This week is bittersweet. Bitter because instead of welcoming you to the CC Global Summit in Lisbon, I’m at my home in Toronto wishing we were together. Sweet because we have been given the opportunity to revise the CC Global Summit—to turn this annual, in-person gathering into something uniquely digital that will, hopefully, address the current needs of our community. 

In March, after officially canceling the in-person CC Summit, we began this revisioning process by gathering insightful feedback from members of the CC Global Network and working with the Program Committee. Committee members have proven invaluable during this process and we’re grateful for their hard work, vision, and flexibility. Although there are still many things we need to figure out, I’m excited to provide a brief update on what we have so far, and what we’re working on. 

Here’s what we know so far

The revised CC Summit will be entirely online, free of cost, and held over a few days during September and/or October 2020. Based on feedback from the CC Global Network obtained via a short survey sent out in April, we will try our best to ensure the event features:

• Programming in languages other than English
• Programming in a variety of time zones
• Opportunities to meet in small interactive groups to work on projects and goals together
• Some fun surprises!

Here’s what’s coming up 

If you’ve already submitted a proposal, don’t worry. We’ll be in touch with you to confirm that you still have the capacity to engage with the CC Global Summit. If yes, we’ll then ask you to tell us what changes you’ll make to your proposal so that it’s more suitable for digital. Check your email for the next steps! 

Finally, in June, we’ll launch a new call for proposals to reflect the dynamics of our world today, as well as the changing medium of the CC Global Summit. We’ll ask for proposals that are better suited for a digital environment, as well as encourage proposals that address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the role of open licensing during times of crisis. This is something our team has been working on as part of the Open COVID Pledge. We’ll also welcome proposals that promote CC Global Network-specific issues and projects—we want to ensure this event remains globally-focused. 

Thank you again for your support throughout this process. Stay tuned for more updates!