By the FRELIP Editorial Team
Open access promised free knowledge, but the dominant “gold” model often shifts the bill from readers to authors through Article Processing Charges (APCs) that can reach thousands of dollars. Diamond open access offers a different path: journals that charge neither readers nor authors, typically sustained by institutions, scholarly societies, or consortia. This briefing examines why the no-APC model matters especially for the Global South, where author-pays publishing can quietly exclude the researchers it claims to serve. We will look at how Diamond journals are funded, the sustainability questions they face, and why equitable open access policy must account for regions with little funder muscle behind them.