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The Arab Region’s Contribution to Open Science “Foundations of Open Science: Concepts, Principles, and Regional Implementation’ Workshop Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA(, and the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) Alexandrina, Egypt, November 5–6, 2025 Prof. Dr. Abdelrahman Farrag Information Sciences Dept., Beni-Suef University abdelrahma[email protected]u.edu.eg; aaf[email protected]om ORCID: 0000-0001-9513-640X
Thank you, BA and ASREN
From the Arabs to Europe: The Historical Foundations of Open Science
Great Scientific Civilization The Arab region has a great scientific civilization. Open science was prevalent in this civilization, where the cycle of scientific activity was “open” in all its aspects. The Islamic civilization valued openness, cultural collaboration, and the dissemination of knowledge —principles that today form the foundation of modern scientific research and the open science movement. Examples include: ❖The translation movement that brought diverse cultures into Arabic through institutions such as Bayt al-Hikma (the House of Wisdom); ❖Endowments (waqf) that supported free access to libraries, observatories, and research centers; ❖Collaborative learning through manuscript copying, commentary writing, and scholarly correspondence; ❖International teams of scientists who studied the stars and developed shared astronomical models; ❖And libraries that encouraged the exchange and circulation of knowledge. The scientific traditions of the Arab-Islamic civilization —including its spirit of openness —were later transmitted to Europe, forming a foundation upon which modern European civilization was built.
Key Arab Voices in the Open Science Movement •Across the Arab world, a growing number of scholars, librarians, and policy advocates have played a pivotal role in shaping the Open Science movement —inspiring others through their leadership and regional collaboration.
Key National and Regional Actors in Advancing Open Science in the Arab Region
International & Regional Partners Supporting Open Science in the Arab Region
Blogs •Facebook •Other social media platforms https://aioa.blogspot.com/ رحلا لوصولا لاجم يف ةيبرعلا تاردابملا Arab Initiatives of Open Access
Statements •“The Arab Manifest for Open Science”: Formulated in October 2021 during the 2nd Arab Congress for Open Access, organized by ALECSO and ACOA. •This Manifest was presented at the UNESCO Open Science Day, held in South Africa in December 2022. •“The Riyadh Call for Open Access”: This was the first Arab initiative, launched in Riyadh on 25–26 February 2006, just four years after the first Western initiative —the Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002). •“The Rabat Call for Open Science”: The Riyadh Call was updated and relaunched after 12 years during the Third International Conference on Open Access (ICOA2018), held in Rabat from 28 to 30 November 2018. (According to Nouzha Ibn El Khayat).
Private Sector Contributions to Open Science Private Sector Companies Supporting Open Science through the Localization and Customization of OpenSource Systems for: ❖Repositories for OA publications ❖Open data Repositories ❖Journals ❖… etc.
Thank you for your attention
