Greece promotes Open Access Week 2012

"The National Documentation Centre of Greece (EKT) participated in the Open Access Week by hosting a series of events - informative sessions and seminars - which aimed to broaden understanding and raise awareness of open access issues. In line with the global open access week, this year’s theme of open access week activities at EKT was 'Set the default to open access'. Events aimed to inspire the wider participation of researchers in actions that promote open access in the academic world. The ‘Seminar on Open Access and the Helios Repository’ was the main event, devised to inspire participation in the institution's open access strategies. It addressed all researchers at the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF). The first part of the Seminar focused on the current developments in the field of open access. Dr. Evi Sachini, the Head of Development at EKT, pointed to the benefits of open access and demonstrated how EKT implements open access procedures and how these activities and policies fit into the wider international landscape. In the second part, Dr. Nikos Houssos, the Head of Software Development at EKT, presented the institutional repository Helios (NHRF's repository) and explained how NHRF researchers can publish their work online with self-archiving procedures, and how they may exploit a series of software  tools which allow them to share and promote their work within the international research community. In the Seminar’s third part, EKT representatives hosted a forum to answer any questions about EKT’s current activities and open access strategies. Throughout the week of 22nd October 2012, EKT also ran a number of complementary informative sessions, based on three core themes: Learn, Listen and Ask. The sessions took place at EKT’s Digital Library of Science and Technology where visitors could obtain informational materials with further information on open access activities and the organization’s initiatives. Those who wanted to learn more about open access could attend short presentations (15 minutes) in the Library's Electronic Reading Room. Throughout the week, EKT personnel were available to provide specialised training sessions on the Helios repository as well as answers to issues related with open access, policies and its implementation. Also during Open Access week EKT launched its latest initiative – the establishment of a working group to formally adopt OA policies at NHRF, consisting of representatives from all the research institutes of NHRF. EKT has been at the forefront of support for the open access movement and the free availability of scientific publications in Greece. It was the first Greek organization to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities in 2003, and since then, has continued to support all open access Initiatives (open access repositories, research infrastructures, open software development, awareness-raising activities, coordination of policies in the Mediterranean, e-publishing activities, etc.)."