This post was prepared collaboratively by Jennryn Wetzler, Werner Westermann, Lisa Di Valentino, Dr. Suma Parahakaran, Tetiana Kolesnykova, Paola Corti, Dan McGuire, and Fernando Daguanno.

In February and March, the CC Open Education Platform community voted on five winning ideas to advance open education globally. Five project teams, spanning Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Italy, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa, and the USA have received CC Open Education funds. The CC Open Education Platform also funded ongoing global community work supporting the UNESCO Recommendation on OER. We are delighted to share updates about the projects now underway.

CC lauds all of the open education community efforts, and we look forward to sharing additional highlights at the end of this year.

Title: Building a K-12 Interactive Open Textbook

Contact: Werner Westermann
Location: Chile

Summary: The Building a K-12 Interactive Open Textbook project works with community members to support the development of a K-12 Open Textbook in the subject of Civics and Citizenship subject for 11th and 12th Grade, aligned to the official K-12 curriculum of Chile. Thus far, the project has gathered a core team focusing on content selection, H5P deployment, and graphic design. The core team has discussed: curricular alignment and structuring learning chapters; textual content creation and reuse; graphical content selection using Wikimedia Commons; creating learning chapters and reusing previous developments, using Interactive Book H5P tool. The team has H5P packages and trials hosted in Pressbooks, thanks to support of REBUS Foundation.

Title: Climate Change: OER integrating SDG components in Education in two Southeast Asian Countries

Contact: Dr. Suma Parahakaran
Location: Malaysia and Laos PDR

Summary: This project supports OER for Climate Change and the sustainable development goals (SDGs); it focuses on OER creation through experiential activities in schools. Where Malaysia’s Global Environment Center (GEC) focused on climate change and water resources education, Laotian Sri Sathya Sai Institution focused on climate change work, installing solar lights and solar-generated electricity to reduce a primary and secondary school’s carbon footprint and energy costs. The project has also created a greenspace within the Laotian school for students and staff to engage in outdoor learning and gardening.

The project will be compiling OER content from both education centers, and displaying videos, activities and other media outputs on the project website. Next steps include hosting a competition for Climate Change and network building for collaboration.

Title: “Popularization of OER in Ukraine: Small steps to a big goal”

Contact: Tetiana Kolesnykova
Locations: Ukraine and Italy

Summary: Polytechnic University of Milan has partnered with the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies (USUST) to translate and localize a MOOC on OER. The Polytechnic University’s learning innovation unit (METID) developed and shared a MOOC, “Using Open Educational Resources in Teaching” to meet the needs of Ukrainian teachers and academic library professionals. This partnership overcomes language barriers and ensures equitable and inclusive access to education in times of a full-scale war.

After METID and USUST agreed on a process and the necessary parameters to ensure the project would be sustainable for both partners, they adapted subtitles, infographics, the course description and summative weekly quizzes. USUST also created a bilingual version of the quizzes, which helps students in obtaining the MOOC’s final Certificate of Completion. Next steps include: creating instructions in Ukrainian; debugging video subtitles; verifying the MOOC content; and testing the process with teachers and librarians. USUST will also develop a mock-up of the Certificate of Completion of the course “Using Open Educational Resources in Teaching” released by Polimi Open Knowledge platform adapted into Ukrainian. The certificate will be generated in Ukrainian at the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, indicating the amount of training in ECTS credits.

Title: STEAM Ahead with OER in South Africa project

Contact: Dan McGuire
Locations: Ghana, South Africa, and USA

Summary: This collaborative project creates, curates, and sources OER content that meets the needs of elementary students and is aligned with Ghanaian Education standards as well as South African standards. The project has a special emphasis on incorporating materials edited and adapted for and translated to the local languages in addition to the use of English language materials. Dan McGruire and colleague, Peter Amoabil, created a video explainer about the Ghanaian portion of the project, which works Amoabil’s nonprofit, Rural Literacy Solutions. There are some great pictures on their website of students reading OER materials in their local language on the server in their classroom that is not connected to the internet via an open source learning management system.

Title: Alquimetricos

Contact: Fernando Daguanno
Locations: Argentina and Brazil

Summary: Alquimetricos is a STEAM OER project that inspires wonder, using card games, connectors and sticks to build geometric sculptures. Through experiential learning, the project develops students’ spatial, mathematical and kinetic understanding. For this phase of project work, Alquimetricos is developing a STEAM OER collection repository translated to English, Portuguese, and Spanish. The first draft translations will be machine-generated. Alquimetricos will then organize a set of online workshops and collabora-thons to share, revise translations and document the contents and replication process, inviting Creative Commons community members to join.

