User:Filippo Morsiani/Open access in Qatar

Open Access in Qatar; As of June 2015, the Directory of OA Journals (DOAJ) lists seven OA journals: Heart Views by Medknow Publications; Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care; International Review of Law; Global Cardiology Science & Practice ; Journal of Local and Global Health Perspectives; QScience Connect and Journal of Local and Global Health Science.

In 2013, there were 34 research articles published with BioMed Central – an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine), pioneer in the OA publishing model, and among them most viewed articles published by researchers from ASPETAR Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Medical College in Qatar, Hamad Medical Corporation, Dental Department; and Weill Medical College of Cornell University in Qatar.

In the Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR), Qatar has one repository: QSpace (Qatar University Institutional Repository). It is an open access repository and digital archive of the Qatar University's intellectual output. QSpace manages preserves and makes available the academic works of faculty, graduate students, and research centers. The interface is in English and using DSpace software.

Enabling Environment
Qatar is regarded one of the highest Internet penetration in the Middle East with 66.5  per cent, according to the Internet world statistics (2011) the Internet usage in Qatar has grown from 30,000 users in the year 2000 to about 563,800 users in 2011. This implies that the current percentage of Qatar population that now have access to the Internet either from public internet cafes, workplace or their homes is 66.5%.

Major Projects and Initiatives
QScience.com is a peer-reviewed online publishing platform developed by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ). By choosing open access model for all their journals, research articles are made available and accessible without any barriers. The website is partnering with Atypon, a worldwide leader in the digital content industry. All articles on QScience.com are published under a Creative Commons 3.0 CC-BY license.

ictQATAR is in the process of developing a national digitization plan to preserve Qatar’s national heritage (film, photo and in print as well as valuable documents in Arabic ) and share it with the world. It will be And made open to the public without restrictions. Specific initiatives that ictQATAR is leading to embrace it (establishment of incubation center, drafting policies that encourage open source in government and arabizing content). Also, ictQATAR is in the process of moving their website to an open source solutions and have mandated that all future ictQATAR Web projects utilize open source solutions. (More information here)

Al Jazeera, became the first broadcaster in the world to launch a CC-licensed broadcast-quality online footage repository (under CC BY) in 2009.

Heart Views is a peer-reviewed, Open Access quarterly publication of the Gulf Heart Association and published by Medknow Publications. Hear View is a peer-reviewed Quarterly publication of the Gulf Heart Association. The journal’s full text is available online at www.heartviews.org.

Past and Future OA Related Activities
1 – 5 March 2015: Introduction to Open Access and Open Knowledge – UCL Qatar Short Course, held in UCL Doha, Qatar

This course provided a hands-on introduction to Open Access and other types of open knowledge within the context of cultural heritage institutions — libraries, archives, and museums. The focus was on Open Access to research. The course also included an introduction to other types of open content such as open data. The course included hands-on activities and exercises designed to give participants a feel for the types of issues professionals who work with open knowledge face on a daily basis.

Recent International Open Access Week celebrations: 10-11 June, 2013: Qatar hosted the First Regional International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Conference in the Arab region. It was organized in cooperation with the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI) and the Public Libraries Department of Qatar Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage. The conference covered discussions on topics such as the improvement of current Qatar copyright laws to instill free use policies for libraries, digital content protection in libraries based in the Arab world, need for institutional OA repositories in the Arab world etc.
 * 22 October 2014: "Discover Open Access with QScience.com- OA Week Qatar" held in Doha, Qatar:
 * Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals’ QScience.com online publishing platform participated in the International Open Access Week, which enables the academic and research community to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access (OA).
 * The global event took place at Hamad bin Khalifa University Student Centre and saw representatives from Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID), Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, and Arab Initiatives of Open Access (AIOA) outline the benefits of OA publishing and its potential expansion in the Middle East.
 * Representatives from QScience.com addressed the possibility of providing more open access repositories as well as free, unrestricted online access to peer-reviewed research for regional authors and researchers.
 * Participants were also given the opportunity to show manuscripts and seek guidance from the QScience.com editorial team on the peer review, revision, acceptance and publication process.
 * 25-27 March, 2014: Enhancing the Digital Knowledge Society's Information Needs; Doha, Qatar.
 * On 23 October 2010, ictQATAR and Creative Commons successfully hosted the “Digitally Open” summit and Open Access Forum and the second CC Arab world regional meeting in Doha. The forum discussed how innovation can thrive in the digital age through sharing and openness. The event witnessed also a regional meeting for Creative Commons Arab World.

On 24- 25 September, 2011 at Doha, ictQATAR and Creative Commons organized a workshop on Open Source Development. The participants will receive a general overview of how open source works in development, including case studies of innovations in the field, then will engage in hands-on coding and development sessions that will result in a collaborative open source project. The Open Source Developers Workshop will be facilitated by Aiki Lab, a Singaporean company created to work globally to create technology.

Qatar Foundation Central Library (QFCL) opened in 2013 and it serves as a research, academic, national, and a public library. QFCL a partner in the multiple-award-winning World Digital Library helps to make material from cultures around the world available on the Internet in multilingual format. Moreover, QFCL will host the Heritage Library with important historical collection that reflects the best in Arabic culture and achievement.

Details of Key organizations
Is the Qatar affiliate of Creative Commons, a non-profit organization committed to realizing the full potential of the Internet. Creative Commons develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical tools that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation. ictQATAR signed a memorandum of understanding with Creative Commons to bring an official affiliate to Qatar. ictQATAR will lead the affiliate initially and will engage organizations and individuals in the efforts to build a vibrant Creative Commons community in Qatar.
 * Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ), is owned by Qatar Foundation - an independent, private, non-profit, chartered organization founded in 1995 by decree of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar. It is managed by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., established in December 2009 and headquartered in Doha. QScience.com is the peer reviewed online publishing platform launched by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ). In addition to publishing open access research, BQFJ and QScience.com are committed to increasing the quality of research output in Qatar by holding regular workshops on writing, editing and reviewwing academic research articles.
 * The Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology is leading many digital initiatives in Qatar.
 * Creative Commons Qatar