Over the weekend, news emerged that upset even the most ardent skeptics of open access. Under the headline, “Trump vs Berlin” the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported that President Trump offered $1 billion USD to the German biopharmaceutical company CureVac to secure their COVID-19 vaccine “only for the United States.”

In response, Jens Spahn, the German health minister said such a deal was completely “off the table” and Peter Altmaier, the German economic minister replied, “Germany is not for sale.” Open science advocates were especially infuriated. Professor Lorraine Leeson of Trinity College Dublin, for example, tweeted, “This is NOT the time for this kind of behavior—it flies in the face of the #OpenScience work that is helping us respond meaningfully right now. This is the time for solidarity, not exclusivity.” The White House and CureVac have since denied the report. 

Today, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in history—we must cooperate effectively to respond to an unprecedented global health emergency. The mantra, “when we share, everyone wins” applies now more than ever. With this in mind, we felt it imperative to underscore the importance of open access, specifically open science, in times of crisis.

Why open access matters, especially during a global health emergency 

One of the most important components of maintaining global health, specifically in the face of urgent threats, is the creation and dissemination of reliable, up-to-date scientific information to the public, government officials, humanitarian and health workers, as well as scientists.

Several scientific research funders like the Gates Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust have long-standing open access policies and some have now called for increased efforts to share COVID-19 related research rapidly and openly to curb the outbreak. By licensing material under a CC BY-NC-SA license, the World Health Organization (WHO) is adopting a more conservative approach to open access that falls short of what the scientific community urgently needs in order to access and build upon critical information. 

All publicly funded organizations should: 1) Adopt open access policies that require publicly funded research to be made available under an open license (e.g. CC BY 4.0) or dedicated to the public domain. In practice, this means research articles and data can be freely reused by others, thereby enhancing collaboration among scientists and accelerating the pace of discovery. 2) Ensure all educational resources (such as videos, infographics and other media tools) are also openly licensed to facilitate dissemination of reliable, practical information to the public.

The current race to find a vaccine for COVID-19 exemplifies why rapid and unrestricted access to scientific research and educational materials is vital in the most open terms possible. Due to the very nature of the illness, including the fact that it was completely unknown to scientists before the outbreak and is now global, it’s impossible for just one organization, institution, and/or government to tackle this crisis alone. In fact, current global efforts to find a vaccine for COVID-19 wouldn’t be possible without Chinese health officials and researchers initially sharing critical information on the nature of the virus in December 2019.  

We find ourselves at a pivotal moment in history—we must cooperate effectively to respond to an unprecedented global health emergency. The mantra, “when we share, everyone wins” applies now more than ever.

With cases of COVID-19 quickly surpassing 200,000 globally, there is a growing urgency for the entire scientific community to work together with health officials worldwide to find and make available treatments and vaccines. On March 13, government science advisors from 12 countries published an open letter asking publishers to make scientific research and data on COVID-19 open access. “Given the urgency of the situation,” the letter said, “it is particularly important that scientists and the public can access research outcomes as soon as possible.” Additionally, educational materials made available by intergovernmental organizations such as the WHO should be made openly available without any restrictions—this is not only necessary in this global emergency, but is consistent with their public mission and mandate.

Before this open letter was published, many scientists had already begun making their work and data open access using preprint platforms like bioRxiv, ArXiv, and Gisaid. This past week, the nonprofit organization Free Read received over 32,000 signatures on its petition to “unlock coronavirus research.” In response, publishers like Elsevier, Oxford University Press, Springer Nature, and The Lancet began removing paywalls from COVID-19 related articles. Media outlets across the world, including the New York Times, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Clarin, Publico, Globo, and Folha are also removing paywalls from their COVID-19 content. Individual scientists, in collaboration with media outlets, have even started to release informative graphics communicating complex scientific concepts under open licenses. For example, this GIF by infectious disease expert Dr. Siouxsie Wiles illustrating how we can “flatten the curve” was released under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Many open science advocates applaud these efforts to open access to scientific research on COVID-19, but they argue this is something we should’ve been doing all along. Michael Eisen, a biologist at UC Berkeley and editor of the open-access science journal eLife told WIRED, “Of course this should be the default for ALL science, not just COVID-19 science, and it should have been the default for the past 25 years. But I’m glad to see this happening now.”

