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By Cable Green: Director of Open Education, Creative Commons, and Chandrika Bahadur: Director, SDG Academy 

Open access to knowledge has never been more important than it is today. The promise of connectivity and the democratization of knowledge has made it possible for anyone, anywhere, to learn. In an increasingly connected and complex world, society faces deep challenges across economic, environmental, and social spheres that require new ways of thinking. 

The free flow of information and knowledge is critical for three reasons. First, it allows citizens to educate themselves on issues of climate change, biodiversity, health, education, poverty, food production, water, energy, urban planning, and all of the critical challenges encapsulated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Second, it prepares us for a new institutional regime of learning, where the education system opens itself to learners of all ages, from all countries and all professions, extending quality education far beyond its traditional reach. Third, it allows knowledge creation and revision processes to reflect the diversity and context of people from different parts of the world, and to foster a global dialogue. 

Today, we recognize two different initiatives that have come together towards these goals: Creative Commons and the SDG Academy. We celebrate two decades of Creative Commons (CC), an international nonprofit organization dedicated to building and sustaining a thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture that serves the public interest.  CC removes the legal and technical obstacles to sharing knowledge to help society overcome its most pressing challenges detailed in the United Nations SDGs. There are over 2 billion CC-licensed works online.

Through its open licenses and public domain tools, Creative Commons helps knowledge and culture to spread across the planet, giving individuals and institutions alike an easy, free way to create and distribute content for the betterment of society. Through its Open Education program, CC works to minimize barriers to effective education by advocating for the use of open licenses and open education policies to maximize the benefits of open education for all.

The SDG Academy is the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). It aims to advance education for sustainable development by creating and curating high-quality educational content from world-leading experts and making it available to the students, researchers, practitioners, and citizens who are best poised to take action on the SDGs. To date, the SDG Academy has reached over 860,000 learners across 193 countries. 

For the SDG Academy, a partnership with Creative Commons ensures that the products created by its wide ranging network of experts from around the world are available for use on a non-commercial basis by universities, practitioners, students, and policymakers. The SDG Academy’s goal is reach, impact, and transformation. Opening up the use of its content under a CC license is a way to access a wider audience and clarify the terms under which this content can be reused, adapted, and distributed. The SDG Academy announced in October 2020 that, moving forward, all of its new content will be available under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license. 

For Creative Commons, a partnership with the SDG Academy is a natural extension of its work to introduce the sustainable development community to open educational resources (OER), and share OER about the SDGs with educators, learners and policy makers globally. First coined by UNESCO’s Forum on the Impact of Open Course-ware for Higher Education in 2002, OER has evolved into a broader “Open Education” movement which includes open education resources, practices, and policies. In 2019, UNESCO Member States unanimously adopted the UNESCO Recommendation on OER, and countries around the world are now starting the process of implementing these recommendations. All of this work is done in the service of achieving SDG 4: Quality Education.

While the SDG Academy has always encouraged the sharing, integration, and contextualization of its free content, becoming officially open under a CC license sends a clear message that learners and educators can feel confident using these educational resources in the ways that are most useful for them. 

As Creative Commons completes two decades of work, its mission is more relevant than ever. And with more than 35 massive open online courses hosted on edX, 1,500 educational videos in its SDG Academy Library, and a new series of podcasts, an open SDG Academy is in an even stronger position to expand the reach of its high-quality, open educational materials on sustainable development and distribute this essential knowledge as a global public good.

The post SDG Academy & Creative Commons appeared first on Creative Commons.

Last year, six projects were carried out thanks to funding made available to the Creative Commons Copyright Platform members to drive policy issues affecting the open movement. In this blog post, we’re glad to share the engaging, inspiring articles the project lead wrote on CC’s Medium publication We Like to Share.

Preparing Bulgarian GLAMs for the EU Copyright Reform — by Ana Lazarova

The initiative ‘GLAMs to Fix Copyright: Preparing GLAMs for the Copyright Reform in Bulgaria’ was organized by Creative Commons Bulgaria in collaboration with Digital Republic Association, and supported by Creative Commons Global Network Copyright Platform Activity Fund.

