Creative Commons

Upcoming Events in March! AI & Creative Capital: Consent, Governance and the Future of the Open Web | March 3 | 16:00 EST https://buff.ly/fwoJlIC Open Education Week Live: Open Conversation on Online Communities | March 5 | 11:00 EST https://buff.ly/pjFFSck CC Community Office Hours | March 20 | 12:00 EST https://buff.ly/znHGYd3 CC Legal Office Hours | March 30 | 11:00 EST https://buff.ly/5SLwEoZ

Over the past year, we've been engaged in a series of conversations with a small group of researchers specializing in IP, AI policy, and data governance about what CC licensing means—and does—in African contexts today. At stake in these conversations are not only questions about CC licenses but deeper issues of data sovereignty, equity, governance, and power in global knowledge systems. Our newest blog post discusses the themes that have emerged from those conversations and asks a broader question: how must "open" evolve to remain just, relevant, and community centered? https://buff.ly/tw9a76c Thank you to Vukosi Marivate, Chijioke Okorie, PhD, and Dr. Melissa Omino (LLD), as well as members of the CC board of directors for convening these dialogues and sharing their perspectives with us at Creative Commons. Images: Woman's ceremonial overskirt by a Kuba artist, ca. 1900, CC0, The Met; Textile fragments, 3rd–4th century, CC0, The Met.

This week, CC, represented by Brigitte Vézina, Dee Harris, and Beverley Francis, are at UNESCO in Paris attending a meeting of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. We're here to raise awareness about the Open Heritage Statement, a global call to action to ensure equitable access to heritage in the digital environment. The result of global collective action by the Open Heritage Coalition, the Statement calls on stakeholders to enter a policy dialogue to remove unfair, unnecessary barriers to access to public domain heritage. #openheritagestatement #openheritagecoalition Learn more and add your voice: openheritagestatement.org

Over the past year, Creative Commons communities around the world have continued to show what’s possible when people come together around shared values of openness, collaboration, and care. In 2025, we were focused on getting feedback and streamlining how we did things, which prepped us perfectly for the coming year. In 2026, we want to deepen our community engagement, strengthening connections and creating more meaningful ways for everyone to engage. Read our new blog post for a peek at some of our community plans: https://buff.ly/MJCpbBY "The Stars Are Us" by Alina Marinescu for Fine Acts is licensed with CC BY NC SA, remixed by Creative Commons, CC BY NC SA.

For our anniversary this year, we're creating a special zine to commemorate our community's contributions, achievements, and memories from 25 years of CC. Our theme? Remix is resistance! We are looking for creative works that reflect how remix, reuse, adaptation, and sharing can challenge power, build community, preserve culture, and imagine more just futures. Submit your work (art, photography, stories, poems, comics, and more!) by March 31. https://buff.ly/WjuAB2T

If you are at the AI Impact Summit, catch CC's CEO, Anna Tumadóttir, during the upcoming sessions: February 17 | 16:00 - 17:30 | India International Centre Collective AI Governance: Multilateral Approaches for a Fragmented World February 18 | 9:30 – 10:25 | Room 5, Bharat Mandapam Strengthening Data and AI Collaboratives for Economic Growth and Social Good February 18 | 15:30 - 17:00 | India International Centre Steering DPI & AI Innovation towards Public Value Maximisation: The Role of Governments in Safeguarding Data Agency February 20 | 13:40 - 14:10 | L2 Audi II at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi AI and the Creative Economy

It is time to update our mental models about open knowledge. In our newest blog post, Sarah Hinchliff Pearson discusses the new stories we must imagine to keep the internet human and how to rethink our must fundamental assumptions about open knowledge in order to meet the current moment.

In November 2025, we had the privilege of supporting and participating in Semana de la Cultura Libre (Open Culture Week) in Montevideo, Uruguay: a week-long celebration of open culture organized by CC Uruguay. Through panels, workshops, concerts, and conversations, the week offered a powerful reminder that free culture is not an abstract idea but a living practice shaped by local communities, histories, and needs. Read our full recap on the event and some of our biggest takeaways in our new blog post!