{"id":76954,"date":"2025-08-21T17:24:29","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/?p=76954"},"modified":"2025-09-08T13:18:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T13:18:05","slug":"creative-commons-becomes-an-official-unesco-ngo-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2025\/08\/21\/creative-commons-becomes-an-official-unesco-ngo-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Commons Becomes an Official UNESCO NGO Partner"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"post-76956 media-76956\" class=\"align-center\">\n<figure id=\"post-76956 media-76956\" class=\"align-center\">\n<figure id=\"post-76960 media-76960\" class=\"align-center\">\n<figure id=\"post-76960 media-76960\" class=\"align-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Blog-Image-Size.png\" alt=\"UNESCO \u00a9 2023 by Brigitte V\u00e9zina is licensed under CC BY 4.0\" \/><figcaption class=\"attribution\">UNESCO \u00a9 2023 by Brigitte V\u00e9zina is licensed under CC BY 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are proud to announce that we are now established as an official NGO partner to UNESCO (consultative status). <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unesco.org\/en\/brief?hub=171411\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNESCO<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stands for \u201cUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization\u201d and is the UN\u2019s specialized agency that aims to foster international cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture, and communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This new, formal status is an important recognition of the synergies between our two organizations and of our shared commitment to openness as a means to benefit everyone worldwide.\u00a0 As an official NGO partner, Creative Commons (CC) will now have the opportunity to contribute to UNESCO&#8217;s program and to interact with other official partner NGOs with common goals. In particular, we look forward to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Participating in UNESCO meetings and consultations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on various subjects core to CC\u2019s mission. This will give us a seat at the table to advocate for the communities we serve and share our expertise on openness, the commons, and access to knowledge.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Participating in UNESCO\u2019s governing bodies <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in an observer capacity. This will enable us to deliver official statements on matters within our sphere of expertise and contribute to determining UNESCO\u2019s policies and main lines of work, including its programs and budget.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Taking part in consultations about UNESCO\u2019s strategy and program<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and being involved in UNESCO\u2019s programming cycle. This will give us opportunities to communicate our views and suggestions on proposals by the Director-General.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Becoming an official partner is a testament to our rich and long-standing collaboration with UNESCO over the past 24 years. Over this time, CC and our community have developed trusted relationships with UNESCO staff and Member State representatives, yielding many opportunities to engage and collaborate effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, CC was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2019\/06\/04\/unesco-oer-recommendation-one-step-closer-to-adoption\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deeply involved<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2019\/10\/24\/we-support-unesco-oer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">supported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the development of UNESCO\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unesco.org\/en\/legal-affairs\/recommendation-open-educational-resources-oer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2019 Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and continues to play an important role in its implementation. CC participated in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/articles.unesco.org\/sites\/default\/files\/medias\/fichiers\/2024\/11\/3rd_world_oer_congress_programme_en.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3rd UNESCO World OER Congress<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in November 2024 as well as in the UNESCO Dynamic OER Coalition meeting to make final recommendations on the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unesdoc.unesco.org\/ark:\/48223\/pf0000392271.locale=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dubai Declaration on OER<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Likewise, CC contributed to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2021\/12\/02\/unesco-recommendation-on-open-science-ratified\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">development of the UNESCO 2021 Recommendation on Open Science<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and advised UNESCO in adopting its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unesdoc.unesco.org\/ark:\/48223\/pf0000220872\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">open access policy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where CC licenses are a core component.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unesdoc.unesco.org\/ark:\/48223\/pf0000390985\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">International Conference of the Memory of the World Programme: Memory of the World: at the Crossroads of International Understanding and Cooperation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in October 2024, we engaged in conversations about the importance of preserving and supporting access to heritage, as well as the many challenges archives, libraries, and museums face in ensuring intercultural collaboration on a global scale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These achievements are a testament to the dedication of CC community members promoting openness globally and to the many open champions within UNESCO.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, as we steer the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/arts-culture\/advocacy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage (TAROCH) Coalition<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we draw inspiration from UNESCO\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2022\/10\/27\/cc-celebrates-30-years-of-unesco-memory-of-the-world\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Memory of the World Program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and 2015 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unesco.org\/en\/legal-affairs\/recommendation-concerning-preservation-and-access-documentary-heritage-including-digital-form\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage, including in digital form<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to advance equitable access to public domain heritage. In 2020, we collaborated with the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia-Pacific (MOWCAP) and UNESCO Bangkok in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20231004201723\/https:\/\/bangkok.unesco.org\/content\/promoting-universal-access-documentary-heritage-asia-pacific-openglam-webinar-series\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">webinar series<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to promote universal access to documentary heritage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we continue to advance TAROCH, we know that the role of open solutions in removing unfair economic, legal, technological, and sociocultural barriers to access heritage, while fostering creative reuse and telling the stories of our shared humanity, is more important than ever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Looking Ahead<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We look forward to the exciting new opportunities for strategic collaboration on the horizon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unesco.org\/en\/mondiacult\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mondiacult 2025<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the world\u2019s biggest cultural policy conference, taking place soon, we look forward to assisting UNESCO in delivering on its key priority of \u201censuring equitable access to heritage,\u201d as indicated in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unesco.org\/sites\/default\/files\/medias\/fichiers\/2025\/04\/ENG%20CONCEPT%20NOTE%20MONDIACULT%202025%2024.04.25%20FV%20SC.pdf?hub=171169\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mondiacult 2025 concept note<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. CC\u2019s efforts through TAROCH to remove barriers, support interoperability, and create and share heritage with open licenses and tools can strengthen equitable access to heritage. Once heritage is accessible, we collectively have the opportunity to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">build more connected, resilient, and sustainable societies<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Make sure to join us at our <a href=\"https:\/\/events.zoom.us\/ev\/AtK6Ly8nyLp7OCmbt64Nl7_o-JTF0nnRujEAKQ9QtRWNf65nLL1l~AkHodlHH0GXsNCFVszXab4gBcqPcluCf8rdyk4Xt--vNIhgWQ4ECEb6IUg\">Mondiacult virtual side event<\/a> on September 17, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more information:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact us at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:info@creativecommons.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">info@creativecommons.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Join the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/arts-culture\/advocacy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TAROCH Coalition<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UNESCO \u00a9 2023 by Brigitte V\u00e9zina is licensed under CC BY 4.0 We are proud to announce that we are now established as an official NGO partner to UNESCO (consultative status). UNESCO stands for \u201cUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization\u201d and is the UN\u2019s specialized agency that aims to foster international cooperation in the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":76960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,30,3845,33],"tags":[2540,2625,3893,3564],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76954"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77038,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76954\/revisions\/77038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}