Qatar National Library Hosts Third Annual Forum for Open Research in MENA -1-

For her part, Executive Director of Qatar National Library Tan Huism said the Library's commitment to supporting and facilitating research continues to grow as it builds on its initiatives to promote and advocate for open research practices in collaboration with various organizations across the region. "Through initiatives such as the Manara - Qatar Research Repository, our Open Access Fund, and events like today's, we pursue our objective of promoting open access that increases the impact and visibility of published works, which ultimately advances our mission of serving as a hub for learning, cultural development, and personal growth," Tan said. Chair of the Annual Forum for Open Research Emily Choynowski said that the theme of the annual MENA Open Research Forum, "Transforming Knowledge into Action," reflects the key priorities that emerged during the panel discussions and Q and A sessions at last year's annual forum, as well as the urgent need expressed by many stakeholders to move from discussion to mo re effective calls to action and take concrete steps. In turn, CEO of the Knowledge E Foundation Kamran Kardan pointed out that the foundation has supported open research since its inception and has followed up on its development, and that its initiatives have contributed positively in many countries around the world, including Arab countries, which has transformed the forum into a movement for dialogue and cooperation. He stressed the importance of the forum in exchanging ideas, exploring opportunities, and establishing cooperative relationships between participants. During its sessions following the opening, the forum sought to highlight the latest trends and opportunities in open research, to help facilitate the global transition towards more sustainable and inclusive research models, and to make them more widely available. The annual Forum for Open Research in MENA, launched in 2022 by the Knowledge E Foundation as an independent, non-profit initiative, aims to support researchers and research groups o n their journey towards a more "open" world. Qatar National Library is a leader in open access in the MENA region, providing services through transformative read and publish agreements. These include an article processing charge (APC) fund to cover processing charges for open access journals, and a digital research repository to support a permanent archive of Qatar-based research. Since 2018, the Qatar National Library consortium has funded the publication of more than 5,000 articles. In 2023, the library also launched Manara - Qatar Research Repository, which captures, preserves, and provides access to scholarly research created in the country. Manara supports both Arabic and English traditional research outputs, such as articles, conference proceedings, and monographs, as well as non-traditional outputs in the form of datasets and software, multimedia materials, posters, and presentations. Since its launch, Manara now hosts more than 6,700 open-access items and has garnered over 173,000 views and 105,000 downloads. Source: Qatar News Agency