FORM

‼️Reminder: Our CDA is happening tomorrow!

Building Open Science Communities in the Arabic-speaking World (Arabic)

4 Feb 2026 | 13:00 GST | Online

🔗Register now and don't miss it: shorturl.at/rbuDf
See you tomorrow!
#OpenScience #ArabRegion

OA Books Toolkit This Toolkit is aimed at promoting and supporting open access (OA) to academic books. It consists of short articles covering a wide range of topics relating to OA books, each including a list of…

🎓 Need training material? The Open Access Books Toolkit comes with ready-to-use resources to support workshops, onboarding, and team learning for open access books.

🔗 Explore here: oabooks-toolkit.org

#openscience #oabooks #openinfrastructure

#OpenScience adoption across the Arabic-speaking world needs strong, local communities
This hands-on workshop equips participants with tools, frameworks, & mentorship to build & lead Open Science Communities, advocate effectively, & connect with peers across #MENA
🔗Register now: shorturl.at/s1DMo

We are pleased to welcome @clockssarchive.bsky.social as our newest Strategic Partner!

CLOCKSS brings to our community a longstanding commitment to digital preservation, #OpenInfrastructure, & the long-term safeguarding of scholarly knowledge.

🔗Read more: shorturl.at/DseH0
#OpenScience

Understanding Open Infrastructure: Why It Matters and Why It Needs Funding - Forum for Open Research in MENA Home

Missed our symposium on #OpenInfrastructure? The recording is now live on our website!

Watch to explore why open infrastructure matters, how @scossfunding.bsky.social supports it, & what sustainable funding can look like👇

🔗: shorturl.at/pM9vT
#OpenScience

Want to help grow #OpenScience in the Arabic-speaking world?

This Arabic-language workshop focuses on how to build and lead local Open Science Communities, covering advocacy, events, institutional engagement, & regional collaboration.🌐

🔗Register now: shorturl.at/LON1r
#FORM4Open

New #OpenScience resource!

#CreativeCommons licenses answer a simple but crucial question: what am I allowed to do with this work?

Learn how they support sharing, reuse, & collaboration in Open Science without losing control👇

🔗: shorturl.at/jKlZw

FORM and Copim - Community building in MENA - Copim During Open Access Week 2025, Opening the Future presented, along with Lucy Barnes, a project partner and editor at Open Book Publishers, at the Forum for Ope…

[CATCH UP] @kirahopkins.bsky.social shares her experiences of presenting to @forumforopen.bsky.social last year during #OAWeek

Just one thread in a growing relationship between ourselves and #OpenAccess #Publishing in the Middle East & North Africa 🌱

Find out more 👉

Explore our work & ways to get involved👇
🔹Community Development Activities (CDAs): shorturl.at/8cimw
🔹Open Science Resources: shorturl.at/kRrEr
🔹The Arabic-English Open Science Glossary: shorturl.at/Y8Vd5

Whether you’re just starting out or already active in #OpenScience, FORM creates space for learning, exchange, & collective progress across the region🌍

We also welcome individuals & organisations who want to share their knowledge by leading a symposium or workshop.

Getting involved doesn’t have to be complicated. Institutions can join FORM as members & become part of a growing regional network shaping #OpenAccess, #ResearchIntegrity, & #OpenInfrastructure

At FORM, we are working to strengthen #OpenScience across the Arab region by bringing together institutions, practitioners, and communities committed to openness, equity, & collaboration in research.🧵👇

Thanks to everyone who joined our symposium on understanding #OpenInfrastructure. Great discussions and thoughtful questions throughout🙌

Stay tuned👀 the video will be up on our website soon!
#OpenScience #FORM4Open

Reminder to join us tomorrow for our online symposium on understanding Open Infrastructure

We’ll be unpacking what #OpenInfrastructure really is, why it underpins #OpenScience, & why sustainable funding is a shared responsibility🤝

🔗Register now: shorturl.at/cnvdZ

We are pleased to welcome Al Akhawayn University as a new member of FORM!🎉

This partnership brings together a shared interest in strengthening research cultures, encouraging openness, & supporting meaningful exchange across institutions in the region.

🔗Learn more: shorturl.at/jHsyh
#OpenScience

Open ≠ unprotected

#OpenScience removes paywalls, not your rights. Copyright stays with you, and #CreativeCommons licenses help you decide how your work is reused.

🔗Learn more in our resource: shorturl.at/eEySw
#FORM4Open #OpenAccess

What is #OpenInfrastructure? And who pays for it?

Join us on 20 Jan, 10:00 GST to unpack why open infrastructure matters, why funding is critical, & how @scossfunding.bsky.social helps institutions invest sustainably🌐

🔗Register now: shorturl.at/6UJhj
#OpenScience #FORM4Open #Community4Open

2025 Annual Forum Sessions - Forum for Open Research in MENA Home

8️⃣To watch the presentations from the 4th Annual Forum, visit our website: shorturl.at/AgyAh

7️⃣#OpenScience in MENA is still evolving. The challenges are real, but so is the collective commitment to building more open, equitable, and connected research systems.

6️⃣Community-led initiatives, cross-border collaboration, and growing networks of researchers, librarians, and policymakers are actively shaping change.

5️⃣At the same time, the Forum showed real momentum. Despite these barriers, #OpenScience in #MENA is moving forward.

4️⃣There was also a strong call for more community-owned, sustainable solutions, especially open infrastructures that serve local needs rather than external priorities.

3️⃣Other recurring challenges included:
🔹gaps in training, awareness, and policy alignment
🔹difficulties with visibility, indexing, and #bibliodiversity
🔹reliance on systems that don't always reflect regional realities

2️⃣Across 3 days of discussions, speakers highlighted shared obstacles, including:
🔹limited or uneven research infrastructure
🔹unstable or insufficient funding for #OpenScience initiatives

1️⃣One thing was clear throughout the Forum: the region's research ecosystem has enormous potential but it's also facing persistent, structural challenges.

Why does #OpenScience matter for MENA?🤔

A thread reflecting on the 4th Annual Forum for Open Research🧵👇

#OpenInfrastructure #ArabRegion #ScholComm #FORM4Open

New #OpenScience Resource on our website!

#TransformativeAgreements are often presented as a pathway to #OpenAccess, but do they really deliver on that promise?🤔

Take a closer look at what these agreements are, how they work, & the questions institutions should be asking👇
🔗: shorturl.at/FnCCJ

📣Call for Proposals: Open Repositories 2026

The OR2026 conference returns online (8-11 June 2026)!
Theme: Open to All? Repositories at the Intersection of People, Practice, & Emerging Technologies
Share your work on #FAIR, preservation, & community

⏰Deadline: 11 Jan 2026

🔗: shorturl.at/7jV44
#CFP

Really fascinating & well-detailed study by @pathos-project.bsky.social
It raises some important questions: where are we still falling short in Open Science? What's holding progress back: infrastructure, funding, incentives, awareness? What practical steps can we take to move things forward?