Webinar — Open Heritage Statement Watch the launch of the Open Heritage Statement from 14 October 2025.

The recording from the Open Heritage Statement Launch is now available! Watch how experts from around the world came together to shape a shared vision for equitable access to public domain heritage. openheritagestatement.org/webinar

#OpenHeritageStatement #TAROCH #UNESCO

Wikimedia Foundation Signs the Open Heritage Statement: A Global Call for Unrestricted Access to… ### Wikimedia Foundation Signs the Open Heritage Statement: A Global Call for Unrestricted Access to Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age The 1875 painting “Landscape along the Seine with the Institut de France and the Pont des Arts” by Alfred Sisley (CC0, via Art Institute of Chicago) remixed with the 2025 “TAROCH balloon” by Dee Harris | Creative Commons, CC0, via Creative Commons. _Written by Wikimedia Foundation’s:__Amalia Toledo_, _Lead Public Policy Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean_ The Wikimedia Foundation is proud to announce that we have signed the Open Heritage Statement. This declaration, which we endorse alongside Wikimedia affiliates and other members of the TAROCH (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage) Coalition, advocates equitable and unrestricted access to and reuse of cultural heritage in the public domain. The Statement is an outcome of the efforts of the many open knowledge and cultural organizations that form the TAROCH Coalition to ensure that digital technologies and cultural rights support the knowledge sharing that is the aim of our cultural partnerships with GLAM institutions — i.e., galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. The Open Heritage Statement is not just a piece of paper: it’s a worldwide call to action to dismantle the barriers that restrict global learning, creativity, and knowledge sharing. ### Why Does the Wikimedia Movement Stand for Open Heritage? For over two decades, the Wikimedia movement has operated on the principle that human knowledge is a shared resource that belongs to everyone, wherever they are. We signed this call to action because it gives voice to the daily struggles that our volunteer community members and our GLAM partners face worldwide. The Statement identifies and addresses the barriers that prevent the general public from accessing and fully benefiting from works in the public domain or under open licenses. For example: * Wikimedia volunteer contributors constantly need to fight against institutions that claim new rights over simple digital scans of century-old works. The Statement opposes new copyright protection for faithful reproductions of public domain heritage. * Technical and contractual barriers often hinder access to legally free materials. The Statement calls for the end of restrictive contracts, paywalls, and technical protection measures — such as digital rights management (DRM) — that block access to these materials. * Dependence on private platforms, often closed, and proprietary standards jeopardizes the durability and accessibility of cultural heritage. The Statement encourages developing and maintaining open, sustainable public digital infrastructures to ensure that digital heritage and metadata are accessible globally. * Asymmetric differences in investment and capacity create and widen digital divides between regions and countries. The Statement acknowledges that sharing of tools and knowledge can address this issue, but we need public policies that ensure that these open infrastructures are accessible to all. These obstacles and barriers, like many others, conflict with the right to participate in cultural life, impede freedom of expression, and diminish the potential of cultural heritage in the public domain for learning and creativity. ### A First Step Towards a Global Legally Binding Instrument The Open Heritage Statement is the first step toward a much larger goal: establishing a clear and harmonized international legal framework for public domain cultural heritage. We are calling upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to recognize the importance of this issue and to begin developing a binding international instrument (such as a Recommendation) on digitization of and open access to digital heritage. The intellectual property system alone cannot overcome the barriers and obstacles we have mentioned. We need a holistic, globally agreed-upon framework that clearly defines the legal status of digital reproductions, standardizes open access practices, and ensures accessibility is never an afterthought. ### Empowering an Open Future and Generations to Come By joining this effort, the Foundation and the other signatories are starting a new phase in a global policy dialogue. Together, we can achieve a consensus on removing legal restrictions on public domain reproduction at the national level, developing open and sustainable digital public infrastructure, and ensuring equitable access to cultural heritage. The public domain is everyone’s shared inheritance, whenever they are. By working together under the umbrella of the Statement, we can ensure that digital technologies truly serve to unlock, not lock away, the cultural richness of humanity. The time for a global mandate on open access cultural heritage is now. * * * Wikimedia Foundation Signs