Luiss celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Messina Declaration

November 4, 2024 marks the twentieth anniversary of the “Messina Declaration,” a 2004 document through which Luiss and other Italian universities endorsed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Academic Literature.

The Berlin Declaration, in keeping with the spirit of previous declarations in favor of open access publishing, aims to support “new avenues for disseminating knowledge not only through traditional methods but also, and increasingly, through the paradigm of open access via the Internet.” In 2013, the Declaration was signed by 450 scientific institutions, demonstrating the international commitment to the dissemination of knowledge.

Over the course of two decades, the rise of a new, open, and participatory approach to science has led to the establishment of strategic goals shared by universities worldwide. These goals culminated in the 2021 UNESCO Open Science Recommendation and the Ministry of University and Research’s National Plan for Open Science 2021–2027.

To mark the occasion, the University of Messina, in collaboration with the University of Turin, has organized the two-day event “Open Science.” The event aims to reflect on the prospects of Open Science in Italy, featuring international sessions to highlight key trends in Europe and roundtable discussions with key figures who are putting the principles of open science into practice at the national level.

To promote the implementation of the Open Access principle, since 2016, Luiss has adopted a policy and procedures aimed at facilitating open publication, dedicating a specific section of its website to the topic.