EKT webinar on strengthening Diamond Open Access infrastructures in Europe

The EKT webinar series “Open Science and the European OPERAS Research Infrastructure” presented its second webinar, entitled “EDCH and AEGIS OA: Mapping and Strengthening Diamond Open Access Infrastructures in Europe”, on Wednesday, 30 September 2026. It captured the participants' interest, highlighting the community's need to stay informed and discuss Diamond Open Access.

As the European and international research community increasingly embraces the principles and practices of Open Science, the development of a stable infrastructure that ensures the sustainability and growth of European Diamond Open Access publishing -publishing that does not impose financial costs on either authors or readers- is becoming increasingly necessary.

The European research infrastructure OPERAS is addressing this need through the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH).

EDCH is an initiative of the European research infrastructure OPERAS aimed at strengthening Diamond Open Access publishing efforts.

Recognising the local characteristics that publishing activities may have in the field of scholarly communication, as well as the specific needs of each country, EDCH seeks to establish National Capacity Centres (NCCs) and coordinate their activities. Its objectives include more effective identification and management of resources, the alignment of publishing practices through the adoption of the Diamond Open Access Standard (DOAS), the exchange of knowledge and experience among organisations, and ultimately the further dissemination of Diamond Open Access.

Today, a consortium of 24 organisations from 16 countries, including EKT, is working to expand EDCH services through the AEGIS-OA project. Particular emphasis is placed on strengthening Diamond Open Access book publishing and coordinating the EDCH National Capacity Centres (NCCs).

Both the EDCH programme and the ongoing AEGIS-OA project were presented during the webinar.

Speakers

• Dr Irakleitos Sougioultzoglou, EDCH Executive Manager, OPERAS research infrastructure
• Athina Papadopoulou, EDCH Communications & Outreach Officer, OPERAS research infrastructure

The discussion was moderated by Dr Iraklis Katsaloulis, Scientific Associate at EKT.

The first webinar in the series (in Greek) featured a presentation of the OPERAS research infrastructure and its services. The video recording and presentation materials are available online.

Upcoming webinars

The following webinars in the series will take place in the coming months:

Webinar 3 | GoTriple: An innovative service for discovering content and collaborations

Webinar 4 | Interoperability in the Humanities and Social Sciences: Standards, Challenges and Prospects

Webinar 5 | Citizen Science: Connecting researchers and citizens to create knowledge

The webinar series “Open Science and the European OPERAS Research Infrastructure” is part of the initiative to develop the national node of the OPERAS research infrastructure in Greece, within the framework of the OPERAS Prime project, in which EKT participates. The initiative aims to bring the Greek research community closer to the services and opportunities offered by the infrastructure.

The series is aimed at universities and academic libraries, research centres, scholarly associations, as well as researchers working in the Humanities and Social Sciences.