OP EN CULTURESTRATEGIC WORKSHOPREP ORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary........................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Creative Commons, the Open Culture Movement and TAROC .................................................................... 5
UNESCO’s Track Record in “Open” ............................................................................................................. 6
Overview of Workshop Activities and Discussions ............................................................................................. 7
Day One: Getting the Lay of the Land .......................................................................................................... 7
Welcome Remarks.................................................................................................................................. 7
Keynote: Reflecting on Open Culture Through an Analysis of UNESCO’s Legal Instruments:
Challenges and Opportunities to Consider Before Moving Forward ......................................................... 9
UNESCO Panel ....................................................................................................................................12
Breakout Discussion 1: Open Culture –Tensions and Intersections .........................................................17
Expert Conversation: Open Culture is Easy! ...........................................................................................19
Breakout Discussion 2: Benefits of Open Culture ...................................................................................23
Day Two: Charting a Roadmap for Future Action .........................................................................................25
Step 1: Identify Leverage Points .............................................................................................................26
Step 2: Co-Create a Draft Roadmap .......................................................................................................30
Timeline and Key Milestones Chart .......................................................................................................31
10 Key Workshop Outcomes.............................................................................................................................33
Substantive Issues.......................................................................................................................................33
Formal and Process Issues ...........................................................................................................................35
Collaboration and Organization Issues ........................................................................................................36
Closing Ceremony ...........................................................................................................................................37
Recommendations and Next Steps ....................................................................................................................38
1. Form a Coalition and Coordinate the Work ..............................................................................................38
2. Form Teams and Networks to Carry Out Tasks .........................................................................................38
Annexes ...........................................................................................................................................................39
Workshop Agenda ......................................................................................................................................39
List of Participants .....................................................................................................................................41
Additional Resources and References ..........................................................................................................42
LinkedIn Post Excerpts about the Workshop .....................................................................................................43
Colophon ........................................................................................................................................................44

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since its founding in 2001, Creative Commons (CC) has been active in the cultural sphere. This
legacy imbues the CC Open Culture Program through which CC promotes open access and better
sharing of cultural heritage in support of a global movement that is slowly but surely gaining traction.
TAROC, a community initiative led by CC, aspires to encourage the Member States of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to elaborate and adopt a
Recommendation (or similar instrument) promoting “open” solutions to enhance access to cultural
heritage. This initiative aims to ensure that cultural heritage is equitably accessible for current andfuture generations, aligning with UNESCO’s broader mission and heritage-related policy goals.
To explore opportunities to promote open culture, CC organized the CC Open Culture Roundtable (Lisbon,
May 2023), which laid the groundwork for TAROC to lift off. One year later, on 22 and 23 May 2024, CCconvened a diverse group of nearly 50 experts and activists for a CC Open Culture Strategic Workshop in
Lisbon. The workshop culminated with the co-creation of a roadmap for future action to advance support fora UNESCO instrument promoting open access to cultural heritage.

TAROC

Getting a lay of the landCC’s Brigitte Vézina communicated the goal of the workshop: to co-design a roadmap
for future action that would identify the key milestones and activities necessary to arriveat the adoption by UNESCO Member States of an international instrument.
Véronique Guèvremont, Professor of Law, Université Laval and UNESCO Chair on
the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, opened the workshop with a keynote entitled“Reflecting on Open Culture through an Analysis of UNESCO’s Legal Instruments:
Challenges and Opportunities to Consider Before Moving Forward.”
She gave an overview of UNESCO’s legal instruments that containprovisions on access to culture and covered UNESCO projects
that aim to facilitate access in the digital environment. She showedthat it was possible to chart a consistent legal path through these instruments to a
Recommendation on Open Culture. Her take-home message was that it is possible todrive the adoption of a Recommendation on open culture within the existing UNESCO
framework, but that this work requires deeper legal analysis.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report1After the keynote, Claire McGuire (Manager of Policy and Advocacy, International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)) led a panel discussion on open
access at UNESCO and on UNESCO in general, from diverse perspectives, including thoseof the UNESCO Secretariat, and focused on some of the practical and process issues related
to developing a UNESCO Recommendation. The panel shed light on the fact that openness
already permeates many UNESCO instruments, programs and initiatives, and that theelaboration and negotiation process are Member State-driven and require advocacy on many
levels. The panelists were:» Lutz Möller, Deputy Secretary-General, German UNESCO National Commission;» Fackson Banda, Head of Unit, Unit for Documentary Heritage (Memory of theWorld), UNESCO;» Jaco Du Toit, Chief of Section, Section for Universal Access to Information and
Digital Inclusion, UNESCO;» Peter Scholing, Chair, UNESCO Memory of the World Latin America and the
Caribbean; Information Scientist, Biblioteca Nacional Aruba; Digital Collections
Curator, Coleccion Aruba;» Harriet Deacon, Lecturer, AI Ethics and Treatied Spaces Researcher, University of Hull.
After the panel, workshop participants took part in breakout sessions to discuss the tensions
and intersections of open culture with other topics or issues. These discussions aimed totease out some of the issues intersecting, or in tension with, open access to cultural heritage to help define
the boundaries of open access. Key tensions included: a lack of clear definitions; the interplay with cultural
custodianship; and a lack of support for open culture advocates.
Andrea Wallace (Associate Professor of Law & Technology, University of Exeter Law School (UK)) andTeresa Nobre (Legal Director, Communia Association) then offered key practical and policy advice toanchor openness in the cultural heritage sector and develop a proposal with the best possible chance forsuccess. Their main advice was to recognize the unique role and specific opportunity presented by UNESCO
while identifying and seeking to bypass potential opposition.
Day 1 ended with a discussion about the benefits of open culture. This breakout session
highlighted the numerous benefits and forward-thinking opportunities. Discussions
underscored how some of the issues identified as points of tension could also be viewed
as benefits. Participants highlighted benefits such as greater exposure and reuse, greatercollaboration, social justice, cultural diplomacy, and sustainable cultural development. The
discussion pointed to a need to narrow down the scope of the initiative and recognized thata Recommendation would be a game changer.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report2Charting a roadmap for future action
After laying a foundation on Day 1, participants were tasked with co-creating a roadmap for future action
towards the adoption of a UNESCO instrument on Day 2. This part of the workshop consisted of sharing
ideas about strategies and tactics to spur lasting interest and investment by UNESCO’s Secretariat andMember States. The goal was to arrive at a structured action plan set against a clear timeline and including
effective tactics, activities, interventions and other actionable steps, held together under a coherent
overarching strategy that will lead to success and avoid pitfalls.
A first step involved identifying leverage points. The activity allowed for “big picture” thinking in breakout
groups about what interventions need to take place in what sequence to increase the likelihood of reaching
our goal. It helped reach the realization that we do not operate in a vacuum and identify the initiatives
already underway with potential for mutual support and cross-pollination. Some of the conclusions
included:» A need for evidence gathering and case building (solid evidence base, convert “asks” into textual
proposals, advocate for change) and» A need to map stakeholders and build relationships (allies, national governments, UNESCO
Secretariat).
A second step required prioritizing and placing those interventions along a timeline to form a roadmap.
Groups of participants were invited to place their three most important ideas for intervention inchronological and strategic order along a temporal axis. This resulted in a draft roadmap.

