[okfn-coord] OKF/LSE application for COMMUNIA workshop, March 2009

Thu Aug 21 10:38:48 UTC 2008

Thanks for your message Pro!

Prodromos Tsiavos wrote:
> I think this is a good idea, but we need to differentiate from what 
> will happen in Amsterdam in October, which is also very data driven. 

I was under the impression that the October workshop was about 
copyrighted works that had passed into the public domain. Certainly the 
language is mostly about 'works' and 'authors' - and seem to be sessions 
on Google books, representation from the library sector, etc. There is 
mention of CC0, but I got the impression that this was mostly in 
relation to waiving rights in works whose copyright status might not be 
clear (e.g. photos/scans of PD works).

> Do you think we could move more towards the idea of the common 
> information environment for the public sector and include both science 
> (data) and the cultural sector (museums, libraries, archives, art). We 
> could have people from BL, BBC, MLA, JISC etc present as well.

I think we could emphasise both: open data as an important part of 
building a common information environment (for the public sector)?

Rights in data are really important in both science and the cultural 
sector - especially regarding things like bibliographic data, of which 
we have very little that is open. This is arguably crucial for building 
an information environment in the cultural sector that is linked 
together and is well plumbed. There is lots of talk in the organisations 
you mention of open standards for metadata, but not so much of making 
the material itself available for others to build on. Arguably a 
'permission culture' from protecting potential revenue streams in 
copyrightable digital objects (texts, images, media) extends to the 
sharing of data that describes these objects.

Perhaps it would be best to present rights in data as one aspect of 
building a common information environment. If we went down this route, 
what other things could I mention?

I agree it would be great to get folks from BL, BBC, MLA, JISC in a room 
together - under the auspices of a network for the digital public domain!

> Is there a chance some of us meeting in London next week to discuss it?

I'm currently in Berlin - and will be until at least mid-September. 
Perhaps we could arrange a meeting on IRC sometime next week? If people 
are keen when is a good date?

J.

> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jonathan Gray" 
> <jonathan.gray at okfn.org>
> To: "Prodromos Tsiavos" <p.tsiavos at lse.ac.uk>; 
> <okfn-coord at lists.okfn.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 8:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [okfn-coord] OKF/LSE application for COMMUNIA workshop, 
> March 2009
>
>
>> Just to follow on from this, its occurred to me that we could be in 
>> quite a good position to do one on data. Not only do we then have all 
>> of the scope for discussion of the Database Right, and related legal 
>> questions - which I think is appropriate given both COMMUNIA's scope 
>> and the OKF's expertise; but we can also tie in discussions of 
>> finding data, whether its European PSI, raw data from scientific 
>> research, or whatever. Also the sharing/re-using data angle, and 
>> technical discussions of repositories, etc. It would complement the 
>> emphasis on copyrightable materials that most workshops have taken so 
>> far.
>>
>> What do people think?
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> J.
>>
>> Jonathan Gray wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> A quick ping to see if anyone has any further thoughts about the 
>>> application for the March 2009 COMMUNIA workshop! I'm happy to draft 
>>> it (details below) once we've got an idea. The deadline is Friday 5 
>>> September 2008.
>>>
>>> It would be great if we could have this and OKCon 2009 back to back! 
>>> We could include this in section 9 ("potential synergies with other 
>>> events immediately before/after in the same city/region").
>>>
>>> To recap what COMMUNIA has organised so far:
>>>
>>>   * First COMMUNIA Workshop: Technology and the Public Domain Torino 
>>> (Italy), 18/01/2008
>>>   * Second COMMUNIA Workshop: Ethical Public Domain: Debate of 
>>> Questionable Practices Vilnius (Lithuania), 31/03/2008
>>>   * First COMMUNIA Conference: Public Domain in the Digital Age 
>>> Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium), 30/06-01/07/2008
>>>   * Third COMMUNIA Workshop: Marking the public domain: 
>>> relinquishment & certification), Amsterdam, 20-21 October 2008
>>>
>>> Some suggestions for the London workshop:
>>>
>>>   * Finding and re-using public domain resources
>>>   * The value of the public domain - Rufus? :-)
>>>   * Beyond licensing
>>>   * Public Sector Information
>>>   * Supporting the public domain
>>>   * The role of the public domain in research and education
>>>   * ...
>>>
>>> It would be great to get a few emails bouncing back and forth on this!
>>>
>>> Jonathan
>>>
>>> ---
>>>
>>> 1. Title of the Workshop;
>>> 2. Abstract of the Workshop: topic to be addressed, how, etc.;
>>> 3. Brief explanation of why the topic is relevant and timely for
>>>     COMMUNIA;
>>> 4. Description of the workshop venue;
>>> 5. Expected attendance (e.g., based on previous experiences by the
>>>     organizers);
>>> 6. Names and short bios of the members of organizing team; please
>>>     emphasize any previous direct experiences organizing
>>>     workshop/conferences/events;
>>> 7. Proposed budget, with a break-down of the main costs;
>>> 8. Proposed workshop program: rough organization of the day (i.e.,
>>>     session topics);
>>> 9. Any another information that might strengthen the proposal, e.g.,
>>>     how well the city or the venue are connected with the rest of
>>>     Europe, potential synergies with other events immediately
>>>     before/after in the same city/region, etc.
>>>
>>> Each organisation may submit only one workshop proposal
>>> for the March 2009 slot.
>>>
>>> PLEASE BE AWARE that, according to the DoW, we have committed, for the
>>> second year of COMMUNIA, to attract an audience of at least 65 persons
>>> to the Workshops. This should not be too much of a problem, but still
>>> please do keep it in mind, since we will be evaluated against that
>>> number.
>>>
>>> ALSO PLEASE BE AWARE that, always according to the DoW, we have
>>> committed, for the second year of COMMUNIA, to attract 12
>>> contributions (papers, article, presentations) in response to our
>>> Workshop calls. Again, it should not too much of a problem, but still
>>> keep it in mind.
>>>
>>> The Workshop must be clearly presented to the public
>>> as a COMMUNIA Workshop.
>>>
>>> Each COMMUNIA Workshop may count on an overall budget of
>>> EUR 10.000; payments will be _handled directly by the Coordinator_,
>>> as well as the travel of out-of-town speakers (if any).
>>>
>>> The Organizer may seek other funds from governments, scientific
>>> organizations, foundations, and similar non-for-profit entities.
>>>
>>> Sponsorships (if any) must be previously approved by the Coordinator.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> okfn-coord mailing list
>>> okfn-coord at lists.okfn.org
>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-coord
>>
>
>
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