Wits: Knowledge and Information Management

Invitation to Open Access week at Wits
Tweet

950 days ago

You are cordially invited to attend the events we have organized for Open Access Week (18-22 October 2010). For the sessions on 18 and 22 October 2010 at Hofmeyr House, RSVP: Neo.Petlele@wits.ac.za. Please see the OA Week activities for more information.

You are also invited to deposit copies of your publications in Wits Institutional Repository (http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za). Currently Wits research is tied up in expensive subscription journals with a limited reading audience. Our mission is to make Wits Research open on the global stage! Denise Nicholson is willing to assist you in the initial stages and with copyright queries, so please contact her on x71929, or email her on Denise.Nicholson@wits.ac.za, when you have time to discuss this. Alternatively, you may ask Maryna van der Heever in the Engineering Library for assistance.

Some of the presentations and podcasts from the event will be available from the eLearning server at http://elearn.wits.ac.za during and after the event.

Tags for this post
open access

Trackback URL View trackbacks

Comments 0

Possible boost for open access out of the G8 gathering - Academy of Sciences, South Africa a signatory
Tweet

723 days ago

Thirteen national academies of science delivered a joint statement at the May 2011 G8 gathering. The document is entitled "Joint G8+ science academies’ statement on Education for a Science-Based Global Development." While most of the document is concerned with creating an educated public in science and technology, a number of statements pertain to open access. Most significant among these is:

Support international collaboration to set up quality e-learning facilities, accessible to all, including students worldwide, and promote open access to scientific literature and databases.

-- Joint G8+ science academies' statement, page 2

Kudos to the Academy of Sciences, South Africa (ASSAf) for being one of the thirteen signatories. ASSAf was inaugurated in May 1996 by the former President of South Africa and patron of the Academy, Nelson Mandela. It was formed in response to the need for an academy of science congruent with the dawn of democracy in South Africa – activist in its mission of using science for the benefit of society. Its legal foundation is the Academy of Science of South Africa Act, Act 67 of 2001, which came into operation in May 2002. ASSAf is the official national Academy of Science of South Africa and represents the country in the international community of science academies. Their signature on this document will hopefully boost both public education about Science a Technology in South Africa, and encourage others to take open access seriously.

Download the statement here:
http://www.leopoldina.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Politik/Empfehlungen/G8/G8_Statement_Education_2011.pdf

The Academies which signed the statement are: