The Annual Forum for Open Research in MENA has grown rapidly since its inception and gone from strength to strength. Our first event was held in Egypt in 2022, in partnership with the Egyptian Knowledge Bank. Our second was held in the UAE, in partnership with Khalifa University, the UAE Ministries of Education and Culture, and UNESCO. And we are excited to announce that the 3rd Annual Forum will be held in Qatar, in partnership with the Qatar National Library.
The Library has been a regional leader in supporting the advancement of Open Access publishing, and the broader transition towards more ‘Open’ research and education practises, and fostered a strong collaborative community spirit. This has been shown in the long-term support we have received from Dr Alwaleed Alkhaja, Head of Open Access and Copyright at the Library, who has been hugely supportive of the FORM initiative and served as a member of the Annual Forum Advisory Board since its inception.
The full details of the 2024 Annual Forum will be finalised and made available in the coming weeks. This year’s Annual Forum theme is: Transforming Knowledge Into Action, and it will take place on the 21st-24th October 2024. The Call For Papers will be live soon, and we hope that librarians, researchers, policy makers, higher-education institutions from across the Arab region will join us and share their insights and experiences.
About Qatar National Library
Qatar National Library acts as a steward of Qatar’s national heritage by collecting, preserving, and making available the country’s recorded history. The Library provides equal access to all types of information and services and aims to enable the people of Qatar to positively influence society by creating an exceptional learning and discovery environment.
His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, officially inaugurated Qatar National Library on 16 April 2018. The Library was granted the status of national library under the Amiri Decree No.11 of 20 March 2018.