10 Key Outcomes
The workshop had the following ten outcomes.
1. A Rationale More Clearly Steeped in Fundamental Rights
2. A Clearer Position within the UNESCO Normative Landscape
3. A Refined Substantive Scope on Open Heritage
4. A More Modest Ask Centered on Preserving the Public Domain
5. A Clearer Understanding of the Elaboration and Negotiation Process
6. A More Agnostic Position on the Nature of the Instrument
7. A Clearer Sense of Alignment with Ongoing UNESCO and UN Work
8. A Galvanized Open Community
9. An Imperative Need to Form a Coalition and Launch a Campaign
10. A Nascent Architecture to Organize Future Action
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report3Potential Elements of an Approach Moving Forward
Based on the discussions in the workshop, we can already make out some of the main areas of work that arelikely to feature in any plan. CC will continue the process to engage the community to more fully articulate
the work to be done, and identify how this is best organized to ensure that the widest range of individuals
and organizations can be involved in a way that is consistent with achieving the overall goal.
» Strategic coordination» There was a strong view that creating a formal alliance or coalition of key partners might be usefulto steer and bring oversight to the work.
» Leverage of existing networks and expertise to:» work to draft a civil society declaration;» work to support community advocacy;» Work to support influence at country level;» Work to liaise with UNESCO.
The workshop was phenomenally successful and marked a key milestone in CC’s years-long efforts to gain
support for the elaboration of a UNESCO instrument enshrining openness. A momentous event, it openeda path for the numerous opportunities for broad involvement and engagement by community members andother stakeholders to contribute to this important initiative. The workshop’s spirit of unity and commitment
promises a bright future for TAROC(H–Heritage), bringing us one step closer to ensuring that the world’s
cultural heritage will be available for generations to come.

Workshop Participants
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report4INTRODUCTION
Creative Commons, the Open Culture Movement and TAROC
Since its founding in 2001, Creative Commons (CC) has been active in the cultural sphere, promoting theopen sharing of information, ideas, and artifacts to build a more equitable, accessible, and innovative world.
This legacy imbues the CC Open Culture Program, established in 2021, thanks to the generous funding
by Arcadia Fund, and through which CC promotes open access and better sharing of cultural heritage insupport of a global movement that is slowly but surely gaining traction.
Indeed, inspired by the pioneers of the early days, more and more cultural heritage institutions, such as
museums, libraries, and archives, are adopting open access policies and sharing their collections with open
tools like the CC licenses and public domain tools. Notable examples include the release in open accessof the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA), the Smithsonian Institution (USA), theRijksmuseum (Netherlands), the Statens Museum for Kunst (Denmark), and more recently the Paul J. Getty
Museum (USA) to name a few. Europeana’s, Wikimedia’s and Flickr Commons’ efforts to make cultural
heritage widely accessible are also rooted in a deep belief that unrestricted access and reuse offer a wide arrayof fresh opportunities for society to connect with heritage.
But these outstanding examples are more the exception than the rule. CC’s Open Culture Voices series,
which features interviews with experts from around the world discussing the importance of open access tocultural heritage, highlighted not only the benefits openness can yield but also the barriers that still standin the way of so many institutions wanting or waiting to go open. One such barrier is the lack of a positive,
affirmative international instrument enshrining the principles of openness and guiding institutions and theirusers toward sustainable and equitable access policies and practices. This is the gap the TAROC initiative(Towards a Recommendation on Open Culture) aims to fill.
TAROC, a community initiative led by CC, aspires to encourage the Member States of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to elaborate and adopt a Recommendation(or similar instrument) promoting “open” solutions to enhance access to cultural heritage. This initiative
aims to ensure that cultural heritage is equitably accessible for current and future generations, aligningwith UNESCO’s broader mission of preserving, protecting, safeguarding, and promoting access to cultural
heritage and enjoyment of culture as a global public good and engine of sustainable development, among
other culture and heritage-related policy goals.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

5

UNESCO’s Track Record in “Open”
UNESCO has a proven track record of successful Recommendations in the open space,exemplified by its instruments on Open Educational Resources (OER) (2019) andOpen Science (2021), driving positive change and having measurable impact on the ground. A UNESCO
Recommendation promoting open access to cultural heritage could similarly help enable people around theworld to enjoy their fundamental right to participate in cultural life. It would also go hand in hand with
UNESCO initiatives aiming to make cultural materials more accessible, preserve them for future generations,and encourage their use in creative and educational pursuits.
UNESCO is already taking steps in the right direction. In 2022, at the UNESCO World Conference on
Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, 150 Member States unanimously adopted the landmark
MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration. CC welcomed the Declaration, which emphasizes the importance of
culture as “global public good” and encourages integrating cultural considerations into global development
agendas, protecting cultural diversity and heritage, and supporting creative industries. In the lead up to
MONDIACULT 2022, CC hosted a ResiliArt x Mondiacult webinar where panelists highlighted thepower of open licensing as a force to achieve cultural dissemination and revitalization. CC also presented
the keynote at the International Forum “Digitalizar en común: formas distribuidas de propiedad y autoría
culturales,” an event organized by CC Mexico on the margins of Mondiacult.
Now is an important time to amplify the Mondiacult Declaration as it unequivocally states the essential roleof culture in fostering social cohesion, intercultural dialogue, and sustainable development. By adhering toand expanding on UNESCO normative instruments, we can move closer to ensuring that cultural heritage
remains a vibrant and integral part of global strategies, benefiting both present and future generations.
To explore opportunities to promote open culture, CC organized the CC Open Culture Roundtable(Lisbon, May 2023), which laid the groundwork for TAROC to lift off. While after the Roundtable there
was a lot of enthusiasm and collaboration on loosely-linked activities within the community, there was alsoa need to consolidate those elements and for community members to gain a common understanding of
the overarching outcomes, the direction of travel, and the (chrono)logical organization of the discrete
activities which could lead to achieving TAROC’s goal of UNESCO Member States adopting an
instrument recognizing open access to cultural heritage. That need was what led CC to organize theOpen Culture Strategic Workshop, the subject of this report.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report“Group photo at CC’s Open Culture
Roundtable in Lisbon” licensed CC BY 4.0
1 A 2023 UNESCO report reveals

that the number of countries with
open science policies nearly doubled
since the adoption of the OpenScience Recommendation in 2021.
Likewise, four years after the 2019
Recommendation on OER, 61 Member
States (78% of respondents) reported
implementation in their ministries andinstitutions.

6

OVERVIEW: WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSIONS

On 22 and 23 May 2024, CC convened a diverse group of nearly 50 experts and activists from across allcontinents — including several UNESCO representatives — in the enchanting city of Lisbon, Portugal,a city known for its rich history, vibrant culture, and picturesque cityscapes. The city’s inspiring backdrop
fueled in-depth discussions and deliberations facilitated by Mona Ebdrup and Abdul Dube. The workshop
culminated with the co-creation of a roadmap for future action to advance support for a UNESCO
instrument promoting open access to cultural heritage. The following sections provide a detailed rundown of
the workshop’s key activities, capturing the essence of the discussions held over two days.

DAY ONE: Getting the lay of the landThis part of the workshop served to:
1. provide an overview of the UNESCO normative landscape related to access to culture (keynote);
2. impart information on the procedural and substantive aspects of elaborating a UNESCO normative
instrument (the panel);
3. hold space to discuss the benefits, tensions and boundaries of open culture (the breakout discussions
and expert conversation).

