For those of you interested in the vibrant commons of the Asia Pacific region, mark January 19, 2008 on your calendars for the International Workshop on Asia and Commons in the Information Age (ACIA), hosted in Taipei, Taiwan.

The ACIA workshop (like ASIA, with a “C”), is the highly-anticipated, self-sponsored event organized by Creative Commons jurisdiction project teams and other commons-based initiatives, and they are inviting all interested parties to attend the workshop with a focus on the following objectives:

1. Strengthening the “Asia Commons” by bringing in more members and improving links to related organizations within the Asia Pacific region;
2. Promoting the commons in the region, and providing a forum to develop practical strategies for this promotion;
3. Providing a forum for industry engagement, and in particular identifying and presenting successful commercial uses of open content licensing within the region;
4. Providing a forum for discussion of topics of importance to the Asia Commons (e.g., the meaning of ‘open’ in our age, and the history and role of the commons in Asia).

Please visit the ACIA wiki to learn more and to enrich the event with your input and participation. For more background information, check out the original proposal and the iCommons’ article “What is Asia Commons?”

Thank you to Tyng-Ruey Chuang (CC in Taiwan), Jessica Coates (CC in Australia), and the other Asia Commoners for their dedication to this great initiative!