the Open Heritage Statement: A Global Call for Unrestricted Access to… was originally published in Wikimedia Foundation Policy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Wikimedia Foundation Signs the Open Heritage Statement: A Global Call for Unrestricted Access to… ### Wikimedia Foundation Signs the Open Heritage Statement: A Global Call for Unrestricted Access to Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age The 1875 painting “Landscape along the Seine with the Institut de France and the Pont des Arts” by Alfred Sisley (CC0, via Art Institute of Chicago) remixed with the 2025 “TAROCH balloon” by Dee Harris | Creative Commons, CC0, via Creative Commons. _Written by Wikimedia Foundation’s:__Amalia Toledo_, _Lead Public Policy Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean_ The Wikimedia Foundation is proud to announce that we have signed the Open Heritage Statement. This declaration, which we endorse alongside Wikimedia affiliates and other members of the TAROCH (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage) Coalition, advocates equitable and unrestricted access to and reuse of cultural heritage in the public domain. The Statement is an outcome of the efforts of the many open knowledge and cultural organizations that form the TAROCH Coalition to ensure that digital technologies and cultural rights support the knowledge sharing that is the aim of our cultural partnerships with GLAM institutions — i.e., galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. The Open Heritage Statement is not just a piece of paper: it’s a worldwide call to action to dismantle the barriers that restrict global learning, creativity, and knowledge sharing. ### Why Does the Wikimedia Movement Stand for Open Heritage? For over two decades, the Wikimedia movement has operated on the principle that human knowledge is a shared resource that belongs to everyone, wherever they are. We signed this call to action because it gives voice to the daily struggles that our volunteer community members and our GLAM partners face worldwide. The Statement identifies and addresses the barriers that prevent the general public from accessing and fully benefiting from works in the public domain or under open licenses. For example: * Wikimedia volunteer contributors constantly need to fight against institutions that claim new rights over simple digital scans of century-old works. The Statement opposes new copyright protection for faithful reproductions of public domain heritage. * Technical and contractual barriers often hinder access to legally free materials. The Statement calls for the end of restrictive contracts, paywalls, and technical protection measures — such as digital rights management (DRM) — that block access to these materials. * Dependence on private platforms, often closed, and proprietary standards jeopardizes the durability and accessibility of cultural heritage. The Statement encourages developing and maintaining open, sustainable public digital infrastructures to ensure that digital heritage and metadata are accessible globally. * Asymmetric differences in investment and capacity create and widen digital divides between regions and countries. The Statement acknowledges that sharing of tools and knowledge can address this issue, but we need public policies that ensure that these open infrastructures are accessible to all. These obstacles and barriers, like many others, conflict with the right to participate in cultural life, impede freedom of expression, and diminish the potential of cultural heritage in the public domain for learning and creativity. ### A First Step Towards a Global Legally Binding Instrument The Open Heritage Statement is the first step toward a much larger goal: establishing a clear and harmonized international legal framework for public domain cultural heritage. We are calling upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to recognize the importance of this issue and to begin developing a binding international instrument (such as a Recommendation) on digitization of and open access to digital heritage. The intellectual property system alone cannot overcome the barriers and obstacles we have mentioned. We need a holistic, globally agreed-upon framework that clearly defines the legal status of digital reproductions, standardizes open access practices, and ensures accessibility is never an afterthought. ### Empowering an Open Future and Generations to Come By joining this effort, the Foundation and the other signatories are starting a new phase in a global policy dialogue. Together, we can achieve a consensus on removing legal restrictions on public domain reproduction at the national level, developing open and sustainable digital public infrastructure, and ensuring equitable access to cultural heritage. The public domain is everyone’s shared inheritance, whenever they are. By working together under the umbrella of the Statement, we can ensure that digital technologies truly serve to unlock, not lock away, the cultural richness of humanity. The time for a global mandate on open access cultural heritage is now. * * * Wikimedia Foundation Signs the Open Heritage Statement: A Global Call for Unrestricted Access to… was originally published in Wikimedia Foundation Policy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Open Heritage Statement