Mona Ebdrup

Welcome Remarks

Participants were welcomed by CC’s CEO, Anna Tumadóttir, who recalled that
CC was founded to address the challenges of digital sharing on the internet.
She said that having set an initial goal of one million works shared, CC had far
surpassed it, with billions of works now openly available across various sectors.
The core of CC’s mission is to facilitate sharing. She noted that CC was updating
its strategy in the wake of generative AI. She expressed gratitude for the diverse
participation, especially from UNESCO representatives, and emphasized thelong-term commitment required. She underscored the importance of maintaining
strong relationships and thanked everyone for their dedication to open culture.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

Adbul Dube
7

Brigitte Vézina, CC’s Director of Policy and Culture, gave a welcome address to set the scene for theworkshop. She said the participants’ presence at the workshop demonstrated the importance of the common
agenda and the energy of the community driving open culture on all continents. She gave examples of thedifference open access can make for so many beneficiaries (students, museums, artists, scholars, etc.) but
also warned of the risks for institutions that do not enable open access and reuse, which could lose relevancein the digital era. She noted the many barriers to overcome (people, money, policy) and that the lack ofa positive policy framework encouraging openness and supporting cultural heritage institutions in their
missions to give access to their collections was the key reason behind TAROC and the workshop.

Brigitte Vezina

She communicated the goal of the workshop, which was to co-design a roadmap for future action thatwould identify the key milestones and activities necessary to arrive at the adoption by UNESCO Member
States of an international instrument. She called on participants to envision a UNESCO instrument thatwould recognize the importance of global open sharing of cultural heritage to activate and support wider
cultural and information policy ambitions. Concretely, such an instrument would help remove undue
barriers and promote equitable access to cultural heritage, especially in the digital environment, for a more
inclusive and connected world. It would enhance the availability and use of cultural heritage through open
licensing, thereby making it easier for people to find and use cultural heritage resources.

She emphasized the workshop’s spirit to think innovatively and invited participants:» to get to know each other better and build new relationships;» to bring singular ideas to build collective intelligence;» to bring questions, interrogations and make them audible to help reflect together;» to bring unique points of view to imagine and scaffold a common vision for the future of open culture;» to agree what we have in common and acknowledge what might still stand in the way.
She highlighted the unique opportunity to leverage all of the available synergies in the room to co-create aroadmap for future action in order to guide future efforts and lay a foundation of shared understandings.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

8

KEYNOTE
Reflecting on Open Culture Through an Analysis of UNESCO’S Legal
Instruments: Challenges and Opportunities to Consider Before Moving Forward
Overview

Véronique Guèvremont, Professor of Law, Université Laval and UNESCO Chair on the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions, opened the workshop with an inspiring keynote entitled “Reflecting on Open Culture
through an Analysis of UNESCO’s Legal Instruments: Challenges and Opportunities to Consider Before
Moving Forward.”
She presented the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in developing a new
instrument on open access to cultural heritage under the aegis of UNESCO, basedon an extensive literature review and 29 interviews with a diverse range of experts.
She gave an overview of UNESCO’s legal instruments that
contain provisions on access to culture and also covered
UNESCO projects that aim to facilitate access in the digital
environment. She said that although the notion of open
culture is rarely used explicitly in
UNESCO legal instruments, several
declarations, recommendations, andconventions adopted by Member
States set out objectives, principles, andcommitments that aim to make culture
more accessible. She showed that it
was possible to chart a consistent legal
path through these instruments to a
Recommendation on Open Culture.
She also clarified the many objectives of
UNESCO’s work on culture that might
justify restricting access to culture.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report9Highlights from the Presentation» Key Concepts• Key concepts were highlighted, such as “culture,” “access,” “cultural heritage,”“contemporary creativity” (referred to at UNESCO as “cultural expressions”)
as well as national or domestic “content.” She recalled that UNESCO
Member States recognize that the wide diffusion of culture is indispensable tohuman dignity and constitutes a sacred duty for all nations, to be fulfilled in a
spirit of mutual assistance and concern.

» Importance of Familiarizing with Existing Instruments• Emphasis was placed on the importance of familiarity with existing

instruments to understand their role in defending access rights and balancing thesewith other policy objectives (e.g., respect for intellectual property rights, privacy andconfidentiality, as well as ethical issues, such as respect for customs and traditions, nondiscrimination, imbalance in cultural exchanges, the digital divide, and the ethics of AI).
She noted that no single instrument targets access to culture exclusively, but collectively,
they contribute to it. She said that the two recommendations adopted in 2015 – namely the
Recommendation concerning the Protection and Promotion of Museums and Collections,
their Diversity and their Role in Society and the Recommendation concerning the
Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage Including in Digital Form – have
explicit requirements with regard to access to cultural heritage in the digital environment. She
also pointed to the UN Development Agenda and UN Pact for the Future.

» Distinction Between Access Types and Impact of Digital Technologies• She made a distinction between access to culture and access to a diversity of culturalexpressions or cultural content itself, with emphasis on principles from the 2005 Convention
on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The 1972
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage were not designed
to facilitate access to culture through digital technologies, however such technologies play animportant role in the implementation of these conventions as well as in furthering access inthe digital environment.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report10» Five Opportunities
Véronique pointed to five opportunities that a future Recommendation could leverage:• Stimulate the pursuit of UNESCO’s normative action in the field of open resources, with anemphasis on defining notions such as equitable access, inclusive access, and open culture.
• Strengthen the protection of human rights, in particular the right to participate in cultural life,
particularly in the framework of the Mondiacult Declaration (2022).
• Contribute to the elimination of certain barriers to digital trade, and help to define inclusive accessin the field of culture.
• Boost progress in cultural data access and interoperability as well as transparency.
• Rethink the remuneration system for artists and cultural professionals, and explore thedevelopment of alternative economic models for remunerating creators.

» Five Challenges• Ensure fair remuneration for artists and other cultural professionals, consider all players in thecultural value chain, and protect the status of the artist.
• Promote the economic viability of cultural heritage institutions involved and preserve theirreputation.
• Overcome the digital divide and the North-South imbalance in cultural exchanges, and improve
digital literacy.
• Avoid new forms of colonialism, prevent cultural misappropriation, and look into digital
restitution.
• Implement standards that consider the rise of generative AI systems and consider respect for
artists’ and other cultural professionals’ rights.

» Recommendations to move TAROC forward

5

•
•
•
•

Define the term open culture in a manner consistent with UNESCO’s objectives and history.
Explain notions of “access”, “inclusive access” and “equitable access”.
List the “cultural resources” concerned by any future Recommendation.
If contemporary cultural expressions are concerned, explain the potential benefits for artists andother cultural professionals.
• If cultural heritage is concerned: explain the potential benefits for cultural institutions that are
custodians of this heritage.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

11

UNESCO PANEL
Overview
Claire McGuire led a discussion on
open access at UNESCO and on
UNESCO in general, from diverse
perspectives, including those of the
UNESCO Secretariat, and focused onsome of the practical and process issues
related to developing a UNESCO
Recommendation. The panelists include(left to right):» Claire McGuire, Manager of Policy and Advocacy, International Federation of Library Associations
and Institutions (IFLA);» Fackson Banda, Head of Unit, Unit for Documentary Heritage (Memory of the World), UNESCO;» Harriet Deacon, Lecturer, AI Ethics and Treatied Spaces Researcher, University of Hull.
» Jaco Du Toit, Chief of Section, Section for Universal Access to Information and Digital Inclusion,
UNESCO;» Peter Scholing, Chair, UNESCO Memory of the World Latin America and the Caribbean;
Information Scientist, Biblioteca Nacional Aruba; Digital Collections Curator, Coleccion Aruba;» Lutz Möller, Deputy Secretary-General, German UNESCO National Commission.
The Panel discussed UNESCO and the multifaceted concept of openness within UNESCO’s framework,
highlighting key perspectives, significant milestones, and thematic areas that embody open access.
They provided insights into the elaboration and negotiation processes essential for adopting new
Recommendations, the nature of UNESCO’s work once such instruments are adopted, the impact they canhave, and the challenges that must be overcome to achieve broad consensus and effective implementation.
This section synthesizes the panel’s discussion into key themes alongside panelists’ recommendations aimed atpromoting open access to cultural heritage and cultural expressions. These recommendations are instrumental in
guiding future work and have been underscored within each theme to emphasize their importance.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report12Key Themes and Topics
Primary Perspectives on Openness» Highlights from the Discussion:• At UNESCO, there are two schools of thought on “openness”, whether one approaches it from theperspective of:• UNESCO’s Cultural Sector, which tackles issues like status of the artists and the creative
industries (rights holders).

