On February 22nd, 2017, OASPA hosted a Twitter chat with Xin Bi (Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University/DOAJ), Ina Smith (Academy of Science of South Africa), Abel Packer (SciELO), and Lars Bjørnshauge (DOAJ). The open access community and members of the public were invited to ask the panel any questions they had on the topic, and what followed was a wide-ranging discussion on Open Access publishing in the Global South.
Key takeaways from the discussion included reflection on issues such as: the particular challenges posed by open access publishing in the Global South (Africa, Latin America, and China in particular); the future of open access publishing in the Global South; empowerment and available support for those working in open access in Global South regions; and how open access journals in the Global South can ensure they are recognised as legitimate and quality publishing channels within a global scholarly communication system.
OASPA’s latest Twitter Chat greatly extended the discussion we had on Open Access publishing in the Global South in our recent webinar with Xin Bi, Ina Smith, Abel Packer and Lars Bjørnshauge, which can be found here. Our blogpost reflecting on the webinar discussion is here.
A full account of the discussion can be viewed on the Twitter hashtag #OASPAChat. For those looking for a summary, here’s our Storify of the discussion: