Creative Commons Africa Convening 2012 / Ibtihel Zaatouri / CC BY

On June 26-27, Creative Commons hosted a historic event — the very first meeting of its community held on the African continent, the CC Africa Regional Convening 2012.

Held in Entebbe, Uganda, on the shores of Lake Victoria, the meeting brought together nearly 50 volunteers from more than 15 countries to discuss Creative Commons and its role in Africa, with a particular focus on open education and digital media. It was ably by hosted CC’s Ugandan affiliates, the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and the National Book Trust of Uganda (NABOTU), with the support of the Macarthur Foundation as the major sponsor.

Attendees included representatives of Creative Commons’ communities in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia, and South Africa, as well as representatives of government, education, academia, private industry, and CC’s peers in the broader open community. Also in attendance were members of CC’s international community, including Renata Avila from CC Guatemala and Naeema Zarif of CC’s Lebanon community, who presented on work their communities have been undertaking that could be replicated in Africa.

Catherine Ngugi / Ibtihel Zaatouri
CC BY

The meeting was styled primarily as a discussion forum, with the majority of time spent meeting each other, learning about open activities across the continent, discussing priorities for the future of CC in Africa, and planning collaborative projects in the region. However, it also included a number of important presentations, including an introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) and their role in Africa by Catherine Ngugi of OER Africa, and a closing address by Mrs. Mercy Kentaro Kyomugasho of the Uganda Intellectual Property Office on why governments and communities need to be aware of open culture.

The primary outcome of the meeting was a list of priority topics, priority projects, and proposed activities for CC’s affiliates and the broader African community to pursue. Priority areas of work identified during the meeting included open educational resources, government adoption of open policies, and health initiatives, while proposed activities included a touring bus promoting open projects and the creation of a centralised African repository of CC materials. These outcomes, and other resources from the meeting, can be found on the meeting’s wiki page.

In all, the convening was a resounding success, and a great starting point for CC’s Africa community to grow and work together. We thank all those who attended, and look forward to seeing some of the exciting initiatives planned during the meeting become a reality.

Creative Commons Africa Convening 2012 crowd / Ibtihel Zaatouri / CC BY