The project is also developing a card game, which teachers can download and share with their K-12 classes for STEAM education. The digital version will be free, and the printed version will be available for sale. Fernando piloted the project and card games with students and teachers at the International book fair at Comodoro Rivadavia, in Chubut, Argentina, a 10-day learning fair for over 10,000 people.

Next steps include: (1) providing a demo of the card deck at the CC Summit, in Mexico City this October. (2) Alquimetricos will also produce a short video summarizing case studies of its CC BY-licensed educational products being used.

Title: Global Commons: Unlocking Open Education with Creative Commons

Contacts: Lisa Di Valentino, John Okewole
Locations: Nigeria, USA, and global

Summary: This project is developing a short animated video describing Creative Commons and how it would accommodate the implementation of the UN recommendations for OER. The video will have narrations in different languages, potentially including: English, French, Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin could be the initial ones that would hopefully be ready by the end of the year. Team members are also developing 2-3 one-page graphic handouts explaining Creative Commons licenses, and the CC organization, also in different languages. Handouts will be shipped to CC Open Education Platform community members engaging in communications around the UNESCO Recommendation for OER.

The post CC Open Education Platform Activities 2023 appeared first on Creative Commons.

As the EU seeks to finalize its landmark AI Act, CC has joined with Eleuther AI, GitHub, Hugging Face, LAION, and Open Future in offering suggestions for how the Act can better support open source and open science.

As we’ve said before, we welcome the EU’s leadership on defining a regulatory framework around AI and the Act’s overall approach. At the same time, it’s critical that well-intentioned proposals do not have unintended, harmful consequences for the extensive ecosystem of open scientific research and open source development.

As we note in our full paper, open and accessible sharing of the software, datasets, and models that make up AI systems allows for more widespread scrutiny and understanding of both their capabilities and shortcomings. Open source development can enable competition and innovation by new entrants and smaller players, including in the EU. Projects like EleutherAI and BigScience have brought together researchers and a range of institutions, including ones in the EU, to develop and share resources and skills to train high quality models.

Unfortunately, as things stand in the current negotiations, we believe the proposals threaten to create impractical barriers to and disadvantages for contributors to this open ecosystem. For instance, the text could impede simply making open source components available in public repositories and collaborating on them, thereby threatening the very process on which open source depends to develop.

To be clear, we don’t think open approaches to AI development should make their use fully exempt from the Act’s requirements, and we recognize how open source AI can also make harmful uses of AI more accessible to more people. Instead, our recommendations underscore the need for a tailored, proportionate approach to open source and open science, which supports collaborative models of development of AI by a wide range of players.

The post Supporting Open Source and Open Science in the EU AI Act appeared first on Creative Commons.

We’re nearly halfway through 2023 and this year has already been an eventful one for generative artificial intelligence (AI), presenting unique challenges and opportunities for the Creative Commons (CC) community of creators who embrace open sharing.

From the community and beyond, we are seeing urgent demands for support in navigating AI’s implications for the commons.

CC has been hard at work developing our thoughts on the intersection of copyright and generative AI inputs and outputs. In February, we kicked off a public consultation with our community members and a wide range of stakeholders to learn about their thoughts on generative AI and to contemplate ways to move toward a positive future with this promising technology.

We believe AI can work in the public interest, and want to be part of the solution in navigating to that reality.

We use “artificial intelligence” and “AI” as shorthand terms for what we know is a complex field of technologies and practices, currently involving machine learning and large language models (LLMs). Using the abbreviation “AI” is handy, but not ideal, because we recognize that AI is not really “artificial” (in that AI is created and used by humans), nor “intelligent” (at least in the way we think of human intelligence).

What We Heard From You

We talked to creators, artists, publishers, policymakers, and legal experts. There are a wide variety of uses of these new tools, and just as wide a variety of points of view. As with previous technologies like the camera and Photoshop, generative AI is providing new tools for creativity, empowering both professionals and the public at large to make new works. At the same time, we listened to creators who worry about how their works are used to train AI and produce content that may compete with their works. For instance, if someone can generate works in the style of a previous artist, is that fair to the original artist? If people can use ChatGPT to get answers gleaned from Wikipedia without ever visiting Wikipedia, will Wikipedia’s commons of information continue to be sustainable?

Hearing these diverse voices helped reinforce and clarify our view that we need to think about a diverse set of solutions to support our strategy of better sharing in a world with AI. While we think it’s important that copyright continues to leave room for people to study and learn from past works to create new ones, including by analyzing past works using automated means, copyright is just one lens to think about AI. It’s still important to grapple with legitimate concerns about this technology and consider solutions that support responsible development and use.

