Decolonising Open Science Symposium: Dismantling Global Hierarchies of Knowledge

Abstract

Despite the progressive efforts of the Open Science movement to produce more internationally inclusive models of research and education, the Global North is still widely perceived as the center of knowledge, with countries from the Global South at its periphery. Arab institutions and researchers today continue to suffer from this imbalance of power, as Western metrics of authority, language barriers, and Western ideologies continue to be favoured over others, impeding the aspirations of researchers and institutions across the region.

This symposium will explore Western dominance within the production and dissemination of knowledge, and its impact on academic landscapes in the Arab region and beyond. FORM and its invited speakers will reflect on the impact of academic colonialism and the commodification of knowledge in today’s research landscape, and critically reflect on the role of the Open Science movement in challenging/perpetuating these biases.