The first half of 2025 has been extremely active for us here at FORM, with a number of new members joining us from across the region and the global open science community. It is wonderful to see our community grow, and to support so many cross-regional collaborative partnerships, as institutions and individuals increasingly recognise the importance of open science policies and practises. With that in

FORM has launched its own YouTube channel! We hope you will join and follow us… One of our core missions here at FORM is to help support the development of human capacities across the region, via the creation and curation of freely accessible bilingual resources. In addition to our Open Science Resources  we also host free monthly online Community Development Activities. And because we know

Each year at the Annual Forum, we select our keynotes to provide valuable insights that help to frame and contextualise the overarching theme chosen for that year, helping to shape and drive the discussions and debates for the whole event. For our 4th Annual Forum, taking place this year in the UAE in partnership with the American University of Sharjah, it is our huge pleasure

The Forum for Open Research in MENA (FORM) is delighted to welcome the Arab Community of Open Access (ACOA) as a new member of our network. Founded in 2020, ACOA is a dynamic regional initiative dedicated to advancing a culture of openness in science and scholarship across the Arab world. Through awareness-raising campaigns, capacity-building programmes, strategic collaborations, and the development of Arabic-language resources, ACOA works

The launch of the Open Science Community in Iraq marks a significant step forward in the realm of Open Science, driven by a desire to bridge the gap between global advancements and local practices. The initiative, inspired by international conferences and personal experiences, aims to address the unique challenges faced by the Iraqi research landscape. The Genesis of the Open Science Community in Iraq The

We want to thank our first sponsors for this year’s Annual Forum for Open Research. We could not achieve our mission to support the advancement of open science in the Arab world without you! Sponsorship allows us to organise the Annual Forum, bringing together key regional stakeholders from libraries, universities, advocacy groups, and government organisations to share solutions and build collaborations. Sponsorship also allows us

We are all familiar with the Budapest Open Access Initiative which offered the initial definition and statement of intent for the open access movement, and has helped guide activities across the world in the intervening decades. Now that it has become an independent organisation, offering guidance and strategic insight to open access advocates everywhere – we are excited and honoured that they have agreed to

Welcome to our newest regional member, the Arab Congress for Open Access. Open Access publishing activities are often the ‘gateway’ to understanding and engaging with open science policies and practises more generally, and in the Arab world, the Arab Congress for Open Access (ACOA) is a key stakeholder in advancing Open Access activities – supporting bibliodiversity and accessibility amongst the region’s research communities via community

We are hugely excited to welcome the American University of Sharjah (AUS) Library as a new Member of FORM, and our first library member. The university library is the heart of an institution’s research processes and practises, providing the policies, the infrastructure, and the support needed to produce and publish high impact research. Therefore, libraries have the power to be the single greatest driver of

The movement for Open Access (OA) continues to grow, making scholarly research more accessible to academics and the public alike. Open Science initiatives, like those led by OAPEN and the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB), are paving the way for a more inclusive and sustainable academic publishing landscape. As part of our commitment to fostering open scholarly communication, we interviewed Niels Stern, Managing Director