About FKI
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This is a draft of About FKI based on elements of the discussion.
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Knowledge and Technology for a Free Knowledge Society |
[edit] Mission
Brief blurb goes here ...
[edit] Values
[edit] Equality
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. Further values are defined in the Founding Principles summarised below.
[edit] Founding Principles
The Free Knowledge Institute's founding principles reflect our shared thoughts and ideas as a basis for the free knowledge society. These founding principles help guide our work over time and are the means by which we articulate what is and has been intrinsically important to the institute. We value:
- Sharing knowledge
- Reciprocity
- Freedom
- Free software and open source
- Open standards
- Quality
- Transparency
- Consensus
- Development, Accessibility, Cultural Diversity and Multilingualism
These principles are explained in more detail under Founding Principles.
[edit] Rationale
[edit] Context
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.
We observe as one of the main sources of conflict the artificial scarcity of immaterial goods (ideas, knowledge), that have been privatised by intellectual monopolies using patents and copyright. Such privatisation of knowledge may have served its purpose in the past, but evidence suggests that in its present form it is an obstacle for innovation. Alternative movements have shown that the use of copyright to protect the access and sharing of knowledge without restrictions (a.k.a. "copyleft") has created unique opportunities for people and communities to organise themselves and build common knowledge bases such as Wikipedia or GNU/Linux.
[edit] Opportunity
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.
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.
[edit] The Free Knowledge Institute
[edit] Collaboration
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.
[edit] People
[edit] Participate
In order to catalyse the emergence of a Free Knowledge Society, 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.
If you're interested to participate in the Free Knowledge Institute: Get Involved.
