Open Access Week 2023 is just around the corner, and this year’s theme, “Community over Commercialization,” promises to spark insightful conversations and foster a stronger sense of solidarity within the scholarly community. This event, running from October 23 to October 29, invites us to explore and prioritize open scholarship practices that serve the public and academic community’s best interests.

The importance of this theme is underscored by the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, which advocates for the prevention of “inequitable extraction of profit from publicly funded scientific activities” and supports “non-commercial publishing models and collaborative publishing models with no article processing charges.” By doing so, we can recapture the original spirit of open access: “an old tradition and a new technology have converged to make possible an unprecedented public good.”

Chosen by the Open Access Week Advisory Committee, this year’s theme offers an opportunity to unite, take meaningful action, and raise awareness about the significance of community control in knowledge sharing systems. While Open Access Week officially runs from October 23 to October 29, we encourage everyone to engage in discussions and take action whenever it best suits their schedule, adapting the theme and activities to their local context.

Join us for Open Access Week 2023 and be part of a global conversation that prioritizes “Community over Commercialization.” Together, we can create a more inclusive, equitable, and accessible future for research and knowledge sharing.