new and innovative examples of transforming Open Science knowledge into policies and practises in the Arab region.
Proposals will be submitted via an online form HERE. When submitting, you will be asked to provide the following information:
Please note: all presenters will be required to cover any travel and accommodation costs, together with the conference fee. There is a special discounted rate for presenters attending the event in person of $130, and presenters who are not attending in person do not have to pay a fee.
The submission deadline is the 1st of June. The proposals will be reviewed by the Advisory Board, and acceptance notifications sent out in early July.
If you have any questions, please contact our Team via email (contact@theforumforopenresearch.com)
Speakers attending the event in-person will be required to register. Selected speakers will receive a special 52% discount rate of $130 when registering for the event. This fee will includes attendance at the conference, all coffee breaks and lunches, the drinks reception(s) and Gala Dinner, the opportunity to attend our valuable workshops, and access to our networking activities. Attendees and speakers will also receive a Certificate of Attendance.
The Forum for Open Research in MENA (F.O.R.M.) is being organised by the Knowledge E Foundation and Gulf Conferences to support and promote Open Science across the Middle East and North Africa. Endorsed and supported by UNESCO, our Advisory Partner, this event is designed to foster awareness and understanding of Open Science and its benefits, and facilitate the exchange of ideas and actionable insights. Bringing together leading international experts and key regional stakeholders, along with open-source and open-resource solutions and technology providers, our goal is to provide a forum for MENA librarians, researchers, government policy makers and higher-education institutions to exchange ideas and start new cross-regional collaborations developing Open Research policies and infrastructure.
The movement towards Open Science is vitally important to ensuring the long-term sustainability and inclusivity of our education systems and scholarly communities. However, Open Science is also a complex and multi-faceted concept, and it can be difficult to know how and where to start. The problem is compounded by the negative publicity surrounding predatory publishing practices and the mistrust of Open Access which this has engendered in the MENA region (and across the world), together with issues surrounding funding allocation and the disparity in subject-field approaches.
F.O.R.M. seeks to address these issues by encouraging discussion and debate amongst leading regional and global stakeholders, facilitating the development of structural frameworks and practical policies. We hope to encourage participants to consider all the issues surrounding equitable Open Scholarship and Open Science practices, by bringing together industry leaders and global experts, and providing a mixture of outstanding talks, strategy sessions, networking opportunities and workshops.
We invite scientists, scholars, and professionals to discuss new findings, research and case studies on the role, impact, and implementation of an aspect of Open Science in the higher education sector. Proposals for 20-minute papers, pre-made panels, and roundtable sessions are all welcome.
Preference will be given to proposals addressing the following themes, relating to the main issues impacting the growth of Open Science in the MENA region (as identified by UNESCO):
Topics can also include but are not restricted to:
© 2024 Knowledge E Foundation, unless otherwise stated.