Open Access Week 2025

Who Owns Our Knowledge?

October 20-26, 2025

This year’s Open Access Week theme, “Who Owns Our Knowledge?”, invites us to reflect on how communities can reclaim control over the knowledge they create, especially in a time of rapid technological and social change. It challenges us to consider who can access research and education, how knowledge is produced, whose voices are heard and whose interests are served.

Building on the recent campaign of community over commercialisation, the 2025 theme highlights the growth of community-aligned models like Diamond Open Access and Subscribe to Open (S2O). Editorial boards are reclaiming journals, institutions are rethinking metrics and researchers are increasingly recognising the shared ownership of data and outputs.

Yet, new threats are emerging. The unregulated use of academic content to train AI and the rise of surveillance-like practices on publisher platforms, risk undermining these gains. In response, global frameworks like the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science and the Toluca-Cape Town Declaration point toward a future where knowledge is shared ethically, equitably, and under community control.

Be part of the conversation this October. There are many exciting events and professional development oppportunties planned for Open Access Week 2025, so keep an eye on our event schedule for details and registration links. Let’s make the most of this powerful opportunity to link the global movement for open knowledge with meaningful policy change.

We hope to see you during Open Access Week, or contact your Library faculty team to learn more.

Adapted from: “Theme for Open Access Week 2025 Asks “Who Owns Our Knowledge?”” by SPARC in partnership with the Open Access Week Advisory Committee, CC-BY 4.0.