The movement towards Open Science is vitally important to ensuring the accessibility, inclusivity, and long-term sustainability 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 practices, which has tarnished the Open Science movement.

Supported by UNESCO, ALECSO and EKB, our goal was 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 Science policies and infrastructure. By bringing together industry leaders and global experts, and providing a mixture of outstanding talks, strategy sessions, networking opportunities and workshops, we aimed to encourage participants to consider all the issues surrounding equitable Open Scholarship and Open Research practices.

The 2022 Annual Forum was held on the 26th-27th of October to coincide with the global Open Access Week initiative in Cairo, Egypt (with the support and endorsement of UNESCO and the Egyptian Knowledge Bank). The event was a huge success, with 50 speakers and over 1100 delegatesa from 48 countries across the globe.