Warsaw will host the main public part of the international OPERAS 2026 & SCIROS conference on 20–21 May 2026 – one of Europe’s notable events devoted to the future of scholarly communication, open science, and the role of research infrastructures in the humanities and social sciences. Participation in this part of the conference is free of charge, but prior registration is required.
OPERAS 2026 & SCIROS conference will bring together researchers, publishers, representatives of scientific institutions, libraries, and public administration from across Europe. The programme will include discussions on open science models, research quality and evaluation, multilingualism, bibliodiversity, and research infrastructure management.
Research infrastructures (RIs) are not merely technical systems but “boundary objects” that connect diverse communities – researchers, librarians, publishers, policymakers, and engineers – enabling cooperation across different perspectives. In the OPERAS context, RIs for Open Science are living networks that link local, national, European, and global levels while integrating the full scholarly ecosystem. As they evolve into formal entities such as ERICs, they increasingly facilitate the “travel” of knowledge across disciplines and institutional settings, bridging grassroots innovation with large-scale governance to support science and society.
This conference, organised by OPERAS and the SCIROS project, provides a platform to strengthen this interconnected ecosystem through dialogue and collaboration. It focuses on key priorities for inclusive, researcher-driven infrastructures, including diverse understandings of Open Science, disciplinary specificity in SSH, quality and evaluation practices, multilingualism and bibliodiversity, scholarly governance, and broad stakeholder inclusion. Together, these themes aim to foster sustainable, innovative, and community-led development of Open Science.
Registration
Of particular importance for a broad audience is the public part of the conference scheduled for 20–21 May. The sessions will take place at Staszic Palace, while the poster session will be held at the Museum of Warsaw. The event is open to all interested participants; however, the number of places is limited, so early registration is recommended. Registration is open from 18 March to 10 April 2026.
Registration link: HERE
Conference programme: HERE
The event is held under the patronage of the PolSCA Office, alongside partners such as DARIAH-EU, Open Science Platform or Knowledge Rights 21. This patronage reflects the Office’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the debate on open access, scholarly communication, and more inclusive models of knowledge dissemination in Europe.
PolSCA Office has already been actively involved in this area for some time. In December 2025, the Office co-organised a conference in Brussels devoted to Diamond Open Access and the future of openness in the European Research Area. Earlier, in October, the Office was also involved in a workshop organised at the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, focused on barriers to open publishing and on building a more inclusive and sustainable model of open access.
This year’s OPERAS 2026 & SCIROS conference is therefore a natural continuation of these efforts. For those interested in open science, scholarly publishing, and the development of European research infrastructures, it will be an excellent opportunity to take part in an important international discussion – this time in Warsaw.
