Thanks Stevie

It would be good if we could have a page on our Wiki where we record position statements such as this that the charity has signed, along with the date, a brief description, and a link.

The other one we did recently was the EU copyright position statement. If I recall, we have supported two statements on that over the last 12 months.

Michael

On 13 October 2014 at 10:36:09, Stevie Benton (stevie.benton@wikimedia.org.uk) wrote:

Hello everyone, 

I wanted to give you all a brief update on a couple of advocacy-related matters. I'm really happy to report that in the last couple of days Wikimedia UK has signed theLyon Declaration on Access to Information and DevelopmentI believe this is an important statement for us to make, underscoring our belief that: "increasing access to information and knowledge across society, assisted by the availability of information and communications technologies (ICTs), supports sustainable development and improves people’s lives." 

The second policy item for update is the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU position paper on copyright reform.  Wikimedia UK has now signed this paper, joining several other European chapters and other open knowledge organisations. This work is important on a European level as collectively the FKAGEU is making a strong case for copyright reform favourable to the Wikimedia and open knowledge movement. The main areas of interest the group is working on are harmonisation of freedom of panorama across the EU to the most liberal model, the public domain licensing of publicly funded works, and the right to use orphan works.  What is particularly pleasing is that there is a variety of non-Wikimedia organisations now participating in this work. I hope that in time the work of the growing FKAGEU will begin to link up with the work of the Open Coalition to further amplify our voice and empower our sector.

If you'd like to know more, please do contact me directly or reply to the list and I will respond.

Thanks and regards,

Stevie

--

Stevie Benton
Head of External Relations
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173
@StevieBenton

Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).

Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.

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