On its website, Plan S argues that paywalls withhold a “substantial amount of research results from a large fraction of the scientific community and from society as a whole.” This, in turn, “hinders the scientific enterprise in its very foundations and hampers its uptake by society.” For example, researchers examining the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa found that access to vital knowledge about the virus and the risk factors prior to the outbreak was inhibited by publisher paywalls. They wrote, “Although access to knowledge would not of itself have prevented or averted the Ebola epidemic, better-informed health officials might have taken timely preventive measures and been better equipped to mitigate risks during and after the outbreak.” 

Now’s the time to implement and improve open access policies

For these reasons, Creative Commons (CC) has urged the adoption of open access policies by organizations and governments, such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). CC is preparing comments to inform UKRI’s consultation process on its proposed open access policy and will soon be sharing similar comments in response to the U.S. Federal Register’s request for information on “Public Access to Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications, Data, and Code Resulting From Federally Funded Research.” 

CC Licenses have become the international standard in open licensing, and after supporting successful efforts in the creation, adoption, and implementation of open access policies with various governments and institutions, we continue to strongly advocate for open access for the benefit of researchers, industry and the general public. This includes making all information funded by international organizations or national governments available for the broadest reuse. Additionally, CC embraces efforts to clarify how fair use applies in these exceptional circumstances, such as the Public Statement of Library Copyright Specialists: Fair Use & Emergency Remote Teaching & Research. This resource was recently published by a group of expert copyright librarians from colleges and universities across the U.S., including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For guidance on implementing an open access policy or using the CC License Suite, please contact us at info@creativecommons.org—we’re here to help. 

Stop the spread of COVID-19 by taking these steps outlined by the WHO, including washing your hands for at least 20 seconds and social distancing.

The post Now Is the Time for Open Access Policies—Here’s Why appeared first on Creative Commons.

Last week, the Unicode Consortium released the latest version of the Unicode Standard—the universal character coding system used in computer processing (which includes the international emoji portfolio ). We’re thrilled to announce that Creative Commons (CC) license symbols were included in this new release.

The latest Unicode Standard adds 5,930 characters, including 4 new scripts, 55 new emoji characters, and the following CC license symbols:

This is the result of years of hard work by several members of CC’s staff, including our former Director of Product and Research Jane Park who submitted our initial proposal in October 2016 and our second proposal in July 2017.

What is Unicode?

Unicode is the standard for encoding characters into text. Typical examples of encoded characters that we use every day are @, $, &, #, and %. Other examples are writing scripts, like Arabic (العربية) or Devanagari (देवनागरी). Due to the nature of the internet, more characters are created every day—like the mechanical arm emoji —so the Unicode Standard must be regularly updated. 

Put simply, the Unicode Standard enables virtually all text-based editing platforms and tools  (e.g. WordPress, Gmail, Twitter, etc.) to use the same characters and symbols.

Why we proposed adding CC license symbols to Unicode

Way back in 2017, we surveyed more than 700 people to understand how they marked their works with CC licenses. We found that more than half (62%) use the CC license icons or buttons, which must be downloaded from our website or made accessible via an external plugin (e.g. CC WordPress Plugin). However, many more (96%) said they would like to be able to place the CC license symbols directly in their text to indicate the particular CC license being applied—hence the need for our proposal.

Font developers—please be sure to include the CC symbols in your fonts! With the CC license symbols being added to the Unicode Standard, you can help make it much easier for people to mark their work with a CC license.

The post The Unicode Standard Now Includes CC License Symbols appeared first on Creative Commons.

The Creative Commons Catalog Application Programming Interface (CC Catalog API) gives developers the ability to create custom applications that utilize CC Search, a rich collection of 330 million and counting openly licensed images. We have spent the last two years gathering this data from a diverse set of 28 sources, ranging from curated collections assembled by the Met Museum to user-generated content on Flickr. 

Integrating the API into your application will give your users access to the largest collection of openly licensed images ever released on the internet.

While the API has been publicly available for some time now, the release of CC Catalog API, Version 1.0 marks a new milestone in the stability and reliability of the tool and a guarantee that we will not change the existing interface without ample warning and a long sunset period. It’s also important to note that the API is open source and the code is available under the MIT license on GitHub. 

Applications of the CC Catalog API

One of the best ways to understand what capabilities can be enabled by the API is to look at already existing applications. For example, every time you visit CC Search and type something into the search box, your browser is talking directly to the API to fulfill your request!

An exciting milestone for us was seeing Google Summer of Code participant Mayank Nader implement his excellent CC Search Browser Extension, which uses the API to put CC Search at your fingertips via your browser. Other community-built applications include the CC Search WordPress plugin by the Greek School Network and Curationist by the MHz Foundation.

