Dear all,
I'm writing to ask for your help to support Wikimedia South Africa in the coming weeks
and advocate for copyright reform.
*WHAT*
Douglas Scott, from Wikimedia South Africa, will be speaking at four provincial hearings
starting tomorrow, Feb. 21, to advocate for the Copyright Amendment Bill in South Africa
[1]. Efforts to reform copyright laws in South Africa can have a positive ripple-effect
across the continent and the free knowledge movement at large. We can support him as part
of that same movement.
*HOW*
1) Amplify tweets from Wikimedia South Africa [2] and ReCreate South Africa [3], an allied
organization. This will be particularly helpful if you do so on the days of the hearings
(dates below).
2) Write to the media in South Africa. You can submit an opinion article to South African
newspapers and new agencies like Business Day, Daily Maverick, IOL, and GroundUp, where
you explain why it is important to have freedom of panorama in the law [4]. If you come
from a country that has fair use [5] like the US, Singapore, or Israel, you can focus on
how helpful that legal doctrine has been in helping your country promote innovation and
free knowledge. Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), a nonprofit that works with
libraries to enable access to knowledge in developing countries, provides an example of
how to help through media support [5]. EIFL explains how they delivered comments on South
Africa's CAB and the significance of the process.
*WHEN*
- 21 February 2023: (17:00-19:00) Stellenbosch Town Hall, Stellenbosch
- 1 March 2023: (17:00-19:00) Darling Town Hall, Darling
- 6 March 2023: (17:00-19:00) Overstrand Municipal Hall, Hermarnus
- 7 March 2023: (17:00-19:00) Provincial Legislature building, Cape Town
In solidarity,
Ziski & the WMF Global Advocacy Team
________
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_South_Africa/Copyright_Amendment_…
[2]
https://twitter.com/Wikimedia_ZA
[3]
https://twitter.com/SaRecreate
[4]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Panorama_ZA
[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
[6]
https://www.eifl.net/news/eifl-delivers-comments-sas-copyright-bill