Doubling down on fixing copyright for cultural heritage institutions
Over the last two years I have served on the Members Council of the Europeana Network Association. As one of six members of the Management Board I have helped to steer the Europeana Network and I have represented the Europeana Network on the Board of the Europeana Foundation. My term as a Councilor (and thus Management Board and Foundation Board member) ends at the end of this year and I have decided to run for a second term in the upcoming Members Council elections.
Over the last two years I have worked on a number of issues in Europeana. I have helped drafting the governance structure, been involved in the efforts to ensure the continued support for Europeana by the EU member states and have contributed to a revision of the Europeana strategy that takes into account the upcoming changes to the way Europeana is funded. But most of all, I have worked on ensuring that Europeana functions as a strong advocate of updating the outdated copyright rules.
As we go into the 2016 election, Europe is in the middle of a process that will hopefully result in an update of the EU copyright rules that improves the ability of cultural heritage institutions to provide online access to their collections. This process was started by the new European Commission in 2014 (more or less at the same time when I was elected on the Members Council) and most observers expect it to last for another two years or so.
Over the last two years Europeana has been an important voice in the discussions about reforming the EU copyright framework. The Europeana network has played an important role in these efforts and we have successfully managed to ensure that our issues are on the EU policy agenda. As a result we have a once-in-a-generation chance to bring the EU copyright rules in line with the needs of a strong, digital cultural heritage sector and to close the 20th century black hole++Black holeRead more about the 20th century black hole here. .
While making copyright reform a priorityContinued involvement of Europeana in copyright reform advocacy requires a strong voice, both within Europeana and towards policymakers and those opposed to the changes that we are advocating for. If elected I will continue to be that voice. for Europeana continues to enjoy broad support among the Europeana Network members, this idea is not shared by all parties represented on the Board of the Europeana Foundation. This means that continued involvement of Europeana in copyright reform advocacy requires a strong voice, both within Europeana and towards policymakers and those opposed to the changes that we are advocating for. If elected I will continue to be that voice for the next two years.
I believe that the Europeana network has the possibility to make a real difference with the potential to open up much more of Europe’s cultural heritage online. Realising Europeana’s ambition to change the world with culture is dependent on fair copyright rules that respect the special role cultural heritage institutions play in our societies. The next two years provide an important opportunity to make a real difference.
