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Reflections from the 3rd Global Summit on Diamond Open Access
From 2 to 6 February 2026, the third Global Summit on Diamond Open Access was held in Bengaluru, India, bringing together dozens of experts from around the world – librarians, publishers, editors, researchers, institutions, and science‑policy makers. The aim of the meeting was to strengthen community‑driven, non‑commercial publishing models and to work collectively toward a sustainable, equitable, and globally interconnected Diamond Open Access ecosystem.
The discussions at the summit revolved around three essential questions:
- Can we scale sustainably? – Moving Diamond OA from a “niche” model to a consolidated, global infrastructure without losing community control.
Diamond OA is no longer a marginal or temporary initiative, but a rapidly growing international movement with the potential to fundamentally reshape scholarly communication. Throughout the panel discussions and presentations, it was made clear that Diamond OA is not only a fee‑free model, but also a pathway toward strengthening bibliodiversity, multilingualism, equitable access, and, above all, the research community’s control over the scholarly communication infrastructure.
- How can we promote the idea of knowledge as a "Digital public good"? – Aligning our platforms with national and global science policies to ensure they are treated as essential public infrastructure.
A major outcome of the Summit is the Bengaluru Roadmap for Diamond OA. The Roadmap brings together shared objectives and actions identified during the Summit, while leaving space for regional, national, disciplinary, and institutional pathways to implementation. Its value lies not only in the recommendations it formulates, but also in the processes of alignment, mutual support, and accountability it seeks to encourage within the community.
- How do we change the “prestige” game? – Shifting research assessment so that authors are rewarded for choosing equitable, fee-free publishing over commercial journals.
The theme of responsible research assessment surfaced as an essential bridge. Participants voiced a shared realisation that Diamond OA cannot truly grow and succeed unless metrics shift to value an equitable publishing ecosystem that embodies bibliodiversity, multilingualism, and epistemic justice over traditional, commercialised academic prestige.
“Impact factors are the fast food of research assessment: you don’t have to think.”
Mylène Deschênes, Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQ)
We will continue to follow the development of the Bengaluru Roadmap, and once it is published, it will be available on this website.
The fourth Global Summit on Diamond Open Access is planned for 2027 and will take place in Bali, Indonesia.
This article is based on Reflections from the 3rd Global Summit on Diamond Open Access, Bengaluru: An Indian perspective by Vrushali Dandawate and Building the Future of Diamond OA: Reflections from the 3rd Global Summit by Johan Rooryck.
