Knowledge produced by scientific research is a common good and a fundamental right, not a privilege for the few. Scientific articles, often the result of research funded by public resources and the collaborative work of researchers, should be accessible to everyone, without economic or institutional barriers. Restricting access to such content through paywalls or exclusive publishing models undermines the principle of equity, slows scientific progress, and denies civil society the benefits of shared knowledge. The free circulation of knowledge—enabled by open access publishing models and transparency policies—is essential for a truly democratic, collaborative, and socially driven research ecosystem.
Behind this effort, there are volunteers who work tirelessly and without compensation to make this miracle possible. There are journals that are not funded by any institution and do not generate revenue, yet they exist thanks to the passion of these volunteers for knowledge sharing. For these reasons, such journals must be protected and supported—even when they are penalized by a research evaluation system that tends to disregard them simply because they are young or not indexed in conventional metrics.
Promoting open access to scientific articles is not only an ethical stance but also a strategic choice for the future of research and society.