• Technology opportunities and free/open source software and open access as bases for broader
openness initiatives in the digital environment.

» Recommendations:• Clearly define the scope and objectives of open access initiatives to sharpen focus and increase thelikelihood of consensus.

• Specify whether the focus is on open access to cultural heritage in the public domain (out-ofcopyright works) or broader cultural expressions, including contemporary creativity.

Significant UN/UNESCO Milestones on Openness
Highlights from the Discussion:• Significant Milestones:• The 2015 World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) emphasized bridging the digital

divide and promoting open access to scientific knowledge, educational resources, and cultural
heritage. Key outcomes included support for open licensing frameworks like Creative

Commons, the importance of digital preservation, enhancing digital literacy, and fostering
multi-stakeholder collaboration to ensure the benefits of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) are accessible to all.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report1313• The UN’s Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 16, particularly Target 16.10,

emphasizes ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms, inaccordance with national legislation and international agreements.

• The UNESCO Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary
heritage including in digital form (2015) promotes open access to documentary heritage.

• The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (2019) promotes open
access to educational resources.

• The UNESCO Recommendation on Open science (2021) promotes open access to scientificresearch and data.

• The UN Global Digital Compact advocates for “open solutions” and for digital public goods
to be made available under open copyright licenses.

• The UNESCO Mondiacult Declaration (2022) declares culture as a global public goodand offers an unprecedented opportunity to discuss openness as a tool to achieve the
Declaration’s goals.

» Recommendations:• Acknowledge and integrate existing UNESCO

frameworks and international agreements to avoid
redundancy.

• Leverage existing networks and regional initiatives
to promote and implement open access initiatives
effectively.

• Not reopen the debate but carry it forward byleveraging shifts in language and vocabulary operated
in previous UNESCO normative instruments.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report14

Elaboration and Negotiation Process» Highlights from the Discussion:• The process towards the adoption of a
Recommendation involves intergovernmental
negotiations and the need to balance diverse
stakeholder interests.
• A group of experts appointed by the
UNESCO Secretariat drafts a text, whichbecomes the basis for Member Statenegotiations. Adoption requires consensus
from Member States.
• Financial support must be given to the
UNESCO Secretariat throughout.

• A Declaration involves a lower level of commitment from Member States than a Recommendation.

» Recommendations:• Engage a broad range of stakeholders, including national
government representatives, cultural institutions, creators,

•

•
•
•

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Reportcommunity representatives, and private sector entities, toensure diverse perspectives and buy-in.
Promote interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration
to share best practices and harmonize efforts in promoting
openness.
Advocate for governmental and institutional commitment tosupport open access initiatives.
Provide financial and structural support for both UNESCO
and its Member States.
Consider aiming for a Declaration instead of a
Recommendation to increase the chances of success.
15
15

Substantive Challenges» Highlights from the Discussion:• The tensions between openness and other values that imbue existing UNESCO texts, including

respect for cultural practices and traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples, intellectual property
rights, private interests, as well as other hard boundaries, must be addressed.

• Diverse regional contexts must be considered and translations into local languages must be madeavailable.

• The uncertainties raised by generative AI with regard to openness must be dealt with.

• There is a need to explore economically viable open access models for cultural heritage institutions.

» Recommendations:• Promote flexible definitions to adapt to diverse regional andcultural contexts.

• Acknowledge existing instruments in framing a new

Recommendation or Declaration (which involves a lower levelof commitment from member states).

• Understand and work to alleviate the challenges faced by the
UNESCO Secretariat itself.

• Ensure respect for cultural sensitivities and community

rights, cultural practices and intellectual property rights ofcommunities, particularly Indigenous Peoples.

• Explore viable open access models for cultural heritage
institutions.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

16

BREAKOUT DISCUSSION #1
Tensions and Intersections
Overview

Participants were divided into six groups to discuss the tensions
and intersections arising from the implementation of open culture.
These breakout discussions aimed to tease out some of the issues
intersecting, or in tension with, open access to cultural heritage tohelp define the boundaries of open access. These discussions also
served to surface the nuances and relativity of openness.

Lack of Common Language and Clear Definitions» Highlights:• There is a recognized barrier due to the lack of sharedlanguage, messaging, and vocabulary among various

stakeholders. This hampers common understanding and aunified sense of purpose within the community.

» Recommendations• Develop shared, clear, and accessible definitions of“culture,” “open,” and “open culture” that consider diverse
perspectives and eliminate linguistic gatekeeping.

• Acknowledge that achieving consensus on definitions ischallenging and that efforts to reach shared definitions

might detract from real goals. Move the initiative forward
despite the lack of clarity around key concepts.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report17

Tensions with Cultural Custodianship Structures» Highlights:• Recurring tensions arise from the need for consent to avoid cultural appropriation, and the clash
between collective custodianship and the intellectual property system’s construct of property
ownership. Historical injustices and trust issues raise concerns about biases in institutions
implementing open culture.

» Recommendations• Discuss relationship between open access and modes of collective custodianship/stewardship/

Ivan
MartinezMedhavi
Gandhiguardianship.

• Consider remedies to systemic biases and institutional trust issues.
• Promote restitution considerations in openness frameworks.

• Normalize “closed” practices for respect and preservation purposes, and refer to FAIR and CARE
principles. Balance open and closed practices to respect cultural sensitivities. Restore agency tocultural heritage holders.

Sector and Community Fragmentation and Roadblocks» Highlights:

Peter Scholing andFackson Banda• There is a need for more collaborative efforts and to break silos within the cultural heritage sector
and open culture community. Practitioners face a lack of confidence, competence, and capacity,

alongside insufficient institutional support and dedicated resources, posing challenges to adopting
open practices and policies.

» Recommendations• Foster collaborative approaches.

• Engage diverse cultural perspectives in open culture discussions.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop ReportRobin
WrightAlwaleed
Alkhaja18

EXP ERT CONVERSATION
Overview

Andrea Wallace (Associate Professor of Law & Technology, University of Exeter Law School (UK)) andTeresa Nobre (Legal Director, Communia Association) offered key practical and policy advice to anchor
openness in the cultural heritage sector and develop a proposal with the best possible chance for success.

Open Culture is Easy Highlights» Introduction and Background• Presentation of the OpenGLAM Survey, which tracks open access to cultural heritage collectionsin GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) globally.

• Survey aims to provide a comprehensive, global view of global open access implementation.

