Think B4 You Speak campaign

There's a new campaign afoot, and I think it's very worthwhile. It's called Think B4 You Speak, and it is targeting homophobic language, in particular the commonly-heard "that's so gay". Check it out.

Free Canberra Forum: Opening Australia's Archives

Here's the details:

The Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation, the Creative Commons Clinic and Creative Commons Australia invite you to a free workshop and discussion forum Opening Australia’s Archives

Date: 25 August 2009, 11:30am-5:00pm

Venue: National Library of Australia, King Edward Terrace, Parkes, Canberra

Digital technologies have drastically changed the landscape of creating, collecting and providing access to cultural materials. As linear models of knowledge and cultural production are supplanted by more distributed, collaborative networking models, Australia’s cultural institutions are increasingly seeking to engage with their audiences in ways that capitalise on these new capabilities. In this environment, traditional copyright management models can present a significant barrier to realising the full economic and social value of a collection. As a result, archives internationally are exploring the potential of open access distribution models.

This half-day forum aims to bring together representatives of Australia’s cultural institutions to:

• identify the benefits and disadvantages of providing open access to cultural collections;
• document models of access currently being used by Australia’s collecting institutions;
• identify barriers to providing broader access to collections;
• gauge the level of interest in a coordinated sector-wide approach to access policies and practices; and
• develop a plan for improving government policy on access to cultural material.

It will build on discussion undertaken at a preliminary meeting held at Old Parliament House in Canberra on 24 May, 2009, and will generate practical outcomes including best practice guidelines, proposed collaborative projects and a detailed advocacy strategy.

Facilitators: Professor Brian Fitzgerald (Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology), Jessica Coates (Project Manager, Creative Commons Clinic) and Professor Phil Graham (Professor of Communication and Culture, Queensland University of Technology)

RSVP: Please RSVP by 10 August to Jessica Coates at j2.coates@qut.edu.au or on ph: 07 3138 8301

The forum is free to attend and lunch will be provided.

Australian Government releases Digital Economy: Future Directions paper

Last night (on 14 July 2009), the Australian Government released its Digital Economy: Future Directions paper. The paper is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivativeWorks 2.5 Australia licence.

This is a short summary (or a summary of the Government's 35-page 'Snapshot' summary of the 103-page final report) of some of the key points made in the paper (imho).

The Digital Economy: Future Directions paper explains how government, industry and the community can work together to improve digital economy engagement in Australia. It provides the rationale for government taking strategic and enabling action to ensure that all parts of Australia benefit fully from the digital economy. The paper includes case studies of Australians who have engaged successfully with the digital economy. These case studies are designed to provide an insight into the diverse range of industries that can benefit from the digital economy, including health, education, water, transport and banking.

The Australian Government has defined the digital economy to be ‘the global network of economic and social activities that are enabled by information and communications technologies, such as the internet, mobile and sensor networks.’ (Snapshot p2; Final report p2) The government has recognised that a successful digital economy is essential for Australia's economic growth and ability to maintain international standing. The government has identified its role in developing the digital economy as that of an enabler. In this role, the government is developing of digital infrastructure, facilitating innovation and setting a conducive regulatory framework.

The Digital Economy: Future Directions paper discusses the initiatives being undertaken by government to improve Australia’s digital economy, in a number of key areas. Some of these areas are as follows.

National Broadband Network (NBN)
(see Snapshot p8; Final report pp 9-11)
In recognising the importance of world-class, high-speed broadband for Australia's future economic growth and social wellbeing, the government has committed to building the National Broadband Network (NBN). The National Broadband Network will improve Australia’s network capacity and allow Australians to enjoy high-speed carrier-grade video, data and voice services. This will have significant implications for industry in terms of new services, applications and business models. To assist Australia’s research community and commercial sector to fully map the applications and business models which will thrive in Australia’s high–speed future, the government will host a National Broadband Network: Realising the Vision forum before the end of 2009.

Open Access to Public Sector Information
(see Snapshot pp 8-9; Final report pp 12-14)
In the Digital Economy: Future Directions paper, the government has recognised that open access to appropriate categories of public sector information can drive digital economy and innovation benefits. In this context, ‘open access’ means access on terms and in formats that clearly permit and enable such use and reuse by any member of the public. The Australian Government has established the Government 2.0 Taskforce to advise and assist the government in making public sector information more accessible and usable and in making government more consultative, participatory and transparent.

Conducive regulatory frameworks
(see Snapshot pp 12-13; Final report pp 20-23)
The government will consider those aspects of Australia’s regulatory framework that are most pertinent to the digital economy to identify whether reforms are necessary to promote Australia’s development as a knowledge economy. For example, the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General recently agreed to amend state and territory Electronic Transactions Acts to reflect technological advances since the laws were enacted and to allow Australia to implement the UN Convention on Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

The nature of the digital economy is such that certain regulatory frameworks presently face greater pressures than others. Two examples of such pressure relate to:

• copyright law—the rapid emergence of new platforms for social engagement, content distribution and political communications is putting pressure on, for example, copyright laws; and
• convergence—where devices and platforms which originally had distinct functionalities converge or overlap and, as a result, put pressure to legislative schemes that were originally designed to deal with distinct devices and platforms.

