Our societies are facing unprecedented challenges in terms of sustainability. These economic, social and environmental issues are interrelated and inherently complex, requiring attention at international and local levels, the pooling of knowledge from diverse sources and across cultures for innovative, sustainable solutions.

The old mass production model has made possible the emergence of new forms of production and organisation, such as the internet and communities of global cooperation. We are in transition to a new social and economic model, sometimes referred to as the Knowledge Society or the Network Economy.

Equality is a central value in the Knowledge Society. It guarantees access to knowledge, educational resources and technology without exclusion. Participants in the Knowledge Society are valued by their contributions to the common pool of knowledge. Sharing and  cooperation are essential to build innovative and sustainable solutions.

If we are able to critically explore the production of knowledge and recognise the assumptions and forces behind the current copyright and patent systems, we can start to appreciate other forms of knowledge production. Individuals and collectives use several mechanisms to bypass the old forms of intellectual monopolies, such as copyleft and Creative Commons licenses, or the Public Domain.

Within the domain of Free Knowledge we can see many successful movements of collective production of knowledge. Free Software, of course, as a flourishing ecosystem of software applications. But also Open Educational Resources, an expanding global collection of learning materials; Open Access, which allows the seamless exchange of scientific knowledge; Open Hardware, an integral means for personalisation, innovation and new economical opportunities.

In order to help the Knowledge Society to be advanced further and quicker, we can contribute at various levels. As citizens we can actively participate in the community projects of our interest, use them, learn from them and contribute if possible. As businesses we can  profit from the enormous free knowledge resources already available, offer services around these resources and contribute back to the communities that develop them. As governments we can act in the interest of society at large, assuring that public resources are used in the  most efficient way and that the results of public funding are made available to all citizens without restrictions.

The Free Knowledge Institute promotes free knowledge in all its forms. Our aim is to provide equal access to the tools for production and sharing of knowledge. We work towards this aim together with a local and global network of autonomous actors.

Since its creation in 2007 the FKI has coordinated several international projects in the areas of Free Software, Open Standards, Open Educational Resources, Access to Knowledge. Through these activities the FKI core team has increased its experience, obtained specialised skills and has built a considerable international network of partners and peers from research and educational institutions, industry and third sector organisations. These assets allow us to assist organisations who want to explore alternative business models or to tackle specific issues in the multiple fields where knowledge plays an important factor.

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