• Survey aggregates data from Wikimedia Commons, institutional websites, and word of mouth.
• To date, nearly 1,700 collection holders across 55 countries have digitized and publishedalmost one million digital surrogates of public domain works.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report19» Definition and Importance of Open Access» Highlights:• Adherence to principles from the Berlin Declaration on Open Accessto Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, the Bethesda Statement
on Open Access Publishing, and the Budapest Open Access Initiative
Declaration.
• Open means that digital assets can be modified as well as used forcommercial purposes.
• Use of Creative Commons licenses and tools (CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC0) is
fundamental.
• Jurisdictions with robust copyright laws and effective exceptions facilitate
public domain works’ publication.
• Majority of digital assets are concentrated in the EU, UK, and US.

» Recommendations:• Need for clear definitions and strategic actions aligned with international
standards.
• Need for robust data and metadata standards.

» Main Barriers to Accessing the Public Domain» Highlights:• State claims over reproductions of public domain works: new layers of exclusive rights
created by nationals cultural heritage laws and claimed by institutions (pseudo-copyright),
resulting in contraction of the public domain.
• Institutions wrongfully claiming copyright over digital reproductions of public domain
works.
• Cultural institutions’ use of contract law to control access and use of collections (based onright of property of digital images).
• Other restrictions include technological protection measures on digital images.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report20» Recommendations:• Importance of addressing those constraints to maintain public domain integrity andaccessibility.
• Prevent the creation of new rights over public domain works by state laws or private claims.
• Establish public repositories of public domain works and metadata to prevent false
ownership claims.
• Shelter cultural institutions from exposure to copyright liability.

» Financial and Economic Considerations» Highlights:• Relying on copyright licenses is a bad business model as it drains resources.

» Recommendations:• Invest in open access models with potential revenue streams for institutions.

» Cultural and Historical Contexts» Highlights:• Historical context, including colonial histories, influences the open access landscape.
There are questions about who has decision-making authority and the broader
implications of what cultural heritage is made openly accessible.
• Copyright law’s influence on cultural values and who controls access.
• Importance of restitution not only of physical objects but also of digital assets andassociated intellectual property to address historical imbalances.

» Recommendations:• To ensure more equitable access to cultural heritage, cultural sensitivities andIndigenous knowledge must be respected. Defining “open culture” to balance accessand respect for cultural boundaries.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report21» Lack of Awareness and Misunderstandings about Open Culture» Highlights:• Widespread erroneous belief that open access and the public domain concept are not incompliance with copyright law.

» Recommendations:• Demystify myths and misconceptions by providing clear and evidencebased explanations.

» Strategic Issues» Highlights:• Differences and overlaps between the roles and responsibilities oforganizations like Creative Commons, UNESCO, and WIPO in
promoting open access.
• Importance of a pragmatic approach to navigate international
institutions and copyright laws.
• Realistic goals for meaningful progress in open access initiatives.
• Surgical, targeted intervention based on lowest common denominator
instead of overbroad, sweeping and unmanageable ambitions.
• Scope: knowledge and culture mediated by intellectual property systemand out of copyright.

» Recommendations:• Find the best chance for success by recognizing the unique role andspecific opportunity presented by UNESCO while identifying andseeking to bypass potential opposition.
• Advocacy by grassroots initiatives to complement high-level international efforts.
• Small-scale, low-cost projects as entry points for open access.
• Ensure open access is legally sound and practically achievable, for example by using
platforms like Wikimedia Commons.
• Build coalitions for copyright law reform at the international level for long-term success.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

22

BREAKOUT DISCUSSION #2
Benefits of Open Culture
Overview

This breakout session highlighted the numerous benefits and forwardthinking opportunities offered by open access to cultural heritage.
Discussions underscored how some of the issues identified as points oftensions in open culture during Breakout #1 could also be viewed as
benefits, paving the way for growth and improvement.

Highlights From the Discussions» Key Benefits Identified by the Participants• Greater exposure of institutions and their collections online.
• Enhanced digital preservation through open access.

• Increased opportunities for reuse of cultural heritage materials and celebration of the freedom toshare.

• Promotion of social justice. Open and equitable access to cultural heritage and knowledge leads

to empowerment, dialogue, collaboration, and creativity. It also allows historically disenfranchised
voices to contribute, enhancing cultural diversity and inclusion.

• Greater collaboration. Open access to cultural heritage can increase collaboration opportunities,

feeding creativity and inspiring people. Noting the positive reception and support for open culture
initiatives, including unexpected allies and advocates.

• Potential for cultural diplomacy. Making heritage open can serve as a tool for soft power,

enhancing a country’s influence and improving cooperation between Member States. Recognizing
the importance of national institutions and global cooperation in advancing open culture.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report23• Contribution toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The discussion also
explored the strategic importance of open culture and the need for tailored advocacy strategies

to advance these initiatives. Open culture supports SGDs 4.7 and 16, promoting education forsustainable development, peace, and appreciation of cultural diversity. Highlighting the needfor more funding and resources for institutions, especially in developing countries and underresourced institutions. Advocacy for open culture can lead to increased funding and support
institutions’ public missions.

» Scope and Advocacy Strategies
The conversation prompted reflections on TAROC’s scope and advocacy strategies.

• Cultural Heritage in the Public Domain: Focusing on cultural heritage that is not sensitive andensuring that “open” recognizes ethical considerations, authors’ rights and the growing impact ofAI technologies on the public domain and open access collections.

• Tailored Arguments: Crafting different advocacy arguments for institutions and Member States,considering their unique perspectives and needs. Advocacy “recipes” will differ whether they are
targeting institutions or governments.

» Impact of UNESCO Recommendations
During the discussion, the impact of UNESCO Recommendations wasclarified.

• Awareness and Legitimacy: Increasing awareness and understandingof open culture through UNESCO Recommendations or otherofficial instruments provide legitimacy to grassroots advocacy efforts.

• Importance of high-level institutional backing for advocacy efforts.
• In sum, the discussion made explicit how a UNESCO

Recommendation would be a game changer in providing greaterawareness and giving legitimacy to open access to cultural heritage.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report24

CHARTING A ROADMAP FOR FUTURE ACTION
Overview

After laying a broad foundation on Day 1, participants were tasked with co-creating a roadmap for future
action towards the adoption of a UNESCO instrument. This part of the workshop consisted in sharing ideas
about strategies and tactics to spur lasting interest and investment by UNESCO’s Secretariat and Member
States in launching and supporting the process for the elaboration and adoption of such an instrument.

Goal

Have a structured action plan set against a clear timeline and including effective tactics, activities,
interventions and other actionable steps, held together under a coherent overarching strategy that will lead tosuccess and avoid pitfalls. Success in achieving our goal will consist of:• Securing commitments from a minimum of two, ideally 10, UNESCO Member States tochampion the adoption of a UNESCO instrument on open access to cultural heritage.

• Ensuring the UNESCO Secretariat allocates resources to support the initiative.

Carolina Botero, Elliott Bledsoe
and Teresa Nobre

Methodology
1. Collaborate in brainstorming activities in order to harvest ideas for leverage points and actions
from diverse perspectives, harnessing our collective intelligence.

2. Prioritize actions and map them onto a fixed timeline.
3. Express interest to contribute and collaborate.

..
Lutz Moller
andEvelin Heidel (Scann)Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report25

STEP 1: IDENTIF Y LEVERAGE P OINTS
Exercise Objective
Participants worked to identify leverage points to promote theelaboration and adoption of a UNESCO instrument. In thisexercise, leverage points are understood as the places to intervenein the system to influence behavior and trigger a shift towards
adoption of a UNESCO instrument, with the understanding thatthe system is very complex and dynamic and that the process toaffect change might not be linear.
Guiding Questions• Physical Events: What are the important events/
strategies we need to focus on?

