International Open Access Week will be held from October 19 to 25, 2026. This annual initiative brings together institutions, organizations, and communities from around the world to promote open access to knowledge and reflect on the systems for producing, disseminating, and reusing research.

This year’s theme, “The Cost of Knowledge,” focuses on the costs associated with the creation, publication, access, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge. The initiative invites us to look beyond the economic costs of subscriptions and publication fees and to also consider the human and environmental costs, as well as the consequences of certain models of scientific communication.

In this context, the five Valencian public libraries that make up BUVAL are joining in the celebration of Open Access Week with a unique initiative: four interactive games designed to bring open science to life in a dynamic, participatory, and entertaining way.

Publishing openly, managing and reusing research data, applying the FAIR principles, and learning about the different funding models for scientific publication are some of the topics addressed in these four activities, which combine learning and gamification.

Learning Through Play

Through this initiative, BUVAL contributes to the dissemination of the principles and practices of open science by offering interactive resources that can be used both individually and in training and outreach activities.

Open Access Week thus provides an opportunity to reflect on how we share knowledge and on the models that enable its creation, dissemination, and access. BUVAL’s games offer a participatory way to explore these issues and discover some of the challenges posed by open science.

Are you up for the challenge? Discover the four games and test your knowledge of open science:

Four Games to Explore Open Science