On November 4th, 2024, the twentieth anniversary of the "Messina Declaration" will be celebrated. This 2004 document saw Luiss and other Italian universities endorsed to the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Academic Literature.
The Berlin Declaration, in line with the spirit of previous statements supporting Open Access Publishing, aims to promote "new ways of disseminating knowledge not only through traditional means but also, and increasingly, through the open access paradigm via the Internet." By 2013, the Declaration had been signed by 450 scientific institutions, demonstrating international awareness of the importance of knowledge dissemination.
Over two decades, the growth of an open and participatory approach to science has fostered the establishment of strategic goals shared by universities worldwide, leading to the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science in 2021 and the MUR National Open Science Plan 2021-2027.
To celebrate this anniversary, the University of Messina, in collaboration with the University of Turin, has organized the two-day event "Scienza Aperta" to reflect on the future of Open Science in Italy, featuring international sessions highlighting significant trends in Europe and roundtables with key national figures actively implementing open science principles.
Since 2016, in its commitment to advancing the principle of Open Access, Luiss has implemented a policy and procedures to facilitate open publishing, with a dedicated section on its website focusing on the topic.