Head of IT services at ISS, Michel Wesseling has given an interview to news site, Transfer, on the importance of Open Access in development. In the interview (in Dutch), he explains the importance of free online access to scientific publications. This is particularly important In developing countries where researchers often do not have the means to pay for reading rights or subscriptions to top journals. He therefore argues for more open access publications and more attention to the problem by development aid providers.

Read the full article (Dutch only)

The interview in Transfer, is part of a wider discussion on Open Access. The Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO convened an expert meeting on to discuss the role that Open Access can play in the development of global science. Participants came from various parts of the world and included representatives from institutions that organize science and access to scientific information in the Netherlands and in the world, stakeholders from universities, the government, the European Commission and the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris. The resulting report points out that Open Access is one of the three pillars of UNESCO's approach to increase access to scientific knowledge, together with the promotion of Free and Open Software (FOSS) and of Open Educational Resources (OERs).

It defines Open Access as a 'global public good': an instrument to stimulate the growth and quality of global science, as well as an instrument for realizing the rights to share in scientific advancement and its benefits, to education and to information.

Read the full report - A Global Perspective on Global Access

Michel Wesseling is Head of Library and IT services at ISS