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EUA welcomes the approval of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science and recognises its importance in providing a shared set of standards and actions for the further implementation of Open Science policies and practices at international, national and institutional levels. In 2020, EUA provided its support by joining the UNESCO Global Open Science Partnership, which aimed at bringing together different stakeholders in the field of Open Science to contribute to the development and the adoption of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.

The Recommendation offers a comprehensive framework to support the mainstreaming of Open Science and its related areas, including Open Access, Open Data and Open Education. It does so by identifying common definitions, shared values and concrete actions to pursue, and recognising, at the same time, disciplinary and regional differences, and different perspectives in national discussions around Open Science.

EUA is pleased to see that core values and guiding principles proposed by the Recommendation reflect its plea for diversity and inclusivity  and are to be included in a global approach towards Open Science.

Actions areas identified by the document address several of the current challenges encountered by universities aiming to implement Open Science practices as the standard way of producing and sharing scientific knowledge. These include the importance of establishing national policy frameworks that support the enabling of Open Science, the need to develop more data-related skills and training, and the requirement for a new system of incentives and rewards in the assessment of research careers.

In bringing challenges and needs related to Open Science to the attention of national governments, the Recommendation will be instrumental in guiding UN Member States to take more actions to support the implementation of Open Science. Members States are also advised to consider combining efforts of many different stakeholders, as well as promoting and reinforcing international cooperation among all open science actors.

Universities are indeed included among these stakeholders, as they have a key role to play in the mainstreaming of Open Science, both as research performing organisations and as educational institutions committed to training the next generation of data professionals.

The Recommendation on Open Science was unanimously adopted by the UNESCO Science Commission on 16 November 2021 and was formally adopted at the full UNESCO General Conference on 23 November 2021.

EUA looks forward to continuing its constructive role within the UNESCO Global Open Science Partnership by supporting global efforts to make Open Science a reality.

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