This is an important step in promoting a global understanding of the meaning of and opportunities afforded by open science, as well the challenges that open science entails. The ISC was an active contributor to discussions on the development of the Recommendation, soliciting comments from its network of members and wider community, and building on the ideas developed in the 2020 discussion paper, Open Science for the 21st Century. This input from the international scientific community and their assessment of the draft text assisted UNESCO and its member states in the development of the final text of the Recommendation.
As a result of our constant and close engagement, the ISC and its members were invited to designate observers at the intergovernmental special committee meeting of technical and legal experts which took place at UNESCO Headquarters in May 2021, and to present a statement.
The expanded social networks of this new openness are exemplified in trends of increased multi-nationally authored scientific papers, the growth of transdisciplinary collaboration and of citizen science.
From the statement made by the ISC delegation to the UNESCO Special Committee meeting on Open Science, 6-12 May 2021.
The shaping of this new paradigm has largely been achieved through the work of the national academies, international scientific unions and associations, and related bodies that are represented in the membership of the ISC, and reflected in its statement on Open Science [2].
The ISC was also invited to present a statement at UNESCO’s 41st General Conference, shortly before the adoption of the resolution.
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