Open Access to Scientific Information is one of the most fundamental issue of the Information Society which is made possible only because of the progress of Science and Technology. Currently, a rather paradoxical situation exists. Most scientific research is funded by public or philanthropic institutions. Scientific authors are writing and publishing the results of this research in papers that they are then giving away absolutely for free to scientific journals. However, the subscription prices of most scientific journals are extremely high, and still rising, making them inaccessible to scientists all around the world. Scientific Information is therefore subject to an irrational digital divide. The Open Access journal movement and the Open Archives movement are offering practical approaches that would allow scientific information to be freely accessible to the whole world, in agreement with the intent of the scientists themselves. Open Access would generate huge savings in industrialized countries, monies that are urgently needed to maintain research funding. Open Access would let transition & developing countries have free access to scientific knowledge, an absolute and fundamental requirement to build an effective education system, and to provide the basis of a sustainable intellectual and economical development. It would also help emergent countries to start Scientific Journals on their own. Only historical inertia keeps the current situation as it is now.

The recent Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (22 Oct 2003) (WSIS/PC-3/C/0184 : English - French ) that has been undersigned by the German and French Research Agencies is definitively a very important step in favor of Open Access that is likely to trigger a paradigm change all over the world concerning Scientific Publishing. Already other research agencies from Belgium(Flanders), and from Greece have undersigned the Declaration. Other countries like Croatia are likely to follow. Therefore there is a new dynamics towards Open Access that has been recognized recently in the latest draft of the declaration of Principles.

The goal of this event is to call the world to support and implement nationally this recommendation of the Summit and to encourage many countries to undersign the Berlin Declaration. It is hoped recommendations and subsequent international national legislations may trigger a rapid phase transition that would benefit to the whole humanity.