• Social/System Structures: What social and systemic
structures and relationships need to be built or
strengthened?

• Informational Patterns of Behavior: What are theinformational patterns of behavior that influence

our current system? What are the strategic elements

necessary to facilitate smooth implementation of ourrecommendations?

• Conscious/Mental Models: What are the mental

models that need to shift within the system to support
our goals? What actions are required to activate thesechanges effectively?

Andrea Wallace
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report26Synthesis of Group Discussions
The activity allowed for “big picture” thinking in breakout groups about what interventions needto take place in what sequence to increase the likelihood of reaching our goal. It helped reach therealization that we do not operate in a vacuum and identify the initiatives already underway withpotential for mutual support and cross-pollination.
Participants summarized their groups’ key findings in plenary as follows:• A need for evidence gathering and case building» Building a Solid Base◌ Structure efforts: Develop a basic “recipe” with well-evidenced proposals before any
external engagement and advocacy can start.

◌ Define scope: focus on out-of-copyright / public domain cultural heritage, carving
out elements that need to be treated with care as a “third space.”◌ Clarify ask: Outline core principles and concepts (value of heritage, benefits ofopenness, digital literacy, copyright issues, ensuring open culture is for everyone, etc.).

◌ Gather evidence: Collect case studies and success stories.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report27» Turning Ideas into Recommendations◌ Convert asks into options for normative
language.

» Reaching Out and Communicating◌ Develop a strategy for multilingual

communication, with multiple target audiences,including the general public.

◌ Prepare an advocacy toolkit to support OC
practitioners and supporters.

◌ Organize in-person events by and for thecoalition.

• A need to map stakeholders and build relationships» Allies◌ Map partners, focusing on GLAMs andcommunity organizations, with an eye towards
those UNESCO Member States who could

Nkem Osuigwe

Veronique Guevremont

become champions. Secure community support.

◌ Broaden support within the coalition throughoutreach to community organizations, research

institutions, academia, etc. (Wiki events, ICOM,and others).

◌ Outreach through national bodies overseeing
the cultural heritage sector, community
organizations, etc.

Clementine Nyirahabihirwe and Rute Correa
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report28» National Governments◌ Focus on Global majority world.

◌ Build support within and between countries tobuild consensus at the intergovernmental level.

Work on local and regional levels before movingup.

◌ Secure buy-in from national governments.

◌ Identify and understand the roles of and engage
with UNESCO delegations. Based on thestrategic map of delegations, identify and engage

with local champions/sponsors and stakeholders.

◌ Hold informal conversations.

» UNESCO Secretariat◌ Engage with UNESCO.

◌ Identify and outline key dates, events, andprocesses of UNESCO’s operational anddecision-making framework.

The following step in the exercise consisted in engaging in in-

depth group discussions to prioritize actions and milestones to be

strung along a fixed timeline set by the UNESCO calendar. Groupsof participants were invited to place their three most important

ideas for intervention in chronological and strategic order along atemporal axis. This resulted in a draft roadmap.

..
Lutz Moller
discusses key UNESCO dates and events
while Abdul Dube illustrates the roadmap
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report29

STEP 2: CO-CREATE A DRAF T ROADMAP
Collectively, participants proposed a structured approach — a draft roadmap— designed to align efforts, detail necessary activities and milestones, clarifyroles, and set realistic goals for advancing the agenda from the present
until UNESCO’s General Conference in November 2029 establishing a
UNESCO normative instrument to enhance access to cultural heritage.
This roadmap reflects the proposals made during
the workshop and may need to be adapted to ensurecomprehensiveness.
On the next page, you will find a table that lists someof the key milestones mentioned during the workshop.
These milestones are also reflected in the roadmap below.
The table is provided for ease of reference, and subject tochange as the project evolves.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop ReportMona Ebdrup, Anna Tumadottir,
Abdul Dube and Brigitte Vezina

30

LEGEND:

Easy wins and activities

Key milestones

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
TIMELINE / KE Y MILESTONESUNESCO Recommendation Elaboration, Negotiation and Adoption Process

UNESCO Executive Board requests the UNESCO Director
General to undertake a Desirability Study (technical,
financial and legal aspects of the desirability of a UNESCO
recommendation) for examination by the Executive Board
at its [2026] session, with a view to inscribing thisitem on the agenda of the [2027] session of the General
Conference.
UNESCO Secretariat undertakes Desirability Study
UNESCO Executive Board examines Desirability Study andinscribes an item for the elaboration of a new standardsetting instrument on the agenda of the [2027] General
Conference
UNESCO General Conference recognizes the need for a
new standard-setting instrument and invites the DirectorGeneral to initiate the process of elaborating a preliminary
text of a new non-binding standard-setting instrument, inthe form of a recommendation, and to submit the text to it
at its [2029] session”
UNESCO Secretariat elaborates draft text - Member
States negotiate
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report2029

Springor Fall

X

X
X
Fall or Spring

Nov

X

X

31

2024
TIMELINE / KE Y MILESTONESTAROCH P ROCESS

Form and steer a coalition of strategic partners, withagreed value proposition and project architecture comprisedof various committees
Develop global stakeholder mapping and engagement andcommunications plan
Notably, start identifying potential champion
UNESCO Member States
Organize and take part in strategic events (Wikimania,
ICOM annual meeting, MONDIACULT 2025, etc.) andmeetings including with UNESCO Secretariat, National
Commissions, strategic institutional partners, allies
Prepare localizable advocacy material communicating benefits
and highlighting examples and case studies in various contexts
Draft and adopt a “Civil Society Declaration” to align andengage civil society and as a blueprint for a UNESCO
instrument
Secure funding (beyond Arcadia Fund grant)
Secure endorsement by at least two UNESCO Member
State champions to initiate proposal at Executive
Board meeting
Secure commitment by UNESCO Executive Board to
officially start the process for the elaboration of a UNESCO
instrument
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Fall

Dec

X

March
X

X

May

X

X
Sept
or
earlier
Springor FallMay

32

10 KEY WORKSHOP OUTCOMESThe following section synthesizes the workshop’s top 10 key outcomes.

SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The workshop helped articulate a vision on how to remove undue barriers to access to cultural
heritage in the digital environment and help achieve UNESCO’s global cultural policy goals.

1. A Rationale More Clearly Steeped in Fundamental Rights
The workshop helped to more clearly articulate TAROC’s objectives in a fundamental rights lens,

The workshop
helped gain deep
understanding o er
complex normat f thelandscape in w hive
UNESCO instru ich
mentsinteract...

notably the right to participate in cultural life and enjoy the arts (Article 27(1) of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 15 of the United Nations International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights).

2. A Clearer Position within the UNESCO Normative Landscape
The workshop helped gain deeper understanding of the complex normative landscape in which

UNESCO instruments interact, ensuring that the final instrument aligns with UNESCO’s broader
mission, existing instruments, and future directions.

It also made explicit how the UNESCO fundamental instruments dealing with access to cultural

heritage leaves space for openness to play a key role. It also highlighted areas where intervention would
not be necessary (because the problem has already been dealt with) or warranted (because it would
result in an irreconcilable contradiction).

