Rethinking How Excellence is Measured in African Higher Education
September 26, 2026
Appointment of Ms. Yenziwe Mbuyisa as Project Coordinator of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Climate Collaborative
October 5, 2026
Theme: Towards an African Diamond Open Access Paradigm
Accra, Ghana – October 1, 2026 – The Association of African Universities (AAU), the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA), and SPARC Africa will co-host a continental virtual conference on Diamond Open Access (DOA), convening university leadership, librarians, ICT directors, researchers, journal editors, publishers, policymakers, development partners and open science practitioners from across Africa and the Global South.
The conference, to be held November 2-5, 2026, builds on the outcomes of the Second Global Summit on Diamond Open Access and the Toluca Cape Town Declaration – of which the AAU was the first signatory – underscoring the Association’s commitment to transforming research dissemination across the continent. It seeks to move the Diamond Open Access conversation from advocacy to implementation, developing practical strategies that strengthen Africa’s capacity to create, disseminate and preserve scholarly knowledge through academy-owned systems.
African scholarship continues to face significant barriers to visibility, accessibility and participation within the global knowledge ecosystem. Scholarly publishing has evolved from a subscription-based model into one that combines subscriptions, article processing charges (APCs) and additional publishing-related fees – costs that place many African institutions and researchers at a structural disadvantage and that disproportionately exclude early-career scholars and under resourced institutions.
The conference responds to this challenge by advancing Diamond Open Access as a sustainable, equitable alternative that enables free access to research for both authors and readers. By removing financial barriers and advancing community-owned publishing infrastructure, Diamond Open Access enhances the visibility, accessibility and impact of African research while supporting Africa’s aspiration for knowledge sovereignty.
“The AAU was the first signatory to the Toluca Cape Town Declaration because we recognised then what is now unmistakable: Africa cannot build the research capacity it needs while the terms of its own scholarly visibility are set elsewhere,” said Professor Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General of the Association of African Universities. “Diamond Open Access is not a concession requested of the global publishing system – it is an assertion of ownership over African knowledge. This conference will move us beyond declarations to the instruments of implementation: an African Framework, African-owned infrastructure, and the institutional capacity to sustain both.”
The conference’s primary goal is to develop an African Framework for Diamond Open Access that advances a public-good, non-commercial, academy-owned and socially just scholarly communication ecosystem, and to encourage greater collaboration among institutions across the continent and the Global South.
Key objectives include:
- Expanding the adoption of Diamond Open Access among African research communities;
- Strengthening institutional capacity for journal and book publishing;
- Accelerating research dissemination and improving the discoverability and impact of African scholarship;
- Advancing knowledge sovereignty and African-owned scholarly infrastructures and platforms;
- Catalysing collaboration across Africa and the Global South.
The conference will be hosted virtually to ensure broad accessibility and participation across regions. Sessions will include keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops and collaborative drafting forums designed to support the development of sustainable, academy-owned scholarly communication ecosystems in Africa. Expected outcomes include strengthened Diamond Open Access networks and collaborations across Africa and the Global South; enhanced institutional capacity to support sustainable publishing ecosystems; and increased adoption of the African Platform for Open Scholarship (APOS) and related platforms, among others. The event also aligns with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by improving equitable access to knowledge and strengthening evidence-informed teaching, research, innovation and policymaking across the continent.
Registration: https://workshops.aau.org/Virtual-Diamond-Open-Access-Conference
About the Association of African Universities (AAU)
The Association of African Universities is the apex organisation for higher education institutions in Africa. Established in 1967, the AAU promotes cooperation among universities and other higher education institutions while supporting capacity building, research, innovation, policy dialogue and quality higher education across the continent.
About the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA)
AfLIA is the continental umbrella organisation for library and information associations, institutions and professionals in Africa, advancing equitable access to information and knowledge, supporting library capacity and leadership development, and advocating for the role of libraries as drivers of Africa’s development, education and research agendas.
About SPARC Africa
SPARC Africa works to advance open scholarship, equitable access to knowledge and community-owned scholarly communication systems across Africa through advocacy, capacity building and strategic partnerships.
Media Contact
Dr. Felicia Nkrumah Kuagbedzi
Email: fnkrumah@aau.org