We think there are ample opportunities to integrate the API into your own applications. For example, CC Search could be particularly useful for content management systems to help users find images they can use royalty-free. Another possible application is in image editing programs, which would give users easy access to images where derivative works are allowed.

How to use the CC Catalog API

The API is free to use and open to the public. Anybody can visit the API homepage and start making HTTP queries. Still, we strongly encourage you to follow the instructions for signing up for an API key, which will impose fewer restrictions on your use of the API and give us a way to increase your rate limit if needed. We may impose stricter rate limits on anonymous consumers in the future, but registered users will always have preferential access.

We’d love to hear any feedback you have about the API and about the applications you are building using it. Please email us at cccatalog-api@creativecommons.org.

Deprecation of the pre-release version of the API

If you have already started building on the API, that’s great! However, if you are making any calls without “v1” in the URL, you need to update your application to use the new version. Starting in July 2020, we will be sunsetting the pre-release version of the search API. The Version 1 release is largely compatible with the original pre-release version; see the release notes for a full list of breaking changes.

To stay up-to-date on the latest tech developments and resources, including new versions of the CC Catalog API, follow @cc_opensource on Twitter and visit the CC Open Source website!

As the nonprofit organization behind CC Search and the CC Catalog API, please consider donating to Creative Commons so that we can continue building the open access tools and platforms the world uses to share. Thank you! 

The post Announcing the CC Catalog API, Version 1.0 appeared first on Creative Commons.

Over the last few days, a growing number of organizations have shut down their offices and told employees to work from home in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Here at Creative Commons (CC), we’ve also taken necessary precautions such as postponing all work-related travel and canceling the in-person component of the annual CC Global Summit in May. 

Fortunately, however, our daily operations haven’t been disrupted to the same extent as other organizations because CC has been a global, fully remote nonprofit since 2015. Our staff is spread across Europe, North America, and South America; and although this working environment presents incredible benefits, like flexibility and rich cultural exchanges, it also presents unique challenges. For example, staff on the west coast of North America are often just waking up as staff in Europe are signing off! 

In the spirit of open access and promoting good health, we’d like to share some tips for both organizations and individuals on the subject of remote work. 

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For organizations

• Create clear policies and guidelines that are accessible to all staff. Make sure to anticipate questions and/or concerns that your staff may have, and include answers in a FAQ.

• Craft an internal communications strategy that maintains clear, reliable, and regular communication across the organization and within teams. In fact, don’t be afraid of  “overcommunication.” 

• Schedule video conferencing—encourage leadership and/or management to schedule informal video conferencing with their team members to maintain team morale and cohesiveness.

• Don’t assume all staff has access to the latest technology—in particular, don’t assume all staff members have access to high-speed internet. If they don’t, work with them to figure out alternatives or to set expectations.

• Ensure contact information is up-to-date—for emergency purposes, ensure that all staff’s contact information is correct.

• Assess and adjust expectations and deadlines on projects that may be impacted by the lack of in-person engagement or by a disruption in schedules due to schools closing, individuals becoming ill, etc.

• Provide mental health resources—it’s important to provide staff with appropriate resources in case they begin to feel isolated and/or depressed while working remotely.

• Showcase flexibility, patience, and empathy—leadership and/or management should showcase these qualities in order to reduce employee anxiety and stress under challenging circumstances.

• Give regular updates, either via email or through video check-ins, on the status of COVID-19.

• Don’t micromanage your staff’s activities—instead, set realistic goals and trust they’ll get their work done.

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For individuals 

• Keep your normal workday morning routine—this includes brushing your teeth, changing your clothes, eating breakfast, etc.

• Do work in another room, not in your bedroom—if you live in a small apartment, try to create a space that you can designate as your “office.”

• Take breaks throughout the day—make some coffee, go for a walk, read a book, or stretch.

• Keep in touch with coworkers outside of formal meetings—this can help prevent social isolation, anxiety, or depression. CC staff, for example, schedule “lunches” over video or take “walks” together while talking over the phone. 

• Create boundaries between your life and your work—stick to your regular work hours and set expectations about email response times. This is often one of the biggest challenges of working from home!

• Find other remote workers in your town—schedule coworking days with them or meet up for lunch (if it’s safe)!

• Don’t buy (only) unhealthy snacks—you will eat them! Make sure you buy healthy snacks that will keep you energized throughout the day.

• Be wary of your tone—especially when communicating through messaging applications (e.g. Slack) because these forms of communication can feel impersonal and cold.

