Knowledge grows when shared: The Launch of OpenAIRE, 2nd December in Ghent

Knowledge is one of the few commodities that don’t devalue when used. Actually knowledge grows when shared and the free online access to peer-reviewed scientific publications is a potent ingredient the process of sharing. The sharing of knowledge is facilitated by the Open Access Movement. However Open Access is much more than downloading the PDF. Vice President of the European Commission and European Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes boldly presented this message in the Opening Session of the OpenAIRE launch. On the 2nd December 2010 the official launch of OpenAIRE the European infrastructure for Open Access was launched in Ghent, Belgium. This project and initiative is facilitating the success of the Open Access Pilot in FP7 as presented earlier in this journal. In this brief article I will present some of the most interesting issues that were discussed during the first session of the day.