Importantly, we heard interest in such solutions not just from creators, but also from developers of AI. With laws varying around the world and cases in the midst of active litigation, some developers are uncertain about whether and how to proceed in building AI. Moreover, regardless of what the law permits, some developers want to work with creators to find ways to respect creators’ wishes and support the commons through clear norms and technical solutions. For instance, we met with developers actively working on opt-in and opt-out solutions for creators regarding training of AI, and we talked to many developers who see using openly-licensed content for AI training as in line with their own aspirations and values.

We also spent time consulting with developers of open-source AI tools. Open source can help grow the commons, improve transparency in AI, and democratize access to the technology. At the same time, people have raised concerns about how open source may lower the barriers to harmful uses such as deepfakes or disinformation, and we’re starting to see proposed regulatory approaches that may go too far, hindering open approaches to AI. It is critical that, as an organization and a voice for the public interest, we continue to support appropriate regulations and practices that strike a balance among essential concerns, including open access, transparency, incentives for creativity, and protecting the commons and digital rights .

Additionally, we spent time talking to legal experts from academia and from private practice. Our thoughts about using AI in the public interest are rooted in our understanding of the legal frameworks involved and the way CC’s licenses and legal tools interact with them. We want the advice we share with our community and the policy approaches we advocate for to be informed by the most thoughtful analyses of the current and evolving legal situation, and we’ll provide further insights about AI and CC’s licenses in a future post. (For now, you can find additional details in our FAQ.)

What’s Coming Up for CC

With new developments in generative AI coming daily, and with increasing debate worldwide about how best to regulate AI, it is time for CC to look to the future and to consider our place in the ongoing conversation around generative AI.

We will continue to convene critical conversations and bring together stakeholders who may not typically sit across the table from each other. If you know of events where the CC community should be engaged, please share.

Upcoming opportunities to engage in-person on these topics include:

• Expert roundtables in London in mid-July

• Wikimania in Singapore in August

• Convening in New York in September

• Policy workshops in DC in September (to be confirmed)

• CC Global Summit in Mexico City in October, with a specific focus on AI and the Commons, including participants from diverse communities around the world, not just people in the centers of power and privilege who already dominate conversations about AI

Additionally, anyone may join our community Copyright Platform and participate in its community advisory group on AI.

The CC team is dedicated to loud listening as we thoughtfully consider our stance and foster an exchange of ideas and knowledge.

Our consultation is not an end in itself. Knowledge exchange through convenings will inform our intentions, and guide our actions.

There are things we must do urgently to help bring clarity to our community and support for creators. We must:

• Clarify how the legal structures supporting the commons, including CC licenses and legal tools, interact with generative AI today.

• Empower creators, engaging even more deeply with those whose voices are being excluded from mainstream media coverage and policy debates. One question raised by creators rests on moral rights (non economic rights) which vary between jurisdictions, creating uncertainty over reuse.

• Collaborate with builders and innovators who share our values and our vision for generative AI in the public interest, to develop, test, and potentially co-create solutions that tackle challenges like transparency, credit, consent, and choice.

Join us

Please join us on this journey of discovery through our platforms, community, network and in person at our Global Summit.

• Participate in the CC Global Summit: Register to join us in Mexico City during 3–6 October 2023, where our theme will be AI and the commons.

• Join our community Copyright Platform and participate in its community advisory group on AI.

• Learn more about how CC licenses and legal tools intersect with AI inputs and outputs, and current understandings of the legal and regulatory landscapes.

• Subscribe to our newsletter: Never miss an update or CC event! Subscribe to our mailing list and get all the latest CC news and invitations delivered straight to your inbox.

• Follow us on social media: Keep up with all things CC by following us on your preferred social platform. We’re active on Facebook, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

• Get involved with CC on slack: Engage directly with our team and fellow CC enthusiasts. Join our Slack community for real-time discussions and updates.

The post Update and Next Steps on CC’s AI Community Consultation appeared first on Creative Commons.

In this Special Episode of the Open Culture Voices series, CC hosts a conversation among five open culture experts from around the world.

• Dr. Andrea Wallace, Professor, University of Exeter Law School, United Kingdom
• Dr. Nkem Osuigwe, Director, African Library and Information Associations and Institutions, Nigeria
• Medhavi Gandhi, Founder, The Heritage Lab, India
• Evelin Heidel (Scann), Program Lead at Wikimedistas de Uruguay, Uruguay
• Michael Peter Edson, Founder and Director at the Museum of Solutions, USA/India

Topics addressed range from the fundamental issues surrounding open culture, its transformative impact, and the challenges it faces in a world undergoing profound changes.