On December 07 and 14, 2020, we organised a two-days extensive copyright training for public libraries in Bulgaria. Our main purpose was to inform library representatives about the upcoming implementation into national law of the recently adopted Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (the CDSM Directive). However, we also included what turned out to be much-needed information on copyright basics, CC licenses, Rights statements, the legal status of e-books and digitisation. Read more…

The impact of the Paying Public Domain on Creative Commons public domain tools – by Maximilliano Marzetti

Works in the public domain are free to be reused, remixed and mashed-up. Well, unless a “domaine public payant” or paying public domain (PPD) system is in force, in that case, a fee (or tax) has to be paid to a state agency beforehand. This is the case in several countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. In these three countries, after copyright expires, the PPD begins and lasts indefinitely. Unlike what happens under copyright law, in a PPD system it is the State and not the author who gets paid. The PPD applies to national and foreign authors’ works, anonymous works, and even works that were never copyrighted. Read more here and here…

A new copyright that belongs to everybody: the CCMX grant project — by Salvador Alcántar

In Mexico, as in many other countries, the copyright discourse is made up of different parts, but it always has a notorious bias towards the point of view of the so-called entertainment industry. Sometimes you feel copyright is not like a set of rules that motivates creation, innovation and new content, but as a bunch of don’ts that freeze cultural activity and require payment for every form of use of content. Thanks to a Creative Commons grant, the local CC chapter in Mexico decided to lead a publication integrating other visions about copyright, a document that could become a milestone for new understandings in the responsibility of public policy about culture, freedom, inclusion, sharing and other non-traditional visions about authorship. Read more…

Mapping user rights in the evolving EU copyright framework — by Paul Keller

In a little less than a month from now, on the 7th of June 2021 the new Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive, that was adopted in April 2019 after much controversy will come into effect across the 27 EU Member States. While the directive is primarily known for its problematic provisions, such as the new rules requiring online content sharing platforms to install upload filters for copyrighted works (Article 17 of the Directive) and a new press publishers right (Article 15), it also includes a number of provisions that strengthen user rights in the EU Member States. Read more…

Open Knowledge Platform — by Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič and Azra Jušić

Intellectual Property Institute (IPI) (https://www.ipi.si/en/) is working on the project Open Knowledge Platform (the Project), aiming to bring together an open science community in Slovenia. In addition to covering copyright and open licensing, its focus is to engage educators and cultural heritage institutions. For this Project, IPI has teamed up with project partners, who are bringing together different institutions involved in open science. The two main project deliverables are 1) building strategy for setting up the platform/community focused on copyright and open licenses and 2) launch of initial activities and program of the Project. Read more…

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To join the CC Copyright Platform, sign up to: 

• The CC Policy Mailing List; and/or
• The CC Slack (it will send an invitation email), then join the #cc-copyrightreform channel

The post CC Copyright Platform Members Share the Stories of Their Projects appeared first on Creative Commons.

Following our recent announcement of a major grant from Arcadia to advance open access at galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs), we’re excited to officially launch Creative Commons’ Open GLAM program. In this post, we share an overview of the program’s rationale and briefly introduce our key program areas.

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GLAMs’ public interest mission, rooted in the imperative to make their cultural heritage collections available to their users, is squarely aligned with the open access ethos. Indeed, making their collections as openly accessible, shareable, and reusable as possible is the best way for GLAMs to achieve their mission as they digitize and offer their collections online.  

So, how come only a tiny fraction of the world’s GLAMs share their collections through open access initiatives? How come only a tiny fraction are reaping the benefits of open access and hence making a greater impact on the communities they serve through renewed conversations, interactions, and collaborations leading to novel interpretations and experiences? The answer, it seems, is that GLAMs face a host of barriers to embracing open access: from complex copyright rules to conservative institutional policies, practices and mindsets, all the way to financial constraints and concerns.

At Creative Commons, we want to help GLAMs overcome these barriers, because if they don’t, we will all miss out on the potential of open access to unlock universal access to knowledge and culture, pursuant to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. That’s why our new Open GLAM Program will build a coordinated global effort to help GLAMs make the content they steward openly available and reusable for the public good.

Informed by our 2021-2025 strategy and 20th anniversary campaign to ensure better sharing of knowledge and culture, our program is made up of four key components: (1) policy, (2) infrastructure, (3) capacity-building and consulting, and (4) community engagement. In a nutshell, our plans include:

On policy, we’ll work to reform the copyright system on a global level to bring it in line with the needs of GLAM institutions and allow them to conduct their legitimate activities; we’ll continue to insist that works in the public domain must remain in the public domain; we’ll encourage a purposeful policy discourse celebrating open culture as a positive affirmation of the importance of open access and sharing of cultural materials to the fullest extent possible; we’ll also engage in conversations on respectful and ethical use of culturally-sensitive materials.

On infrastructure, we’ll continue to steward our licenses and tools (especially our Public Domain Mark and Public Domain Dedication Tool) and see to it that they are fit-for-purpose in the GLAM sector’s digital sphere. 

On capacity-building, we’ll work to transform a diverse range of institutions and move them from closed to open, thanks notably to our GLAM Certificate and suite of training and consulting activities. We’ll do our best to make sure institutions are well informed and skillfully equipped at every stage of their openness journey — speaking of, have you had the chance to listen to our podcast with Effie Kapsalis, Senior Digital Program Officer, Smithsonian?

