"Open Access" means free availability on the Internet of scientific or academic literature (mainly the peer-reviewed articles), allowing any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts.

The debate and initiatives related with Open Access has had significant developments in the recent years, reinforcing the importance and impact of Open Access in the context of research and scholarly communication system.

Following the success of the 1st Conference, held in May 2005, the goal of this 2nd Open Access Conference is to foster the awareness, debate and sharing of experiences about Open Access, and is aimed to all the parties interested on the subject such as researchers, university and funding agency leaders, librarians, publishers and others.

This conference will have the contribution from some of the more prominent protagonists and leaders of the many Open Access initiatives that flourish around the World.

In order to allow a wider participation in the conference, the organization has established a low registration fee. This has become possible due to the financial support from Universidade do Minho, as well as the sponsorship offered by a number of different entities.

The official languages of the conference are Portuguese and English.