Sounds like a new blockbuster movie, but it’s a report from the BOAI-forum newsletter:
On November 4th-5th 2004 a very successful Open Access event was held in Italy: thirty-two institutions (31 Italian Universities and 1 research centre) gathered in Messina, Sicily, to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, during the first national workshop on Open Access in Italian Universities, promoted by CRUI (the Council of Rectors of Italian Universities): http://www.aepic.it/conf/index.php?cf=1
On the web site there are several materials about the event: the “Messina Declaration”, the list of signatories, a press release (very soon also in English), the list of participants (over 250, mainly university professors, librarians and IT people). Last but not least, OA presentations (some in English). A national committee worked to achieve this: Benedetta Alosi and Nunzio Femmino’ (and their staff at the University of Messina), Paolo Bellini (Trento), Valentina Comba (Bologna), Patrizia Cotoneschi (Firenze), Antonella De Robbio (Padova), Paola Gargiulo (CASPUR), Ezio Tarantino (Rome), with me (CILEA). Thanks to OSI and SPARC Europe to have supported the event through the participation of Fred Friend, Jean-Claude Guedon and David Prosser.
The impressive amount of signatories (31 out of 77 Italian universities) will have a significant impact on the promotion of Open Access in Italy and probably also abroad. We are confident that the Rectors’ committment will involve our scholarly community. Now there is the necessary support to work at tools and strategies to make OA happen in our country.
Susanna Mornati
Project Leader AEPIC (Academic E-Publishing Infrastructures)
CILEA – Inter-Academic Consortium for ICT
Via R. Sanzio 4, I-20090 SEGRATE (MILANO) – ITALY
mobile +39 348 7090 226, office +39 02 2699 5322
mailto:mornati@cilea.it, http://www.aepic.it/