The conversation takes place at a pivotal moment in the open culture movement: while 2022 saw the adoption of the MONDIACULT Declaration by UNESCO member states, which recognizes culture as a global public good, only 1% of the world’s cultural heritage institutions have open access policies. The experts reflect on whether open culture can fulfill its commitment to inclusive and global access to culture and participation in cultural life.

Some of the key points discussed in this episode include:

• The disruptive impact of new technologies, such as generative AI, on the open culture ecosystem, raising concerns about sustainability, accessibility, and equity.
• The need to sketch a blueprint for open culture and better sharing to guide the direction of open culture in the coming years.
• The observation that the open movement has stalled and is at a crossroads, requiring a realistic assessment of accomplishments, challenges, and future directions.
• The importance of reflecting on and rethinking the mission, structure, and practices of cultural institutions in the digital age.
• The need for a more equitable approach in open culture, addressing the bias in data representation and the lack of voices from underrepresented regions.
• The sector’s need for active support and collaboration to address complex issues such as decolonization and inclusivity.
• The importance of open culture in creating awareness, understanding, and appreciation of diverse cultures and knowledges.
• Challenges include the need for more participatory practices, addressing issues of interoperability, and overcoming barriers to access in developing countries.
• The role of open culture in contributing to addressing the climate crisis and preserving cultural heritage in emergency situations.
• The environmental impact of digital technologies and the labor invisibilization associated with digital extraction.
• The importance of considering local and intentional digital activities in open practices.

Overall, the first part of the conversation highlights the need to expand the reach and impact of open culture, address inequalities, and actively shape the future of openness in the cultural heritage sector. As the open culture movement evolves, it must address issues of representation, equity, and resource distribution and by embracing diverse perspectives and forging partnerships, the blueprint for open culture can be shaped to create a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

When asked why open culture is important, here’s what they had to say:

“For me, open culture is really important locally because it’s a way to think creatively about how to make connections among collections, individuals, histories, narratives. That previously hasn’t actually been possible because of the analog nature of heritage and heritage management.”  Andrea Wallace

“I started my career working with artisans and craftspeople, and my main interest was in building participation with the arts…I realized that the knowledge of the craft was at museums, like the background knowledge and contextual knowledge. And so we started taking artisans and crafts people to museums.” Medhavi Gandhi

“Open content was this thread that ran through all our thinking about the future role of institutions and in the digital age… And for me, that’s a very very local and intimate challenge.” Michael Peter Edson

“I think it’s very important that we put out our stories and our heritage in ways that actually represent our culture.” Evelin Heidel (Scann)

“In my culture, some things are open and some are not, and I’m wondering how we can open up…there are some areas where women are not even allowed to join, and I’m wondering how open culture can help us achieve that.” Nkem Osuigwe

Part 2 will be release at the end of July 2023. Stay tuned!

Closed captions are available for this video, you can turn them on by clicking the CC icon at the bottom of the video. A red line will appear under the icon when closed captions have been enabled. Closed captions may be affected by Internet connectivity — if you experience a lag, we recommend watching the videos directly on YouTube.

Want to hear more insights from Open Culture experts from around the world? Watch more episodes of Open Culture VOICES here >>

For more information on CC’s Open Culture work head to our information page or join the platform.

The post A Special Episode of the Open Culture Voices Series, Part 1 appeared first on Creative Commons.

The CC Open Culture Team is excited to announce a new webinar series, Open Culture Live. This series will feature conversations with experts on a number of topics, from the basics of open culture to discussions about traditional knowledge, artificial intelligence, respectful terminologies in collections, and more. 

As a first session, we wanted to introduce folks to the basics of open culture – how our licenses work, and how they can be harnessed by cultural heritage institutions or GLAMs (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) to responsibly share the world’s cultural heritage. 

Back to Basics: Open Culture for Beginners

27 July, 2023, 2:00 PM UTC

Jocelyn Miyara, Open Culture Manager & Connor Benedict, Open Culture Coordinator

Why is open access important for cultural heritage institutions? The mission of many of these kinds of organizations is to share culture and knowledge – and the internet enables sharing much more widely. Open culture’s most exciting potential is to empower creators anywhere in the world to discover, share, reuse and remix cultural heritage. We see open culture as a catalyst for the dissemination and revitalization of culture, a spark for the creation of new cultural expressions and experiences, and an engine for sustainable cultural, economic and social development, where culture as a public good takes center stage. 

Register to attend here. 

The post Introducing Open Culture Live – a webinar series appeared first on Creative Commons.