16 March 2026
Digital transformation is reshaping European higher education. To ensure this shift leads to a more equitable and borderless learning environment, Open Education (OE) must move from the periphery to the very centre of European policy. However, to truly move openness to the centre of European education, we must move beyond fragmented national efforts toward a more unified, international strategic organisation of OE in the form of a new European alliance for Open Education.
SPARC Europe conducted an extensive feasibility study, consulting over 25 international experts. The result is the Open Education European Alliance Feasibility Report, launched in #OEWeek2026. The findings reveal a unanimous agreement that enhanced international collaboration is essential to create a truly borderless and equitable learning environment.
Read the report: https://zenodo.org/records/18862080
A strategic vision for change
The report proposes an Alliance that supports and complements local and national initiatives. This would be a structured, collective mechanism focused on accelerating digital transformation through shared standards and a unified vision, which includes fostering a culture of openness, connecting digital infrastructure, agreeing on standards, addressing the dominance of Big Tech, influencing policy and legislation, promoting recognition and rewards and ensuring a more efficient use of public funding through a sustainable, unified ecosystem.
Call for initiators: Help shape the Alliance
To translate this vision into reality, we are now seeking strategic bridge-builders and changemakers to join an initiators group. This group will define the Alliance’s governance, vision, mission, and priority areas, ensuring a sustainable and impactful future for open learning in Europe.
Is Open Education your priority, and do you represent a community, coalition, association, network, or are you another type of open education leader? If so, and you have the capacity to lead and mobilise change, and you are interested in exploring becoming an open education alliance initiator, please contact us at oealliance@sparceurope.org by 31 March 2026.