3. A Refined Substantive Scope on Open Heritage
The scope of the TAROC initiative was refined from a broad understanding of “open culture,” toa narrower focus on “open heritage.” Open culture is a general umbrella term that includes thesubcategories of “open creativity” (for contemporary works by living artists) and “open heritage,” i.e.
open access to cultural heritage (in the public domain).
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report33

Winnowing down from “open culture” to the subset of “open heritage” is a huge step forward. This

more targeted approach aids to remove the tensions that might arise when dealing with works undercopyright and other such matters which could fall under the competence of the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO). Our revised ambit also limits the scope to works governed by or

mediated by copyright, and avoids a debate about cultural heritage that is not considered to fall under
the scope of copyright law.

The discussions emphasized the need to arrive at agreed definitions, including for terms like “openculture,” “access,” and “equitable access,” etc. and to consider the types of cultural heritage resources thatwould fall within the purview of any future instrument.

This new scope calls
for a modificationof the acronym forthe initiative, whichchanges from TAROC to
TAROCH, moving fromOpen Culture to Open
[Cultural] Heritage.

This new scope calls for a modification of the acronym for the initiative, which changes from TAROC
to TAROCH, moving from Open Culture to Open [Cultural] Heritage.

4. A More Modest Ask Centered on Preserving the Public Domain
While TAROC had very ambitious goals to improve access and use of cultural heritage andcontemporary culture on many fronts and impacting many normative systems, it now focuses on

addressing specific restrictions to the public domain, while of course continuing to encourage the useof open licenses and tools and openly licensed material. It thus now squarely aligns with CC’s Policy
Recommendation 1 from the CC Policy Guide: PROTECT THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FROMEROSION.

In this sense, the public domain must be specifically and explicitly protected at the international level.

A future UNESCO instrument would need to make it clear that public domain materials in the digital
environment can be accessed and reused freely by anyone for any purpose, including for commercial
purposes. Unjustified restrictions arising from the erroneous enforcement of copyright, other laws,

contract terms, as well as financial or technological barriers should not be allowed. The public domainshould remain unencumbered by such undue restrictions.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

34

FORMAL AND P ROCESS ISSUES
5. A Clearer Understanding of the Elaboration and Negotiation Process
Thanks to the information shared during the panel and in the development of the draft timeline,
we now have a clear finish line by which such an instrument : UNESCO General Conference inNovember 2029.

6. A More Agnostic Position on the Nature of the Instrument...we now have athebetter sense ofopportunities tolevant
engage with restakeholders

Initially, TAROC aimed to promote the elaboration of a UNESCO Recommendation on Open

Culture, along the models set by the Recommendations on Open Educational Resources (2019) andOpen Science (2021). Over the course of the workshop, participants recognized the potential benefitsof considering other forms of instruments, such as a Declaration, or other types of less stringent

normative tool to ensure flexibility and responsiveness to the diverse needs of UNESCO Member

States. In fact there are precedents for such a gradual, step by step approach involving growing levels ofMember State commitment. The 2001 Declaration on Cultural Diversity was eventually upgraded into
the 2005 Convention. In the field of education, the 2012 OER Declaration led to a Recommendationin 2019.

7. A Clearer Sense of Alignment with Ongoing UNESCO and UN Work
Thanks to a preliminary mapping of programs and initiatives being undertaken by UNESCO andthe UN in relation to culture and cultural heritage, we now have a better sense of the opportunities toengage with relevant stakeholders. For example, we will try to leverage MONDIACULT 2025, the UN
Pact for the Future process and the Culture2030 campaign.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

35

COLLABORATION AND ORGANIZATION ISSUES
8. A Galvanized Open Community
The workshop galvanized and infused new life into the open culture community. Participants sharedthat they left the workshop feeling inspired, energized, empowered, optimistic, hopeful, and grateful.
Many said that they had an enriching experience. The event witnessed community engagement on ascale and intensity arguably not seen at Creative Commons in years.

This brought to the fore the need to support a diverse and dynamic network of open heritage

supporters. There is huge potential to empower local networks to engage in and support the campaign,

The formation ofa coalition wasdeemed essential tosustainably drive theinitiative forward.

ensuring that the movement is grounded in diverse cultural contexts and driven by a broad base of

support. This includes fostering relationships with local governments, cultural heritage institutions, andNGOs to garner support and participation in the campaign.

9. An Imperative Need to Form a Coalition and Launch a Campaign
The formation of a coalition was deemed essential to sustainably drive the initiative forward. This
coalition would include diverse stakeholders from cultural heritage

institutions, funding organizations, academia, NGOs, and others. The

coalition would aim to build and grow networks, secure commitmentsfrom supporters including UNESCO Member States, and collaborate ina structured approach to achieve the commonly agreed goals. A rallying

force for like-minded civil society organizations and a relationship builder

among policymakers globally, Creative Commons would be well-positioned
to steer the coalition and lead the campaign.

10. A Nascent Architecture to Organize Future Action
Ideas for the coalition’s structure emerged during the conversations andinclude: forming dedicated groups (such as task forces) to collaborate on

specific aspects of the campaign, such as content drafting, fundraising, andoutreach and communications.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report36

CLOSING CEREMONY
After two days of very effective and productive workin a collegial and cooperative atmosphere, much
relevant and helpful progress was achieved. The
workshop ended with all the participants gathered ina circle to share their reflections. Many participants
expressed gratitude, moved by the hospitality ofCreative Commons and the city of Lisbon andthe spirit of international cooperation that permeated the room.
Participants reflected on the significant progress made since thefirst exploratory roundtable held in Lisbon in May 2023, noting
how effectively they had been able to narrow the scope of theirefforts, bringing them closer to the collective goal of promoting the
adoption of a UNESCO normative instrument.
Connor Benedict, CC’s Open Culture Coordinator, in a gesturethat beautifully encapsulated the workshop’s spirit, unveiled atile mosaic crafted by local Lisbon artists, Elisabete Silva andDina Nunes of Cerâmica. This mosaic consisted of 49 intricately
painted pieces, each adorned with a unique design inspired bytraditional Portuguese art overlaid with the Creative Commonslogo, symbolizing the unity and shared vision of the participants. Asa final, touching activity, each participant took a tile home, a pieceof the mosaic that represented their connection to the collective
effort. This mosaic, with its beautifully diverse yet interconnected
pieces, serves as a powerful metaphor for TAROCH itself. Eachparticipant, with their unique perspectives and contributions, forms
an essential part of the whole. Together, they are creating something
greater than the sum of its parts: a vibrant, cohesive effort to makecultural heritage accessible for present and future generations.
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

37

RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEP
1. FORM A COALITION TO COORDINATE THE WORK
CC could develop and steer a coalition of key partners.

2. FORM TEAMS AND NETWORKS TO CARRY OUT TASKSThe coalition would coordinate the work being carried out in various teams / tasks
forces. We recommend starting with the following teams / task forces, in addition
to a Coalition Board and project management team (whose task will be to oversee
campaign activities and events, ensuring coordination and progress towards goals).

CIVIL SOCIET Y DECLARATION TEAM◌◌

Objective: prepare the draft text of a civil society declaration to besupported by coalition members and like-minded organizations and serve asa blueprint for a UNESCO-elaborated instrument.
Activities: conduct research, perform legal analyses, write drafts of text, etc.

ADVOCACY STRATEGY AND RESOURCES TEAM◌◌

Objectives: develop advocacy tactics and strategies for the coalition to
implement and create resources to equip advocates (including a toolkit)
Activities: collect evidence (case studies, success stories, facts and figures,etc.), develop campaign messages, create advocacy materials, etc.

NATIONAL LEADS NETWORK◌◌

Objective: act as bridge between the coalition and stakeholders in
respective country, including with National UNESCO Commissions
Activities: conduct outreach, engage with and advocate to stakeholders,
participate in meetings, events, workshops and webinars with local
stakeholders.

