First OPEN transnational meeting

From 25th-27th November 2025, KB, the National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague, hosted The Open Kick-Off Meeting. The event also served as the third in-person meeting of the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL) Equality, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EEDI) Working Group. 

The meeting was attended by representatives from Bulgaria, Croatia, England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and North Macedonia. It began with the sharing of best practices and was opened formally by Wilma van Wezenbeek, Director General of the KB. The agenda also featured a kick-off meeting for the Erasmus+-funded OPEN Project, with an overview from James Louis Smith and introductions to Work Packages provided by their leaders. 

The gathering allowed library professionals from the CENL partnership to learn from one another, and affirmed the sense of energy and community among the OPEN project partners. The event in The Hague sets the stage for three other transnational meetings in later years, when project partners will gather in Zagreb (2026), Sofia (2027), and Paris (2028).