The price of college textbooks in the United States (and many other countries) has skyrocketed over the past 30 years. Two-thirds of college students say that they’ve delayed buying a textbook because it was too expensive—even though 90% of those students worry that not having the textbook will affect their course grade. In addition, more than 80% of faculty agree that the cost of course materials is a serious problem.

Against this backdrop, a new sales model known as “Inclusive Access” has taken off. Also known as automatic textbook billing, this model adds the cost of digital course content into students’ tuition and fees. Hardly known five years ago, one in three college students reported participating in at least one Inclusive Access course during the 2020-21 academic year.

How exactly does Inclusive Access work? Does it really really save students money? What about this kind of program is “inclusive”? Straightforward answers to these questions aren’t always easy to find.

InclusiveAccess.org is a community-driven initiative to raise awareness of the facts about automatic textbook billing. The site aims to be a one-stop shop for information, tools, and other resources that can help administrators, faculty, students, and policymakers make smart decisions about how to address textbook costs on campus.

InclusiveAccess.org was developed by SPARC with generous support from the Michelson 20MM Foundation. Partners include AAC&U, Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, Creative Commons, DigiTex, Student PIRGs, Open Education Global, and OpenStax. The initiative is also forming an advisory committee with representation from a broad range of stakeholders across higher education.

Creative Commons and our partners hope that InclusiveAccess.org will help decision makers fully consider and understand how automatic textbook billing can impact their institution and students. We also hope that it empowers students to ask important questions about how they are charged for textbooks, and to exercise freedom over how they access course materials.

Check back at InclusiveAccess.org regularly for updates on the latest facts, news, and case studies on automatic textbook billing, as well as additional tools and resources. Join the email list and follow @TextbookBilling to get involved.

Of course, the problem of high textbook costs can be solved with CC-licensed Open Educational Resources (OER) as a way to promote more equitable access to course materials. See the UNESCO Recommendation on OER for actions your government and/or educational institution can take to support open education resources, practices and policy.

The post Introducing InclusiveAccess.org appeared first on Creative Commons.

On behalf of the entire Creative Commons Board of Directors, I am delighted to announce the appointment of three new members of the Board: Glenn Otis Brown, Angela Oduor Lungati, and Jeni Tennison. Glenn is one of CC’s original architects: he was our Executive Director from 2002-2005, and then served on the Board from 2009-2012. He returns to CC with a deep sense of our history and fresh ideas for our future. Angela and Jeni are both long-time supporters of Creative Commons and leaders in the open knowledge movement, who are joining the board with a wealth of experience in technology and innovation. We are truly honored and grateful to have all three of them join us at this critical stage in the development of CC, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary and look to the future of better sharing. 

These outstanding new Directors were selected following an open nomination process that harnessed the insights of the CC Global Network, led by Governance and Nominations Committee Chair Carolina Botero. Please join me in thanking Carolina for that service and in extending a warm welcome to Jeni, Angela, and Glenn!

About the new board members:

Angela Oduor Lungati

Angela is a technologist, community builder, and open-source software advocate who is passionate about building and using appropriate technology tools to create an impact in the lives of marginalized groups. She’s a first class honors’ graduate from Strathmore University, with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology. She has over ten years of experience in software development, global community engagement, and non-profit organizational management. She currently serves as the Executive Director at Ushahidi, a global non-profit technology company that helps communities quickly collect and share information that enables them to raise voices, inform decisions and influence change. She previously served as the Director of Community Engagement, creating and managing programs for Ushahidi’s diverse global community. She is also a co-founder of AkiraChix, a non-profit organization that nurtures generations of women who use technology to develop innovations and solutions for Africa. Angela joined us as a keynote speaker at this year’s Creative Commons Global Summit, and she was recently featured on an episode of our Open Minds podcast. 