On community engagement, we’ll support, empower and contribute to building resilience in the open GLAM community and open movement. In particular, we’ll provide a platform to unlock the GLAM sector’s potential to create a fairer and more equitable world and continue to support the OpenGLAM initiative.

Want to know more? Do reach out —> info@creativecommons.org

We are currently recruiting a GLAM manager to grow our team. Could that be you? Apply!

The post We’re Launching the CC Open GLAM Program appeared first on Creative Commons.

Today Creative Commons (CC) announced that it has received a five-year $5 million grant from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, to advance open access in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) sector.

The generous grant will enable CC to develop a robust Open GLAM Program that builds upon the organization’s two decades’ worth of successes in facilitating openness in the education and digital culture spaces. The new program will be focused on enabling GLAMs to freely and openly share their collections online in participatory, interactive, sustainable, ethical, and equitable ways.

“Galleries, libraries, archives, and museums face unique barriers to embracing open access, even though their mission to make their collections widely accessible to the world is naturally aligned with open ideals,” says Catherine Stihler, CEO of Creative Commons. “CC’s Open GLAM Program will use a multifaceted approach to help build and support an ecosystem that empowers GLAMs and results in better public access to all that they have to offer.”

“Arcadia believes in making human knowledge free for anyone, anywhere to access and use,” says Dr. Ross Mounce, Director of Open Access Programmes at Arcadia. “We are pleased to support Creative Commons to help galleries, libraries, archives and museums meet the challenge of fair and equitable open access to our cultural heritage.”

Arcadia’s commitment will support Creative Commons in five key areas of work:

• Creating a global policy environment conducive to GLAMs’ mission
• Stewarding a sustainable social, technical and legal infrastructure for Open GLAM
• Advancing GLAM practitioners’ knowledge and understanding of core issues and options
• Moving a globally diverse range of institutions from closed to open
• Sustaining an active and empowered Open GLAM community 

“We’re so grateful to Arcadia for investing in this important work,” says Stihler. “This year is Creative Commons’ 20th anniversary, and as we look toward the future, the Open GLAM Program is a cornerstone of how we will make knowledge and creativity more open and accessible to all in our next 20 years.”

Arcadia’s decision to fund Creative Commons’ Open GLAM Program follows several years of research and work by CC to develop a comprehensive vision for moving GLAMs from closed to open. In the last few years alone, the Paris Musées, Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Auckland Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, and others have successfully released nearly 5 million digital open images using Creative Commons tools.

About Creative Commons

Creative Commons is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to helping build and sustain a thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture. Together with an extensive member network and multiple partners, CC builds capacity, develops practical solutions, and advocates for better open sharing of knowledge and culture that serves the public interest.

About Arcadia

Arcadia is a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. It supports charities and scholarly institutions that preserve cultural heritage and the environment. Arcadia also supports projects that promote open access and all of its awards are granted on the condition that any materials produced are made available for free online. Since 2002, Arcadia has awarded more than $777 million to projects around the world.

The post Creative Commons Receives $5M Grant from Arcadia to Advance Open Access at Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums appeared first on Creative Commons.

The 2021 CC Global Summit will be going virtual again this year – join us 20-24 September, 2021 for an extra special event – Creative Commons is turning 20! We’ll be building off of the successes from our 2020 Summit to bring you another week filled with discussion and debate, workshops and planning, talks and community building.  

Send us your Proposals! 

Our Call for Proposals is now open. The CC Global Summit is open to anyone who is interested and we always welcome new faces and fresh ideas.

We’re seeking proposals that address the topics and issues outlined in the tracks below with a focus on actionable insights and outcomes – from case studies to workshops and storytelling sessions. 

• Creators of the Commons – The faces, work, and stories of those building the Commons 
• Powering the Commons – Exploring the tools, technology, and communities that power the Commons 
• Open Education and Open Scholarships – Supporting communities that practice open access to education and scholarship
• Open Galleries, Libraries, Archies, and Museums – Improving and expanding open access to cultural heritage. 
• Policy and Advocacy promoting the Commons – Strategies for legal action and copyright reform

The Hack4OpenGLAM will be returning to the 2021 Summit! Hack4OpenGLAM is a chance to get creative with Open Access cultural heritage. This year’s hackathon focuses on equity and the ethics of open sharing. We’re seeking Workshop Leaders – please apply through the Call for Proposals! Check out last year’s project dashboard for inspiration.

The CC Summit program wouldn’t be possible without our amazing volunteer Program Committee! We thank them for their dedication to creating a groundbreaking program so we can gather again this year to learn, share and create! 

The deadline for submitting proposals is June 23, 2021. Please review the guidelines before submitting your proposal.

The post The 2021 CC Global Summit Call for Proposals Is Now Open appeared first on Creative Commons.