NWU Open Access Celebrations: 2026
#OAWeek
Theme: The Cost of Knowledge
We create and share knowledge in order to advance human understanding and the common good. We recognise that accessing and sharing knowledge is a human right. Yet, the costs to access and share knowledge continue to increase, often dramatically. Why? Who benefits?
Increasing consolidation and commercial control over all aspects of knowledge comes at a cost. This year’s theme challenges us to consider the financial, human, and environmental costs of creating, sharing, and sustaining knowledge—particularly when these costs are driven by private rather than public interests. Last year’s theme of “Who owns our knowledge?” reflected on the reality of commercial ownership of knowledge. This year’s theme will reckon with the costs of that reality and avenues for reclaiming control of these systems meant to serve the public interest.
Programme and Registration Links
- All sessions are conducted online via MS Teams (a link to MS Teams will be provided upon registration).
NWU Library Initiatives
- Hosts and maintains the NWU Institutional Repository, which collects, preserves, and distributes NWU research material at no cost to the user.
- Boloka (NWU-IR) serves as the primary repository for all NWU Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs).
- Dedicated librarians assist researchers with uploading their outputs to Boloka.
- Hosts and maintains Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open-source solution for managing and publishing scholarly journals online.
- Open Access - Transformative Agreements