Glenn Otis Brown

Glenn O. Brown works with a range of organizations on brand and identity, audience development, team building, and fundraising. In addition to advising start-ups and corporations, Glenn is on the board of directors of nonprofits The Texas Tribune and Words Without Borders, and is a senior advisor at MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication. Glenn has worked in creative and business roles at the intersection of media and technology at The Obama Foundation (Chief Digital Officer 2016-2020), Betaworks (Entrepreneur in Residence 2015-2016), Twitter (co-founder of Twitter Amplify video marketplace 2011-2015), and YouTube (head of U.S. music partnerships 2007-2011), and Google/YouTube (product counsel, 2005-2007). From 2002-2005, Glenn was CEO of Creative Commons, where he managed the launch of the first CC licenses and visual design framework, coined the phrase “Some Rights Reserved,” and drove early CC adoption among creators, communities, and platforms around the world. Glenn is a long-time movie buff, book lover, and amateur musician. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Austin, Texas.

Jeni Tennison

Jeni Tennison is the Vice President and Chief Strategy Adviser of the Open Data Institute, which is a UK based non-profit with a mission to work with companies and governments to build an open, trustworthy data ecosystem. She earned her PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Nottingham in the UK, then worked as an independent consultant, specializing in open data publishing and consumption. She was the technical architect and lead developer behind legislation.gov.uk, before joining the ODI as Technical Director in 2012, becoming CEO in 2016, and Vice President in 2020. She has a long-standing interest in open and web standards, served on the W3C’s Technical Architecture Group from 2011 to 2015, and co-chaired the W3C’s CSV on the Web Working Group. She is the co-chair of the Data Governance Working Group within the Global Partnership on AI, and sits on the Advisory Boards for the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and the Information Law and Policy Centre. She loves board games and is the proud co-creator of the open data board game, Datopolis.

The post Creative Commons Announces New Board Members: Angela Oduor Lungati, Glenn Otis Brown & Jeni Tennison appeared first on Creative Commons.

Yesterday, we were disappointed to learn that the Wikimedia Foundation’s application for observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was blocked due to opposition by China for the second time after its initial application in 2020.

Creative Commons has been an accredited observer at WIPO since 2005. WIPO is the UN agency that develops international treaties on copyright, patents, trademarks and related intellectual property issues. Last year, we supported the Wikimedia Foundation’s WIPO observer application, and welcomed the prospect of it joining us as a WIPO observer. 

The Wikimedia Foundation is one of the world’s largest stakeholders and contributors in the sphere of access to knowledge and information, with its projects and community reaching a global audience. The Foundation operates Wikipedia, one of the most popular sources of information for people around the world. 

“It’s deeply frustrating to see the Wikimedia Foundation’s application for WIPO observer status blocked. WIPO plays a pivotal role in shaping international rules that influence the sharing of free knowledge. This decision deprives the Wikimedia Foundation’s vast global communities of the opportunity to participate in this process.“

“Creative Commons and the Wikimedia Foundation are close affiliates, and over the last two decades we have worked as partners committed to free and open knowledge and developing a thriving global commons,” said Creative Commons CEO Catherine Stihler. 

“It’s deeply frustrating to see the Wikimedia Foundation’s application for WIPO observer status blocked. WIPO plays a pivotal role in shaping international rules that influence the sharing of free knowledge. This decision deprives the Wikimedia Foundation’s vast global communities of the opportunity to participate in this process. Creative Commons reaffirms its support for Wikimedia Foundation’s application and calls on WIPO members, including the People’s Republic of China, to reconsider this decision.”

Restrictive copyright systems and other barriers to access and sharing of knowledge and information continue to threaten the foundations of our free and democratic societies. We must welcome a diversity of voices and foster global cooperation to meet the IP challenges the world faces, and achieve better sharing that serves the public interest and creates a world where everyone has access to culture, science, and knowledge.

The post Creative Commons’ Response to Wikimedia Foundation’s WIPO Observer Application Being Blocked appeared first on Creative Commons.

