Second Open Access Essay Competition 2024 Africa Region: Community over Commercialisation for Diamond Open Access

International Open Access Week is an annual event focused on Open Access issues and an opportunity to reflect on current progress, strengthen current processes, and to plan strategies for the future. UNESCO, along with its partners, takes this opportunity to collaborate with the academic world to explore new changes in the publishing processes and the democratisation of knowledge.

The first edition of the Open Access Essay Competition was held in Latin America in 2020, organised by AmeliCA, UNESCO, Redalyc and CLACSO under the OA Week theme Open With Purpose: Taking action to build structural equity and inclusion, and was aimed at young Latin American researchers and students. 68 manuscripts from undergraduate and graduate students from 13 countries were received.

The submission categories included 1) Students, academics, and Open Access; 2) Open Access to information at universities; 3) Public and private science: reflections on equity and participation; 4) The impact of Open Access during the COVID-19 health emergency; 5) Open Access policies at universities; and 6) Access to information and inclusion for vulnerable groups. The contest awarded 12 young students from Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Guatemala. The book with the winning essays is available here.

2024 Second Edition of the Open Access Essay Competition for African Students and Early Career Researchers

This year, UNESCO, NRF, SPARC, Redalyc and AmeliCA are pleased to announce a call for submissions for the Second Edition of the Open Access Essay Competition, the contest seeks to surface the critical perspectives on Diamond Open Access (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_open_access) from students and early career researchers across Africa. In the framework of International Open Access Week and the Second Global Summit on Diamond Open Access, to be held in Cape Town in December 2024, https://doasummit.uct.ac.za/), this year’s topic will focus on Community over Commercialisation for Diamond Open Access under three categories.

Contest Categories

The main theme of the contest is Community over Commercialisation for Diamond Open Access. There are three thematic categories:

1. The potential for Diamond Open Access publishing to advance social justice and the public good.
2. Decolonisation and decommodification of Open Access publishing/Diamond Open Access as a means to decolonise and de-commodify academic publishing.
3. Creative works related to theme A & B.

Author Eligibility

Participation in the contest is open to undergraduate, graduate students and early career researchers (defined as within three years of receiving their terminal degree) enrolled in an African academic institution.

Submission Guidelines

1. Manuscripts must be written individually and in the essay style (described in more detail below).
2. Authors must participate with a single manuscript and must choose only one theme to submit.
3. The manuscript must be original and unpublished (rather in whole or in part). If authors use AI in any portion of a manuscript, including text, data, images, graphics, videos, citations or translations, the tool and its use must be described in detail, including prompts used if appropriate, and the full text of the original AI generated content should be attached as supplemental material. Standard grammatical aid tools such as rules-based software that automate, for example, general spelling and grammar, are not considered AI generated content and are not required to be listed.[1]
4. An essay is understood to be a short work that conducts an analysis and reflection with a predominance of critical thinking, based on self-reflection, supported by logic, and with solid theoretical based arguments that back up the positions and opinions about the topic. The language used must be clear and accessible to everyone, redacted in a free-style prose.
5. The essay should be in one of the following languages: English, French or Portuguese.
6. The essay’s maximum length is 6 000 words.
7. Suggested format: 12-point Times New Roman font, 1.5 spacing, justified text and numbered pages. The upper and left margins are 3 cm, and lower and right are 2.5 cm. The document format can be Word© (.doc or .docx) or OpenOffice Writer (.odt, .doc, .docx). No PDF is allowed.

Deadlines

1. The call will open on 17 September, 2024.
2. Deadline for submissions is 18 October, 2024.
3. Publication of results will be on 30 October 30, 2024.

Submissions

We encourage authors to review the format and requirements included in this call to prepare the essay submission. The Contest Entry Form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdG_9k1DA-y0uk9IrhA-6Zv1gV9LxR_0xBm3V0pi5MGX8yMEw/viewform should be completed.

Selection Process

All essays will be judged on their originality and structure of argument, conceptual clarity, rigor of defense, quality of writing, and conclusions as outlined in the submission guidelines by a Selection Committee. Submissions undergo a blind peer-review by two referees from the Selection Committee.

A maximum of three authors will be awarded.

*Honorary Mentions may result at the judges’ discretion:

7. First Place: 500 USD, official diploma, and publication of the essay.
8. Second Place: 300 USD, official diploma, and publication of the essay.
9. Third Place: 200 USD, official diploma, and publication of the essay.

Support will be provided for the winners to attend the Second Global Summit on Diamond Open Access in Cape Town. The book with the winner’s essays and top 10 essays will be published in 2025. More information can be obtained on the Summit website at https://doasummit.uct.ac.za/