This year’s Open Access Symposium will be held on October 25, 2024, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., via Zoom.

The theme of this year’s Symposium is "Open About Open".It’s been 14 years since the first OA Symposium. While the original goals of the Open Access movement seemed clear, the current state of Open is more complex. Have we achieved our goals? Have we failed? What are the next steps for us as educators, researchers, students, or a community of practice? 

We want to hear from others in the OA community about how they are navigating the current state of Open and to share in both the successes and failures as a community. These may include efforts to promote open scholarship and open publishing, develop OER and open pedagogy, create incentives and reward structures to recognize innovation, or to educate faculty, students, administrators, or others in the community about any aspect of Open Access.  

The Call For Proposals submission form is available here. 

What topics can you present?

When it comes to what you do in Open Access (or your corner of the Open Ecosystem), what’s working for you? What didn’t work at all? What topics are you learning more about? What services or resources do you want to learn more about? What would you like to share with us?

Topics may include, but are not limited to: 

• Open scholarship and open publishing
• OER or open pedagogy
• Open Science or Open Data
• OA policies, promotion & tenure, rewards structures
• Federal or state guidelines on public access to research
• Open resources, tools, or platforms
• Grant programs, funding, and support
• OA education and outreach
• Open’s influence in collection management/development 
• Workflows related to Open
• Practical applications of Open resources 

Who can submit proposals?

We encourage anyone interested in sharing their work or engaging with others on topics related to Open in a relaxed, virtual environment. This includes but is not limited to: Faculty, Librarians, Administrators, Staff, Students, Policy-Makers, Advocates, and Community Members.

What formats are available?

• Lightning Talks (1-5 slides, 5 Minutes) 
• Short Presentations (15 minutes)
• Long Presentations (up to 45 minutes)
• Panel (up to 3-4 panelists)
• Roundtable (45 min-1 hour): The roundtable format is a guided discussion with attendees on a specific topic.
• Workshop or Active Learning Session (1 hour): This could include creating OER, demonstrating a tool or platform, etc.

When do you need to submit your proposal?

The deadline for submitting proposals is August 31, 2024.

We’re interested in supporting all levels of experience and backgrounds, so please share this with others in your network.If you have any questions, please contact Whitney.Freeman@unt.edu