Take part in a series of events and activities next week brought to you by the Knowledge Equity Network that has an exciting mix of talks/panels on the theme of “Connecting the Opens” as well as a series experimental co‑creation activities aimed at collaborative solution‑building.
A diverse coalition of universities have announced the launch of the Knowledge Equity and Open Scholarship Week 2026 (KE & OS Week 2026), a fully online, global gathering dedicated to advancing inclusive, equitable, and collaborative approaches to knowledge creation, dissemination and access.
Co-created by Mohamed Lamine Debaghine University – Sétif 2, University of Pretoria, University of Leeds, University of Salford, Université de Sousse and Chair UNESCO Open Education for Innovative, Intelligent and Inclusive Learning, andUtrecht University, and delivered in close collaboration with partners across the worldwide knowledge community, the programme will take place in 2026 with a central theme: “How can we bridge the Opens?”
Inspired by the SPARC Europe Positioning Paper, The Case for Connecting the Opens (November 2025), this three-day event, taking place from Tuesday 19th May to Thursday 21st May 2026, will explore how Open Education, Open Science/Open Research, Open Access and Open Infrastructure can work more effectively together to strengthen the equitability of global knowledge ecosystems.
A Co-Created Global Event
The Knowledge Equity and Open Scholarship Week is designed to bring together a rich mix of voices from across the globe, including practitioners, scholars, educators, librarians, students, policymakers, technologists, and community leaders. Our intention is to create an open space to learn, share, and connect.
From silos to synergy: Connecting the Opens
One of the outputs of the co-creation activities by
- Dr. Chadia Mansour (She), Assistant professor in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia/Canada
- Dr. Deepika Kohli (She), Assistant Professor at Khalsa College of Education, India
- Dr. Kheira Lakhdari (She/her), Associate professor at National Higher School of Advanced Technologies (ENSTA), Algeria
“From silos to synergy: Connecting the Opens” by Chadia Mansour, Deepika Kohli and Kheira Lakhdari is Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0
Events
Opening Keynote: Making the Case to Connect the Opens
When: (in your local time) 2026-05-19T08:45:00Z→2026-05-19T10:00:00Z
Participate: register to attend
- Vanessa Proudman, Director, SPARC Europe
- Paola Corti @Paola, Senior Open Education Expert, SPARC Europe
Drawing on SPARC Europe’s recent positioning paper, The Case for Connecting the Opens , this session will explore how a more coordinated, values-driven approach can unlock synergies, reduce fragmentation, and build more equitable and impactful knowledge systems for all.
Session 2: Bridging Digital Transformation and Open Infrastructure
When: (in your local time) Invalid date→2026-05-19T13:00:00Z
Participate: register to attend in zoom
- Naouel Abdellatif, Mohamed Lamine Debaghine University - Sétif 2
Omo Oaiya, WACREN - Hanlie Smuts, University of Pretoria
Bringing together perspectives from policy, practice, and infrastructure development, this session will examine how open infrastructures can support more inclusive and resilient knowledge systems, while also asking what risks emerge when digital transformation is uneven, fragmented, or driven by commercial priorities
Session 3: How can we create a more equitable publishing ecology?
When: (in your local time) Invalid date→2026-05-20T10:00:00Z
Participate: register to attend in zoom
- Elizabeth le Roux, University of Pretoria
- Susan Murray, Africa Journals Online
- Khawulile Radebe, University of Pretoria
- Sarah Thompson, University of York Library
- Monica Westin, Cambridge University Press
This session will explore how we can move towards a more inclusive and sustainable publishing ecology that reflects the diversity of global knowledge production. From Diamond Open Access and university press models to community-led journals and multilingual publishing, we will examine alternatives to dominant, commercial paradigms – while also critically reflecting on the role of Transformative Agreements in shaping the transition to open access
Session 4: Open Education Futures - Community, Co-creation, and Publishing
When: (in your local time) Invalid date→2026-05-20T13:00:00Z
Participate: register to attend in zoom
- Lilia Cheniti Belcadhi, Université de Sousse & Chair UNESCO Open Education for Innovative, Intelligent and Inclusive Learning
- Igor Lesko, OE Global
- Monge Tlaka, OER Africa
Bringing together perspectives from grassroots, community-led initiatives alongside institutional and policy frameworks, this session will examine how open education can be supported and scaled, to make it more inclusive, ensuring it remains grounded in local contexts and global collaboration.
Session 5: Co-creation spotlight - how can we bridge the Opens?
When: (in your local time) Invalid date→2026-05-20T15:00:00Z
Participate: register to attend in zoom
- Colleagues who have taken part in our co-creation experiment
A spotlight on the unique contributions to the Knowledge Equity & Open Scholarship Week programme from diverse open scholarship practitioners from across Africa, Europe, India, Central America and USA who participated in the co-creation experiment.
Session 6: How can we shape equitable Open Access for longform scholarship?
When: (in your local time) Invalid date→2026-05-21T10:00:00Z
Participate: register to attend in zoom
- Alicia Wise, Information Power
- Tom Grady, Copim
- Yeo Pin Pin, Singapore Management University
- Lindiwe Soyizwapi, University of Pretoria
Longform publications remain central to how knowledge is developed, especially in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Yet Open Access for these outputs continues to lag behind journals. Why is this and what would it take to change it?
Session 7: Co-creation in action - reflecting on the experiment
When: (in your local time) Invalid date→2026-05-21T13:00:00Z
Participate: register to attend in zoom
- Chrissi Nerantzi, University of Leeds
Our closing session will explore co-creation as a practical and participatory approach to tackling the question at the heart of the week: How can we bridge the Opens? Participating in the week’s experimental co-creation initiative, practitioners from across regions, roles, and disciplines have worked together in small, diverse groups to exchange perspectives and develop shared contributions
This is an event offered by and for the open education community. If you are logged into OEG Connect, return to the main OE Events space where you can add your own event as a new topic