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 of accessing and sharing knowledge continue to rise, 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

REGISTER HERE

This is a hybrid event. We will provide an MS Teams link upon registration to participants who choose to attend online.

Venue: Mahikeng Campus, Building A20, Room G01

10:00 - 10:10Welcome & setting the scene - Dr Mathew Moyo (TBC), Chief Director, Library and Information Service, NWU
10:10 - 10:20 Official opening - Prof Jeffrey Mphahlele, DVC: RICEP, NWU
10:20 - 10:40 Keynote address - Recorded: Prof Vincent Larivière, Chair on Open Science, UNESCO
10:40 - 10:50Poetry item - TBC 
10:50 - 11:10 Prof Olubukola Oluranti Babalola, Director: Food Security and Safety, NWU 
11:10 - 11:30 Ms Daneshree Moodley, Customer Success Manager, Elsevier
11:30 - 11:50 Iryna Kuchma, Open Access Programme Manager, EIFL
11:50 - 12:10Zine Sapula, Open Access Project Manager, SANLiC
12:10 - 12:30Prof Ushotanefe Useh, Deputy Dean: Community Engagement and Stakeholder Relations, NWU
12:30 - 12:45Q&A and discussion - Facilitated by the Programme Director 
12:45 - 12:55Poetry item - TBC 
12:55 - 13:00 Closure & vote of thanks - Ms Veli Tshetsha (TBC), Director: Research and Open Scholarship, NWU 

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

NWU Initiatives