The University of Zululand hosted a thought-provoking seminar during Open Access Week 2025, moving beyond mere advocacy to critically examine a central question in African scholarship: who truly owns knowledge? Organised by Library and Information Services, the seminar brought together scholars, publishers, and research stakeholders to interrogate Open Access not just as a publishing model but as a contested space shaped by power, ownership, and equity within the global knowledge system.
In his keynote address, Professor Siphamandla Zondi from the University of Johannesburg challenged participants to reflect on whether Open Access, if left unexamined, risks perpetuating neo-colonial patterns of knowledge appropriation. He emphasised the urgency for African institutions to assert intellectual sovereignty by retaining control over their research outputs, indigenous languages, and digital infrastructures.
Adding to this perspective, Professor Sipho Seepe, a higher education consultant and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UNIZULU, placed Open Access within the broader effort to decolonize academia. He argued that African scholarship must be rooted in local realities and societal needs, rather than shaped primarily by external academic agendas.
From a scholarly practice standpoint, Professor Seteno Karabo Ntwampe from the Durban University of Technology outlined the opportunities and challenges of Open Access publishing. While he highlighted benefits such as increased visibility and collaboration, he also warned of rising publication costs, data commodification, and uneven journal quality. He reaffirmed that while Open Access enhances access to research, it does not imply a loss of intellectual ownership.
The seminar also explored the role of transformative agreements in supporting Open Access publishing in South Africa. Representatives from Springer Nature, SANLiC, and Elsevier shared their perspectives on how these agreements expand research visibility, while also prompting ongoing debate about equity and sustainability in the scholarly publishing ecosystem.
A lively panel discussion further unpacked the seminar’s central themes and culminated in the adoption of the UNIZULU Open Access Declaration, reaffirming the University’s commitment to open, ethical, and socially responsible scholarship.
Through this critical engagement, UNIZULU positioned itself as an active contributor to shaping a more equitable and Africa-centered global knowledge landscape. The key message emerging from the seminar was clear: access alone is insufficient without ownership, agency, and meaningful control over knowledge production.
– Zanele Mathe
Pictures: Xolani Ncube
Captions
Pic 1: Prof Siphamandla Zondi, Director of the Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg.
Pic 2: Prof Sipho Seete, Higher Education Consultant.
Pic 3: Professor Innocent Moyo, Deputy Dean: Research and Internationalisation in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering.
