International Conference on Open Science and Academic Communication in the Humanities and Social Sciences

What are the obstacles encountered by the Social Sciences and  Humanities researchers in their efforts to adopt openness-focused practices? What is the future of books and what are the sustainable business models in the publishing industry?These and many more questions will be answered by the speakers of the International Conference 'Opening up Social Sciences and Humanities in Europe: From Promises to Reality' which will be held entirely online on 2-4 November 2020.

The Conference, organised under the European project OPERAS-P (OPERAS-Preparation), seeks to be a forum for dialogue between researchers, policy makers, publishers and librarians to exchange experiences and views on the existing system of academic communication and the vision for a sustainable future. Through the events and workshops an attempt will be made to answer the following questions:

• What are the needs of researchers in terms of research infrastructure, services and policies?
• What role can open infrastructure play in supporting the transition to Open Science and providing the necessary services and tools?
• What are the obstacles that Social Science and Humanities  researchers face in trying to adopt practices that focus on openness?
• What does it take for Open Science policies and initiatives such as Plan S and the European Cloud for Open Science (EOSC) to be adopted by researchers in the Social Sciences and Humanities?
• What is the future of books and what are the sustainable business models in the publishing industry?

The National Documentation Centre (EKT) will co-ordinate a session entitled 'How to Join OPERAS' in which the different types of participation will be presented, as well as the individual working groups (Special Interest Groups) that operate within the OPERAS network and aim to address issues of interest to OPERAS and open scientific communication such as those on platforms and services, common standards, good practices, etc. At the same time, existing members of the network will talk about their participation in OPERAS, while Stakeholders interested in participating will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the objectives and actions of OPERAS.

The Conference is being organised within the framework of the European project OPERAS-P (OPERAS-Preparation) which is funded by Horizon 2020 and co-ordinated by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).The objective of the project is to address the necessary requirements according to the Work Programme with three objectives: supporting the ESFRI application, start the implementation of innovative services, and support the expansion of the consortium.

EKT participates in the project as a partner, with the aim of creating a forum for user communities, while also being actively involved in information activities. More information about the Conference as well as the full programme are available here.