Join us between 3-4.30pm GMT (find this in your local time) on Thursday, March 5 for ‘Fair and equitable publishing models – how to transition to Diamond Open Access’, a free webinar dedicated to exploring Diamond Open Access (Diamond OA) and why it matters for scholarly publishing.
The webinar will be moderated by Roseline Dzekem Dine, with panelists Abel Packer (Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) Program, and Foundation of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil); Ashley Farley (Gates Foundation); Fernanda Beigel (National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET, Argentina), National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), and Research Center on the International Circulation of Knowledge (CECIC)); and Shane Alsop (Publishing Development Manager, eLife). It will look at:
- What Diamond OA is and why it matters for fair and equitable scholarly publishing
- Practical pathways for transitioning to community-led, author- and reader-free publishing models
- Sustainable structural, financial and governance frameworks that support Diamond OA
- Real-world examples of successful Diamond OA initiatives from around the globe
- Clarifying the roles of key stakeholders, including institutions, funders, editors, and researchers, in enabling Diamond OA
- Encouraging cross-sector collaboration to build more equitable scholarly communication systems
- Equipping participants with actionable insights they can apply within their own organisations and communities
This session aims to share insights, experiences and perspectives from across the publishing, research, funding and institutional communities.
Moderator:
Roseline Dzekem Dine is an expert in health research methods, public health and social science, with a deep commitment to advancing open science and equitable access to knowledge. She serves as co-chair of the eLife Global South Committee, and is the founder of the Review and Curate Network (RCN), an initiative dedicated to enhancing scientific communication in the Global South through the review and curation of preprints. Roseline is a recognised advocate for open peer review: she served as a PREreview Champion for 2025 and is now a mentor.
Panellists:
Abel Packer is the Co-Founder and Director of the SciELO Program, and Project Coordinator at UNIFESP, since June 2010. Previously, he was Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences (BIREME) of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization for 11 years. Packer has a bachelor's degree in Business Management and a Master of Library Science Degree, with extensive experience in information science, librarianship, information technology, and information management.
Ashley Farley is Senior Officer of Knowledge & Research Services at the Gates Foundation. In this capacity she leads the foundation’s Open Access Policy implementation and associated initiatives. She completed her Masters in Library and Information Sciences through the University of Washington’s Information School. She has a deep passion for open access, believing that freely accessible knowledge has the power to improve and save lives.
Fernanda Beigel is a Sociologist and holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences. She pursued her postdoctoral studies at the Centre de Sociologie Européenne (EHESS, Paris) and currently serves as a Superior Researcher at CONICET, Head Professor at UNCuyo, and Director of CECIC. She has been the Chair of the Advisory Committee for Open Science at UNESCO (2020 – 2021) and Chair of the Argentinian National Committee for Open Science (2020 –2023). Beigel is a winner of the Bernardo Houssay Prize (2003), CLACSO Essay Award (2004), and has received the Mention of Honour to Scientific Value – Argentine National Senate (2017).
Shane Alsop is Publishing Development Manager at eLife, where he helps drive promotion and adoption of open access publishing agreements with institutions, funders and society partners. He also supports outreach and community initiatives, and has helped socialise the eLife Model across a global network of researchers and institutions.
eLife’s Global South Committee for Open Science guides eLife in promoting inclusive, equitable and diverse scientific communications by supporting researchers in the Global South and amplifying their work on a global scale. In their latest eLife Feature Article, ‘Point of View: How the Global South is reshaping scholarly communication’, the committee demonstrates how the Global South’s approach to knowledge dissemination offers a blueprint for a fairer, more inclusive and more just academic publishing ecosystem.
