International Manifesto for a Global Public System of Scientific Publishing and Metrics

INTERNATIONAL MANIFESTO ON THE REFOUNDATION OF SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION For a Global Public Network of Scientific Journals and Metrics Governed by Nations and Scientific Institutions PREAMBLE Scientific knowledge is a universal human inheritance and a collective public good. Yet today, the global system of scholarly communication stands on the brink of collapse, captured by private monopolies that block access to knowledge, extract public funds, and endanger the continuity of global scientific progress. This manifesto declares the necessity of building a new, sovereign, publicly governed international system of scientific publishing—free from private control, accessible to all, and permanently rooted in democratic accountability. THE TRIPLE-PAYMENT CRISIS 1. First Payment — Funding Research All research is funded by public resources: universities, national agencies, and taxpayers. 2. Second Payment — Paying to Publish Researchers must pay between €1,000 and €10,000 in APCs to publish in open-access journals. 3. Third Payment — Paying Again to Access Even after paying to publish, authors and universities must pay subscriptions to access the same journals. This triple-payment structure breaks the global chain of knowledge. PRINCIPLES OF A NEW ERA • Knowledge is a global public good. • No one should pay to publish or read. • Publishing must be governed solely by public institutions. • Metrics must be transparent and independent of corporate interests. • Public funding must guarantee universal, equitable access to scientific knowledge. PUBLIC FUNDING FOR A DEMOCRATIC KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM The new system must be financed directly by nations through stable public investment. This ensures: • long-term sustainability, • democratic governance, • independence from corporate interests, • universal free access worldwide, • and equal participation from all countries, regardless of economic level. This international public funding model is modest compared to the billions currently paid to commercial publishers and allows global science to be truly open, fair, and publicly owned. INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC BOARD FOR SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION (IPBSC) A new global governing body composed of nations, public universities, academies, and research institutions will oversee: • A global public network of open journals • Transparent peer review • Publicly controlled metrics • A multilingual and inclusive infrastructure • Long-term preservation of knowledge • Fiscal transparency and public accountability NEW GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM OF PUBLIC JOURNALS All journals will be: • Free to publish • Free to read • Publicly funded • Open-source • Global and multilingual • Democratic in governance GLOBAL MORATORIUM ON EVALUATION PENALTIES No researcher shall be penalized for publishing in the new public system. Early-career researchers will be protected during the transition. CALL TO THE NATIONS We call on all governments, universities, and scientific institutions to end dependence on commercial publishing monopolies and join in building a new global public system of scientific communication. Participating nations must commit stable funding to ensure the democratic and universal nature of this new system. CONCLUSION Science must belong to humanity—not to private corporations. This manifesto is a commitment to reclaim the scientific commons for all people and future generations. Signed, Jordi Vallverdú