I just signed the Open Heritage Statement and hope you will too.
openheritagestatement.org

#CulturalHeritage #GLAM #OpenAccess #PublicDomain #TAROCH

Open Heritage Statement

I just signed the Open Heritage Statement and hope you will too.
https://openheritagestatement.org/

#CulturalHeritage #GLAM #OpenAccess #PublicDomain #TAROCH

📣 Creative Commons ve #TAROCH Koalisyonu, #kamumalı kültürel mirasa adil erişim için küresel bir eylem çağrısı olan Açık Miras Bildirisi'ni yayınladı.
📌 14 Ekim’de yapılacak lansman webinarına kayıt olmayı unutmayın!
creativecommons.org.tr/acik-miras-b...

The #TAROCH Coalition emerged from an identified need to reduce barriers to access cultural treasures often made inaccessible due to outdated policies, resource limitations, and logistical challenges.

The yellow Departures gate at Brisbane International Airport.

BNE ✈️ DOH ✈️ AMS 🚂 RTM
I'm heading to The Hague via Doha and Amsterdam to attend the Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage (TAROCH) Workspaces meeting and some meetings in Berlin and Amsterdam.
#TAROCH #OpenCulture

We’re excited to announce the launch of the #TAROCH (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage) webpage.

Public Domain Day in Europe Mark your calendars for 9 January 2025, when the annual Public Domain Day is taking place in collaboration with international partners. More information will be available soon!

CC is organizing a European Public Domain Day celebration on this Thursday at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels. Attendance is free!

Brigitte Vezina will present on our #TAROCH Coalition's efforts and the revision of the Europeana Public Domain Charter.

Register: meemoo.be/en/training-...

Wikimedia Australia Joins the TAROCH Coalition to support a Cultural Heritage Recommendation

It is great to see Wikimedia Australia has committed to the TAROCH Coalition, joining a collaborative push for a UNESCO Recommendation promoting equitable access to #CulturalHeritage in the #PublicDomain.
#TAROCH #OpenCulture #OpenHeritage @creativecommons.bsky.social @wmau.bsky.social

Wikimedia Australia Joins the TAROCH Coalition to support a Cultural Heritage Recommendation

Wikimedia Australia is proud to announce its membership in the TAROCH Coalition, a global alliance dedicated to preserving, sharing and advocating for cultural heritage.
wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Wikimed...

#TAROCH #CulturalHeritage #openculture
#openheritage

Creative Commons Launches TAROCH Coalition for Open Access to Cultural Heritage - Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is proud to launch the TAROCH Coalition (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage), a collaborative effort to achieve the adoption of a UNESCO standard-setting…

This is exciting - Creative Commons launched the #TAROCH Coalition (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage). "This is a collaborative effort to achieve the adoption of a UNESCO standard-setting instrument to improve #openaccess to #culturalheritage."
https://buff.ly/3AG0aI7

Reflecting on the launch of TAROCH Coalition The recently launched TAROCH Coalition is adovacting for a UNESCO Recommendation of access to cultural heritage in the Public Domain.

For those interested in the TAROCH Coalition I have put some info and thoughts together about the importance of improving access to the Public Domain.
#TAROCH #TAROCHCoalition #CreativeCommons #CulturalHeritage #PublicDomain @creativecommons.bsky.social @unesconow.bsky.social

Creative Commons Launches TAROCH Coalition for Open Access to Cultural Heritage - Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is proud to launch the TAROCH Coalition (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage), a collaborative effort to achieve the adoption of a UNESCO standard-setting instrume...

Creative Commons has launched the TAROCH Coalition (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage).
#TAROCH #TAROCHCoalition #CreativeCommons #CulturalHeritage #PublicDomain @creativecommons.bsky.social @unesconow.bsky.social