Conference Synopsis

On Wednesday 22nd October, 19 international research and cultural heritage organizations signed the “Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities”; among them seven large, German research organizations and with CNRS and INSERM two of their French counterparts.

The signing of this declaration was preceded by a three-day conference in the Harnack House of the Max Planck Society in Berlin-Dahlem where leading, international experts discussed new ways of accessing scientific knowledge and cultural heritage via the Internet. For the first time ever, the Internet offers the possibility of making knowledge universally accessible. As a result, publishing practices and the system of quality assurance used thus far in the sciences and the humanities are expected to undergo considerable changes. In signing the “Berlin Declaration”, the research organizations advocate consistently using the Internet for scientific communication and publishing. Their recommendations in favor of open access are directed not only at research institutions but also and to the same extent at cultural institutes such as libraries, archives, and museums.

Governments, universities, research institutions, funding agencies, foundations, libraries, museums, archives, learned societies and professional associations who share the vision expressed in the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities are therefore invited to join the signatories that have already signed the Declaration.

The “Berlin Declaration” is in accordance with the spirit of the “Bethesda Declaration on Open Access Publishing” and the “Budapest Open Access Initiative”. Both also endorse fundamental changes to the practice of scientific publishing. The “Berlin Declaration” incorporates cultural heritage, a point stemming from the ECHO (European Cultural Heritage Online) initiative, one of the pilot projects supported by the EU Commission. The ECHO-Project involves sixteen partners from nine European countries, and aims at creating a core of a future permanent infrastructure to guarantee open access to cultural heritage in Europe.

last changed: 20.12.2006