A large portion of traditional academic publishing is unequal, exclusionary, unsustainable and opaque¹. Nearly 70% of scientific journal articles are locked behind paywalls². The publishing industry has sequestered and commoditized scientific literature. It is a scandal.

Latin America is taking on a pioneering role in this. In Latin America, scientific outputs are considered a public good. Free-to-publish and free-to-read cooperative publishing is supported by non-commercial and publicly funded infrastructure. Ninety-five per cent of Latin American journals are diamond open access: community-driven and collaborative platforms with no article processing charges. Their example shows us that research is a more global and diverse enterprise than is typically acknowledged. By including diverse voices, they contribute substantially to the academic landscape and the accessibility and dissemination of research³. Unfortunately, these journals tend to be excluded by indexing systems, which causes science published outside of the Global North to not receive the attention that it deserves.

Academic institutions globally should support open access through not-for-profit, sustainable, collaborative, scholarly led publishing⁴. Social impact should be the driving force behind science, and research should be open and aligned with the UN’s sustainable development agenda⁵.