• Log off distracting websites—social media sites are especially distracting, so either log off of them or use a browser plugin to help you stay focused.

• Be proud of working from home—just because you don’t go to an office doesn’t mean your work is less important or you’re less productive.

Here’s the gist: On an individual level, try to create a routine that makes you feel productive, included, and motivated. On an organizational level, actively listen to and check in with staff to ensure everyone feels supported and included. Most importantly, as the World Health Organization (WHO) says, “Be safe. Be smart. Be kind.”

For more insights on remote working that our staff has found helpful, check out this article from Deekit, this guide from Trello, this guide from GitLab, and this podcast from Remoter!

The post We’re a Fully Remote Nonprofit; Here’s Some Advice on Working From Home appeared first on Creative Commons.

Storytelling is a powerful tool because it can change perceptions and inspire action—and images are an essential component. As Depression-era American photojournalist and documentarian Dorothea Lange said, “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” 

Unfortunately, finding high-quality and diverse openly licensed images, particularly those of women, is a difficult task for activists and nonprofit organizations. Either they don’t exist or they’re behind expensive paywalls. Thankfully, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation—one of Creative Commons’ institutional supporters—is making that task easier with Images of Empowerment, a CC-licensed stock photography collection that shares women’s stories from across the world.

Opening access to women’s stories through Images of Empowerment

In 2015, the Hewlett Foundation approached Getty Images to “tell the important story of women’s lives in sub-Saharan Africa through powerful, positive images.” According to Sarah Jane Staats, communications manager for the Hewlett Foundation’s Global Development and Population Program, the Foundation recognized that “…too often the images most available to us in commercial stock photography collections or in the media focus on disaster, poverty, or reinforce outdated gender stereotypes.”

“Nonprofits around the world can access powerful, positive images to help tell the story of their work and why it matters.”  

The Foundation decided to publish the images under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license so that “nonprofits around the world can access powerful, positive images to help tell the story of their work and why it matters.” This decision was in line with the Foundation’s open licensing policy, and its support of CC’s open licensing and open education work for over a decade.

By 2017, the Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) added photographs from Colombia, Ghana, India, Peru, South Africa, and Thailand showcasing women’s “informal work” (e.g. cleaning homes, collecting recyclables, etc.). In 2018, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation became a collaborator as well, adding photographs from Bihar, India and from Louisiana and Mississippi in the United States.

According to Emily Bosworth, communications manager at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, these images could have a profound impact on gender inequality and bias. “The photos we use to tell stories matter. Images quickly connect to our emotions and leave a lasting impression,” Bosworth explained, “Affordable, easy access to high-quality images that accurately portray women and girls as they are—in decision-making roles, as active participants in their communities—has tremendous power in challenging gender stereotypes and reinforcing asset-based narratives.”

“The photos we use to tell stories matter. Images quickly connect to our emotions and leave a lasting impression.”

Today, the Images of Empowerment collection includes over 2,000 images licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 from across Colombia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, and the United States. The images in the collection show women as “active participants in their communities, accessing and providing quality reproductive health information and services, and advocating for better working conditions.”

Now you can search these images more easily through the Images of Empowerment website

Just in time for International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, the Hewlett Foundation launched a dedicated stock photography website for the Images of Empowerment collection.

Users can now easily search and download these images for use in their nonprofit work, as well as learn more about each photo thanks to the detailed captions that identify the individuals in the pictures and provide additional context. Incredibly, they’ve also included accompanying videos for each collection that share the experiences of the photographers involved.

Images from the collection have been used by nonprofits across the world for conference materials, research and policy briefs, social media content, and more. Media organizations have also utilized the images, including The New York Times, Vox, Time, and the Guardian to explain the impact of certain policy issues (e.g. reproductive health).

Bosworth noted that the images from Bihar, India (photographed by Paula Bronstein) have made a noticeable impact. “By capturing the strength and resilience of women and girls in Bihar,” she wrote, “the images challenge false stereotypes about the role of women and deliver a more accurate message about the remarkable individuals that call this region home.” 

Explore the Images of Empowerment collection!

We believe this collection demonstrates how open access can help create a more equitable, accessible, and innovative world through sharing. Please consider donating to Creative Commons so that we can continue stewarding the CC licenses and building the open access tools and platforms individuals and organizations, like the Hewlett Foundation, use to share.

The post The Hewlett Foundation Shares Women’s Stories Through Openly Licensed Images appeared first on Creative Commons.