UNESCO LIAISON TEAM◌◌

Objective: maintain contact with UNESCO Secretariat and Regional
Offices
Activities: keep regular contact through emails, virtual and in-person
meetings, offer updates and give presentations, etc.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

The workshop
was phenomenallysuccessful and marked
a key milestone in CC’s
years-long efforts
to gain support for
the elaboration of a
UNESCO instrument
enshrining openness. A
momentous event, it
opened a path for thenumerous opportunities
for broad involvement
and engagement bycommunity members
and other stakeholders
to contribute to thisimportant initiative.
The workshop’s spirit ofunity and commitment
promises a bright future
for TAROC(H), bringing
us one step closer toensuring that the world’s
cultural heritage will beavailable for generations
to come. Based on theworkshop’s outcomes,
here are some of therecommendations for
future action.
38

ANNEXESOpen Culture Strategic Workshop Report

Day 1 Workshop Agenda

39Day 2 Workshop Agenda

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report40

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

In our role spearheading TAROC, we aim:
• for broad and diverse representation and participation;• to choose locations for in-person meetings that are accessible to most, and;• to elevate all the voices that must be part of the conversation.
To achieve those objectives, while we often need to cap the number of participants, we remain committed
to ensuring all members of the open culture community may take part in shaping and propelling TAROC
forward. The workshop was preceded by virtual meetings open to all. Workshop participants formed adiverse group of experts and activists from all continents, including representatives from governmental
bodies, cultural institutions, funding organizations, academia, and NGOs. Here are the participants, listed inalphabetical order and with their main affiliation.
Alwaleed Alkhaja – Qatar National LibraryFackson Banda – Unit for Documentary Heritage (Memory of theWorld), UNESCO
Connor Benedict – Creative Commons
Elliot Bledsoe – Creative Commons Australia
Carolina Botero – Karisma Foundation
Nassima Chahboun – independent
Rute Correa – Wikimedia Portugal
Deborah De Angelis – Creative Commons Italy
Harriet Deacon – University of Hull
Patricia Diaz Rubio – Wikimedia Chile
Maja Drabczyk – Centrum Cyfrowe
Jaco Du Toit – Section for Universal Access to Information and
Digital Inclusion, UNESCO
Abdul Dube – Facilitator
Mona Ebdrup – Facilitator
Josie Fraser – National Lottery Heritage FundOpen Culture Strategic Workshop Report

Participants in the garden of the Goethe-Institut Lisboa
41Medhavi Gandhi – Heritage Lab
Véronique Guèvremont – Université Laval
Dave Hansen – Authors AllianceHardiansyah Hardiansyah – Wikimedia Indonesia
Dee Harris – Creative Commons alum

Evelin Heidel (Scann) – Wikimedia Uruguay
Ilkay Holt – British Library and Creative Commons Turkey
Bukola James – Creative Commons Nigeria
Stephany Johnson – Local Contexts
Erna Lilje – National Museum of World Cultures
Eric Luth – Wikimedia Sweden
Ivan Martinez – R3D
Ariadna Matas – Europeana
Doug McCarthy – Delft University of Technology
Claire McGuire – International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
Jocelyn Miyara – Creative Commons
Lutz Möller – German UNESCO National Commission
Teresa Nobre – Communia Association
Clémentine Nyirahabihirwe – Creative Commons Rwanda
Nkem Osuigwe – African Library and Information Associations and Institutions
Claudia Pozo – Whose Knowledge?
Peter Routhier – Internet Archive
Fatima Sao Simao – Creative Commons Portugal
Peter Scholing – UNESCO Memory of the World Latin America and the Caribbean and Biblioteca
Nacional Aruba
Amalia Toledo – Wikimedia Foundation
Anna Tumadóttir – Creative Commons
Brigitte Vézina – Creative Commons
Matt Voigts – independent
Andrea Wallace – University of Exeter
Robin Wright – Creative Commons Australia and Digital Preservation Coalition
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

Additional Resources
and References• Official Photos• CC Blog Post A Quick Lookat the CC Strategic Workshop
on Open Heritage42

LINKEDIN P OST EXCERP TS ABOUT THE WORKSHOPA special thanks to Creative Commonsfor the invitation, bringing together adiverse group of global stakeholders in
the GLAM sector, including Medhavi
Gandhi my co-lead CC outreachworking group. The workshop was
unique, employing a non-technologicalapproach without slides, smartphones,or laptops, which facilitatedan engaging and collaborativeenvironment.
We participated in dynamic groupconversations and breakouts,
discovering how collective efforts
can generate a wealth of innovativeideas through simple tools like colorfulsticky notes. Together, we developed
a roadmap to articulate a vision
for removing barriers to accessing
cultural heritage in the digital age andadvancing global cultural policy goals
via a UNESCO Recommendation.
Stay tuned for more details on ourroadmap! and do well to read theevent blog here.
- Bukola James
Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report

Very happy to take part in such interesting
conversations around #openculture,
Grateful to have taken part in the#publicdomain, and the #digitalworld
Creative Commons “Towards asurrounded by colleagues that I admire and Recommendation on Open Culture”
have followed since I began my #advocacy workshop Lisbon, where I met overwork within the digital rights environment. 50 highly motivated advocates for open
Thanks so much to Creative Commons forlicensing in cultural content. Thank you tohosting and inviting me to this meeting in
the Creative Commons team for inviting
beautiful Lisbon. Here we go!
me and I look forward to seeing how this- Patricia Diaz Rubio
develops in the next couple of years.
- Alwaleed Alkhajaural
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- Nassima Cha

Two days of discussion in Lisbon
brought out the complexities,
challenges, and many points of unity
among people and sectors seeking
to make the world’s creativity moreaccessible. It also brought home therealities of engaging with intergovernmental processes that havetheir own momentum and language.
But we have a plan, and I left witha lot of energy!
- Matt Voigts

It’s empowering to witn
ess how the ideaof having values behind #O
penHeritagetranslated into UNESCO
recommendations
is shaping up. A long pathis still aheadof us, but with the mind
set, energy andexpertise this amazing gr
oup of advocatesfrom all over the world
embodies, it’s soworth the effort. It’s immensely enriching La iniciativa busca apoyar a la comunidad
to be part of this endeavor.
internacional en el desarrollo de un- Maria Drabczyk
instrumento normativo internacional
atpositivo, afirmativo e influyente
It’s been such a gre
up
gro
s
thi
t
por
sup
pleasure to(posiblemente una recomendación paraual
with our facilitation and vis
UNESCO) que consagre los valores,nharvesting. Asking more tha
objetivos y mecanismos para que florezca
40 people to work together
all
sm
no
is
ion
vis
on a shared
la cultura abierta, en particular el
be
lly
ua
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t
bu
ng,
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patrimonio abierto.
a both joyful and meaningful- Wikimedistas de Uruguay 43
experience! - Mona Ebdrup

COLOP HON
This report has been prepared by
Brigitte Vézina and Dee Harris.
Additional contributions by Jocelyn Miyara,
Connor Benedict, Peter Routhier, andBeverley Francis.
Illustrations by Abdul Dube and Mona Ebdrup.
© Creative Commons, available CC BY 4.0.
Photos by Filipa Alfama,© Creative Commons, available CC BY 4.0.
If you would like more information or
get involved, email us at
info@creativecommons.org.

Open Culture Strategic Workshop Report44© Creative Commons 2024| Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)