The UNESCO Open Solutions Programme promotes universal access to information through open educational resources, open access to scientific information, and free and open source software. It aims to provide teachers, learners, researchers, and ICT users with high-quality open materials and tools. The programme's initiatives include open access repositories and journals, open educational resources platforms, open mapping projects, and engaging youth in open data and mobile applications. UNESCO also supports open science networks, databases, and training centres to facilitate sharing and capacity building.

1. UNESCO Open Access Initiatives
The Communication and Information and the
Ocean Science programmes.
Jaco du Toit
Communication and Information Adviser
UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa
j.dutoit@unesco.org
Mika Odido
IOC Coordinator in Africa
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
m.odido@unesco.org

2. What is Open Solutions?
 Universal access to information and knowledge is key to the
building of peace, sustainable social and economic
development, and intercultural dialogue.
 UNESCO’s Open Solutions Programme targets leaders,
professionals, researchers and ICT users.
 Open Educational Resources – providing teachers and
learners with high-quality teaching and learning materials that
allow for free use, adaptation, and distribution;
 Open Access to scientific information – enabling scientists
and researchers to share and access scholarly information on
the latest scientific advances;
 Free and Open Source Software – providing a wide range of
tools and processes for creating, exchanging, and sharing
interoperable software and solutions efficiently and effectively.

3. UNESCO Open Solutions Programme
Open Access to Scientific
Information;
Open Educational Resources;
Free and Open Source Software;
Open Mapping;
Open Data.

4. Open Access to Scientific Information
…. the online availability of
scholarly information to everyone,
free of most licensing and copyright
barriers
 Open Access repositories: the ‘green’ route to Open Access;
 Open Access journals: the ‘gold’ route to Open Access.
Open Science Directory http://www.opensciencedirectory.net/
Aquatic Commons: http://aquaticcommons.org/
Ocean Docs: http://www.oceandocs.org/
http://www.iamslic.org/publications/inventory-of-marine-
and-aquatic-repositories

5. Open Access to Scientific Information
 National level institutions
establishing Open Access
policies;
 Member States enacting
National policies on Open
Access;
 Policy guidelines for the development and
promotion of open access

6. Open Educational Resources
…. Open Educational Resources are
teaching, learning or research materials
that are in the public domain or released
with an intellectual property license that
allows for free use, adaptation, and
distribution.

7. Open Educational Resources

8. Open Educational Resources
OER Commons is a freely accessible online library that
allows teachers and others to search and discover open
educational resources (OER) and other freely available
instructional materials
https://www.oercommons.org/
massive open online course (MOOC) is a free Web-based
distance learning program that is designed for the
participation of large numbers of geographically dispersed
students.
https://www.mooc-list.com/

9. Activities:
 OER Community on the WSIS Platform;
 OER Research Chairs: Canada, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Brazil;
Publications:
 Guidelines on Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher
Education;
 A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER).
Partnerships:
 Commonwealth of Learning (COL);
 Hewlett OER Project.
Open Educational Resources

10.  Data Management
 Marine Meteorology
 Ocean Observation
 Information Management
 Disaster Recovery (ocean data and information)
 Marine GIS
 Marine Spatial Planning
 Marine Biodiversity
 Harmful Algal Blooms
http://classroom.oceanteacher.org/)
https://vimeo.com/iode
Regional Training Centres: UEM, Mozambique; KMFRI, Kenya; CRODT, Senegal
Ocean Sciences

11. Open Mapping
.. promote dialogues and
engagement through the use of ICTs
as a means to assist their
coordination mechanisms, where
need to be made resilient to disaster.
Communities are sensitized in
understanding the concept and
practice of Disaster Risk Reduction
through designed training and
mapping activities using open street
map.
The project has created an online Open-Source Map for
Mathare in Kenya that serves as an advocacy tool for
community organizations in the area.

12. International Coastal Atlases Network-ICAN
…to share experiences and to find common solutions to Coastal
Web Atlas (CWA) development:
 user and developer guides
 handbooks and articles on best practices
 information on standards and web services
 expertise and technical support directories
 Education
 Outreach
 funding opportunities, e.t.c
global-level operational interoperability which will evolve as the ICAN members
strive to increase awareness of the opportunities that exist for increased
coastal and marine data sharing among policy makers and resource managers
as strategic users of a CWA
http://ican.iode.org/members

13. Open Data
Engaging young
women and young
men to develop
mobile applications
for sustainable
development.
The project has created an online Open-Source Map for
Mathare in Kenya that serves as an advocacy tool for
community organizations in the area.

14. International Oceanographic Data and Information
Exchange programme
 Data: Ocean Data Portal http://www.oceandataportal.org/
 People: OceanExpert https://www.oceanexpert.net/
 Publications: OceanDocs | IMAR (COVERED EARLIER)
 Practices: OceanDataPractices http://www.oceanbestpractices.net/
 Journals: OpenScienceDirectory
 Learn: OceanTeacher (COVERED EARLIER)
 Biodiversity: OBIS http://www.iobis.org/
 Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa
 www.odinafrica.org

15. UNESCO Open Access Initiatives
The Communication and Information and the
Ocean Science programmes.
Jaco du Toit
Communication and Information Adviser
UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa
j.dutoit@unesco.org
Mika Odido
IOC Coordinator in Africa
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
m.odido@unesco.org