More than a thousand educators, lawyers and tech experts from over 65 countries will come together this week for a global summit to promote open access and better sharing of research and resources.

Creative Commons, the US-based global non-profit organization behind free copyright licenses, is hosting the event to develop solutions for the post-Covid world.

With keynote speakers from the US, UK, Taiwan, Brazil, Kenya and India, the virtual summit will address how to increase access to valuable information, historic images, scientific articles, educational resources, cultural artifacts, and more.

“The CC global summit is bringing together leading activists, advocates, librarians, educators, lawyers, technologists and more from all over the world to promote open access and better sharing.”

Creative Commons, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, has established the goal of putting the tools to share and reshare content in the hands of everyone, everywhere.

It has set a target of raising $15 million USD by the end of next year to free knowledge and culture around the world.

The organization has powered a global movement spanning 86 countries, developing and stewarding legal tools and licenses.

CC licenses remove legal and technical obstacles, so far unlocking nearly 2 billion works around the world across 9 million websites, to enable the global sharing of knowledge and creativity. 

Since 2009, all Wikipedia content, in every language, has been published under CC license.

The virtual summit, which runs until September 24 and has a pay-what-you-can registration policy, will be addressed by Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, Audrey Tang, the digital minister of Taiwan, and the UK-based CEO of Creative Commons, Catherine Stihler – former MEP for Scotland.

A few words from Catherine Stihler, CEO of Creative Commons:

“The CC global summit is bringing together leading activists, advocates, librarians, educators, lawyers, technologists and more from all over the world to promote open access and better sharing.

The Covid pandemic means that our theme of ‘better sharing’ resonates now more than ever.

Greater access to information means a stronger global community, more innovation, and increased capacity to solve the key challenges the world faces today.

We’re eager to put the tools to share and reshare content in the hands of everyone, everywhere, and our $15m fundraising campaign will ensure that Creative Commons can continue advocating for open access to knowledge for years to come.”

More information on the CC global summit is available here: https://summit.creativecommons.org/

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Next up in our ‘Meet the CC Summit Presenter’ series, we sit down with Ebenezar Wikina. Ebenezar is the founder of Policy Shapers, the world’s first open source platform for policy ideas led by young people. He also currently serves as Advocacy Program Coordinator at PIND Foundation, a corporate social initiative of Chevron Corporation. Ebenezar sits on the British Council’s UK-Africa New Narratives Youth Advisory Board, where he represents West Africa, and the Board of Trustees of the Sickle Cell Awareness and Health Foundation. He is a senior category judge of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, and International Judge of the Association for International Broadcasting Awards (AIBs) based in London. Ebenezar is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network, the G20 Civil Society Working Group on Education, the Open Government Youth Collective, and the Internet Society. He had previously worked as a policy volunteer at the United States Congress, Guest Lecturer at Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Technical team member at the Rivers State Government SDGs office, and TEDx Organizer. This extensive work has earned him several awards and recognition, including the first-ever Soundcity MVP Award for Community Development, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group Bridge Fellowship, the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Future News Worldwide, the Global Investigative Journalism Network fellowship, the inaugural list of 100 most influential young Nigerians, to mention a few. Ebenezar is an alumnus of the London School of Journalism, Harvard Kennedy School, and the Stanford Centre for Professional Development.

Based in : Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Summit session: How Open Data can Drive Transparency and Transformation in Virtual Universities

How did you get involved with Creative Commons?

I had always known about CC’s licenses since I started blogging in 2009. However, last year while I was building the Policy Shapers website, an open source platform for policy ideas, with my team, I got a chance to learn more about each license and the great work done by Commoners around the world.

How many times have you been to CC Global Summit?

This is my first time

In the future, what is something you would like to see at CC Summit?

CC already has a great line up of youth speakers, and I would love that to continue moving forward, especially young keynote speakers.

“To ensure that the internet is useful and dynamic for future generations, I believe we must continue to advocate for open collaboration and sharing.”

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