Amsterdam, 16 August 2010. - A broad coalition of Dutch civil society organisations expresses its serious worries about the policymaking process and contents of the anti-imitation agreement ACTA. The negotiations about this international treatment take place for the most of it in secret. The organisations have sent an open letter to call upon the Dutch government to increase the transparency of the negotiations and reduce the scope of the proposed agreement.
Education
We are in the midst of a paradigm shift where information technology provides unprecedented opportunities for society at large and especially for education. Where proprietary technology has an intrinsic lock-in effect, free technology aims for self-dependence and taking away the boundaries to learning, creating and sharing with peers. Our future depends on our ability to make use of these technologies and implement these values in our educational system.
The emerging open education movement combines the established tradition of sharing good ideas with fellow educators and the collaborative culture of the Internet and free software communities. It is built on the belief that everyone should have the freedom to use, customize, improve and redistribute educational resources without constraint. Educators, learners and others who share this belief are gathering together as part of a worldwide effort to make education both more accessible and more effective.
Related content:
Software Engineering (SE) is a fast changing subject that often poses a moving target both for learners and educators. In order to tackle this problem, an open approach to SE education can provide continuous feedback between educational institutions and "the real world", where these skills will be finally applied in most cases.Republication of a Press Release from La Quadrature du Net:
Strasbourg, May 19, 2010 - Today, with the release of Neelie Kroes' Digital Agenda, the European Commission is unveiling major policy orientations regarding Internet-related policies. Several leaked drafts of the document revealed heavy pressures from various special interest groups. While the general outcome of the final document is encouraging, the crucial question of interoperability and open standards was eventually arbitrated in favour of US software vendors' positions. On IPR enforcement and cybercrime, the worst has been avoided but some very ambiguous wording remains.
The article SELF Platform: A Teacher - Centric Collaborative Authoring System written by Meena Kharatmal, Nagarjuna G. from the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, co-founders of the SELF Project, has been published in the Journal of Applied Collaborative Systems.
1. New course books available!
The Free Technology Academy is proud to announce the online publication of a new set of course books that correspond to the upcoming modules of the FTA programme starting in April: "Web applications development", "Economic aspects of Free Software" and "Software development".
The Free Knowledge Institute was one of many active participants that gathered from all over the world in Barcelona for the Free Culture Forum. Its first edition was celebrated from October 30th till November 1st 2009. In this article we draw upon the main topics discussed during the Forum and the main output that what was collectively produced: a Charter for Innovation, Creativity and Access to Knowledge. A Free Knowledge version can be found at the Free Knowledge wiki. Find below the ten points for change, or prerequisites for a free knowledge society.
Announcement from the Free Technology AcademyWe are pleased to announce that the first set of FTA educational materials is available online! Please note that these are preliminary versions of the materials. Please read below for more information on the materials, as well as about the FTA materials in our courses and learning methodology and about the FTA in general. Enjoy!
Paris, December 10th 2009 - A worldwide coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations, consumers unions and online service providers associations publish an open letter to the European institutions regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) currently under negotiation. They call on the European Parliament and the EU negotiators to oppose any provision int the multilateral
Over
100 high-profile specialists from 20 countries participated in the Free
Culture Forum in Barcelona (Oct 29 - Nov 1, 2009) convened by EXGAE,
Networked Politics and the Free Knowledge Institute.
The Forum began an unprecedented civil society campaign in defence of fundamental rights in the digital era. These rights include: the right of free expression, the right of access to culture and knowledge and the right to an equitable distribution of copyright benefits. The inviolability of communications, privacy and neutrality of internet access are necessary to defend these rights and to serve as levers for economic, political and social transformation. El Primer Fòrum Internacional de Cultura Lliure tindrà lloc a Barcelona del 29 d'Octubre l'1 de Novembre de 2009. Aquest esdeveniment reunirà les principals organitzacions i les veus més actives en el món de la Cultura Lliure i el Coneixement Lliure per a fixar agendes i estratègies comunes.El Free Knowledge Institute co-organitza el Fòrum de Cultura Lliure i et convida a prendre part d'aquest moment històric i únic.
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