Uzbekistan’s international scientific journal Science and Innovation has officially signed the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) declaration, according to Uzbekistan’s Academy of Sciences, becoming one of the first organizations from the country to join the international open-access initiative.
The Budapest Open Access Initiative is an international declaration launched in 2002 that promotes the principle that scientific research should be freely accessible online, allowing users to read, download, copy, distribute and use research within the applicable legal and ethical framework.
According to Uzbekistan’s Academy of Sciences, Science and Innovation’s signing of the declaration confirms the journal’s commitment to open-access principles and the free distribution of scientific results.
The journal also said its participation reflects its commitment to international publishing ethics and quality standards. The initiative is expected to support the journal’s integration into the international scientific community and contribute to the wider development of open science practices in Uzbekistan.
The BOAI declaration was one of the early milestones of the global open-access movement, alongside later initiatives that helped establish broader principles for making scholarly research freely available to researchers and the public. The Academy of Sciences said the journal’s participation represents a step toward expanding open science in Uzbekistan and increasing the accessibility of scientific research produced in the country.
The Budapest Open Access Initiative was launched following a meeting of researchers and open-access advocates in Budapest in December 2001, with its declaration issued in February 2002. It is widely regarded as one of the foundational documents of the modern open-access movement and helped establish the principle that publicly funded and scholarly research should be made freely accessible online.
The initiative has since become an important international reference point for universities, research institutions, libraries and academic publishers developing open-access policies. Signing the declaration therefore signals an institution’s commitment to making scientific knowledge more accessible beyond traditional subscription-based academic publishing.
Earlier, Uzbekistan’s Academy of Sciences participated in the HTM2026 international conference in Bangkok, where Uzbek scientists presented research on medicinal plants, bioactive compounds and drug development, while also showcasing the country’s scientific and research potential.