With respect to copyright law, the Australian Government will consider whether the scope of the ‘safe harbour scheme’ should be expanded to include additional types of online service providers.

Minus Canvas 3 Exhibition

Tomorrow evening I will be attending the opening of Minus Canvas 3 - an exhibition of works on paper, board and other found objects. My good friend and an amazing artist, Alex Bacskay, will be exhibiting there. All are welcome to the opening.

The event details are:

6pm, Friday 3 July 2009
Jugglers Art Space Inc, 103 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

For more details see the Facebook Event

Inquiry into Improving Access to Victorian Public Sector Information and Data - report released

[Cross posted from auPSI.org]

On Wedneday 24 June 2009, the Victorian Government released the Report of the Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee on the Inquiry into Improving Access to Victorian Public Sector Information and Data.

The Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee ('the Committee') was tasked with inquiring into, considering and reporting to the Victorian Parliament on the potential application of open content and open source licensing models, including Creative Commons, to Victorian Government Information.

The Committee made three key recommendations for access to and reuse of PSI:

1) That the Victorian Government develop an Information Management Framework for the purpose of facilitating access to and reuse of Victorian Government information by government, citizens and businessess. The default position of the Framework should be that all PSI produced by Victorian Government departments from now on be made available at no or marginal cost.

2) That the Victorian Government make use of the Creative Commons licensing model for the release of PSI. The Committee was told that Creative Commons licences can be appropriately used for up to 85% of government information and data.

3) That the Victorian Government establish an online directory where the public can search for and obtain information about PSI held by the Victorian Government. Depending on the access conditions the Government has attached to specific PSI, people will be able to download information and data directly, or make contact with people in the Victorian Government to discuss access conditions.

This is an immensely significant report, which has been noted internationally including on the ePSIplatform. In particular, the recommendation that the Victorian Government use CC licensing is very encouraging.



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In summary:

Key Recommendations of the Report -

Recommendation 1: That the Victorian Government release a public statement indicating that it endorses open access as the default position for the management of its public sector information.

Recommendation 2: That the Victorian Government develop a whole-of-government Information Management Framework (IMF).

Recommendation 8: That the Victorian Government encourage as part of its funding agreements with research agencies and higher education institutions that research results be deposited in open access journals or repositories.

Recommendation 11: That the Victorian Government develop a consistent copyright licensing system for use across all government departments.

Recommendation 13: That exclusive arrangements not be entered into for licensing Victorian Government public sector information, excepting exclusive rights necessary to protect the public interest.

Recommendation 14: That the Victorian Government adopt the Creative Commons licensing model as the default licensing system for the Information Management Framework.

Recommendation 15: That the Victorian Government adopt a hybrid public sector information licensing model comprising Creative Commons and a tailored suite of licences for restricted materials.

Recommendation 16: That the Victorian Government develop specific guidelines for the pricing of public sector information (PSI), emphasising the provision of PSI at no cost or marginal cost.

Recommendation 21: That the Victorian Government require wherever possible that its information and data be stored in open standard formats.

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Key Findings of the Committee -

Finding 1: Quantitative data about economic benefits arising from increased commercial exploitation of public sector information (PSI) does not currently provide clear guidance for policy. There is a growing view, however, that new commercial enterprises will emerge as access to PSI is improved.

Finding 2: Improved access to and utilisation of public sector information may result in economic benefits for the Victorian Government through greater efficiency in the allocation of resources and more informed decision-making and policy development processes.

Finding 5: There is substantial potential for spatial data held by the public sector to contribute to new commercial and public services and research. There are also significant opportunities for access to spatial data held as public sector information to be improved.

Finding 6: The proliferation and interdependence of patents can act as a barrier to innovation and the delivery of new products to the market.

Finding 7: The existence of copyright in government-owned materials does not necessarily limit the extent to which they can be made publicly available. Copyright and in particular Crown copyright may, however, limit opportunities for re-use of those materials.

Finding 8: A lack of standardised licensing practices between and within governments can act as a barrier to public sector information access.

Finding 9: The removal of copyright from Victorian Government public sector information (PSI) is unlikely to simplify access to and re-use of PSI. Access to and re-use of PSI will be best facilitated by issuing licences in accordance with existing copyright provisions.

Finding 10: Open content licences provide governments with a simple and effective mechanism to facilitate enhanced access to and re-use of copyright protected public sector information in a digital, online environment.

Finding 11: Creative Commons is a comprehensive licensing system that can be applied to both online and offline materials.

Finding 13: It is likely that Creative Commons licences can be appropriately applied to around 85 per cent of government public sector information.

Finding 14: The application of geographical restrictions to public sector information (PSI) licences will be difficult to enforce and may compromise the re-use value of government PSI.

Finding 15: Issuing attribution-only Creative Commons licences will assist to maintain the integrity of Victorian Government public sector information while ensuring access and re-use opportunities are maximised.

Finding 19: There is an emerging view that the application of no cost or marginal cost pricing to public sector information will increase access to and re-use of such information, with the potential to stimulate productivity and economic growth.

Finding 20: There is growing recognition that government should have a limited role in adding value to public sector information (PSI) for commercial purposes. The value of PSI should be enhanced through private sector activity for the creation of new products and services.

Finding 21: The provision of public sector information in open standard formats is a key component of open access.