10th Open Science Retreat: 6 and 7 May 2026 – apply now!
“The future of Open Science amid authoritarianism, geopolitical tensions and aspirations for data sovereignty”
We cordially invite you to the 10th Open Science Retreat marking the final edition of this series. In this retreat, the focus will be on the impact of rising authoritarianism and geopolitical tensions on Open Science practices:
Fundamental scientific principles and findings are under unprecedented attack: Disinformation and science scepticism has reached new levels, threatening the very foundations of democracy and science. Autocratic governments are attempting to restrict academic freedom and to use science and research to legitimise their very own political narratives and agendas.
At the same time, geopolitical tensions are deepening, leading to increased security concerns in science and research, potentially leading to less openness, collaboration and communication among researchers around the globe. Last but not least, these developments are also having a significant impact on the availability of research infrastructures and Open Science materials. Do our societies need more data sovereignty to meet these challenges?
To guide our discussions, we would like to address the following questions:
- How can Open Science – with its emphasis on transparency, collaboration, equality of opportunities and reproducibility of scientific results – be sustained in the light of these global developments?
- What measures can we, as an international community of Open Science practitioners, take to ensure that Open Science is firmly established as the default mode of doing science in an increasingly challenging environment?
In particular, how can we meet the challenges in areas like- endangered data, surveys and other Open Science materials?
- endangered research infrastructures for science and research?
- Can greater data sovereignty help us overcome some of the challenges we face in Open Science, or are there other approaches that might be more promising?
We are looking forward to an exciting retreat – be part of it!
Deadline for application: 23.4.2026
Programme
Day 1:
May 6, 2026, online
15:00-15:10 Welcome address (Prof Klaus Tochtermann, ZBW)
15:10-15:35 Impulse statements from
- Peter Suber, Senior Advisor on Open Access and Director of the Harvard Open Access Project, (USA)
- Jeroen Sondervan, Program Leader in Open Scholarly Communication, (Open Science NL)
15:35-15:50 Questions from the participants to the speakers & discussion in plenary
15:50-16:00 Short Break
16:00-16:15 Impulse statement from
- Dr Ezra Clark, Chief of Section Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (UNESCO, Paris)
16:15-16:40 Exchange and discussion in break-out groups: Opinion and experiences of the participants on the contents from the impulse statements
16:40-16:55 In plenary: short statement from every break-out group (feeding the insights back into the panel)
16:55-17:00 Outlook day 2
Day 2:
May 7, 2026, online
15:00-15:10 Welcome & wrap up day 1 (Sven Vlaeminck, ZBW)
15:10-15:15 Introduction of focus of day 2
15:15-16:00 Exchange and discussion in break-out groups
To guide our discussions, we propose the following questions:
- How can Open Science – with its emphasis on transparency, collaboration, equality of opportunities and reproducibility of scientific results – be sustained in the light of these global developments?
- What measures can we, as an international community of Open Science practitioners, take to ensure that Open Science is firmly established as the default mode of doing science in an increasingly challenging environment?
- In particular, how can we meet the challenges in areas like
– endangered data, surveys and other Open Science materials?
– endangered research infrastructures for science and research? - Can greater data sovereignty help us overcome some of the challenges we face in Open Science, or are there other approaches that might be more promising?
16:00-16:10 Short Break
16:10-16:25 In plenary: short statement from every break-out group (feeding the insights back into the panel)
16:25-16:55 Plenary discussion
16:55-17:00 Farewell
ZBW Open Science Engagement
The ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (www.zbw.eu) presents its activities in Open Science: a triad of research, engagement and development for Open Science.
- The ZBW does research in the area of Open Science, in particular in computer and information science, in media science and digital economics.
It wants to strengthen the commercial independence of, and excellence in, the science system. The ZBW wants to enable easy and quick access to scientific findings, publications and data. - The ZBW is an active player in science policy, nationally and internationally, to implement Open Science.
- At the same time, the ZBW actively builds this Open Science ideal by developing and integrating new technologies that enable access and remove barriers.