2024 Programme

*The 2024 Programme will be announced closer to the dates of the conference and is subject to change.

Our Advisory Board is currently reviewing abstract submissions and will be finalising their decisions for our programme by early July. 

The 3rd Annual Forum will be held under the theme of “Transforming Knowledge Into Action”, where we will explore tangible and practical strategies for the implementation of Open Science policies throughout the Arab world, using localised and actionable insights from knowledgeable speakers across the region and beyond. 

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:

  • Policies and funding:
    • Open access and research assessment policies
    • Funding sources and allocations
    • developing policies and determining best practises to support sustainability in Arab scholarly communications ecosystems
    • Incorporating SDGs in research and education strategic planning
  • Open Access publishing and open education resources
    • Preprints, transparent peer review, and open access publishing
    • Creating and disseminating open resources
    • The commercialisation of Open Science
    • Building and using Institutional repositories
  • Capacity building and community engagement
    • Adapting and decolonising practises and resources for the Arab region
    • Building and Sustaining Communities of Practices (CoP) in Arabic speaking countries
    • Digital and human capacity building
  • Open infrastructure and infrastructure supporting Open Science
    • The rise of community-owned and community-led Open Science infrastructures and publications
    • Implementing reproducible, open and interoperable infrastructure in the Arab region
    • Using AI to advance engagement with open science policies and practises in the Arab world