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.
Technology
In a broad sense, technology is the usage and knowledge of tools and crafts applied to modifying and adapting our environment. It is indeed one of the defining qualities of human beings, and one of the parameters we use to compare the level of progress of different civilisations.
Technological knowledge provides some of the most evident proofs of the importance of sharing knowledge. The history of technology is made of incremental inventions, of artisans, technicians and inventors that build upon previous knowledge. From the simplest tools to the most sophisticated devices, from the wheel and the lever to the microchip and the space shuttle, virtually all human inventions have benefited from the knowledge built up in previous generations.
We see in technology, and very specially in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), a double interest for the goals of the FKI. On one hand, technology constitutes a form of knowledge that can highly benefit from the sharing and exchange of ideas. On the other hand, technology --and specially ICT-- is a necessary tool in the information society.
The Free Knowledge Institute develops activities in the following technology-related areas:
- Free Software and Open Standards
- Free access
- Open fabrication
Related content:
On June 1st, 2010, Karin Spaink gave an excellent speech during an expert meet on e-books. She is urging the publishing industry to learn from all the mistakes the music industry made. E-books need to be protected against technical measures to control users, such as DRM, and should be much cheaper than printed books.
Read her speech on De Nieuwe Reporter, in Dutch.
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.