We’re excited to join the TAROCH Coalition, a global community effort steered by our member Creative Commons to encourage UNESCO to achieve the adoption of a UNESCO standard-setting instrument to improve open access to cultural heritage.
The Coalition is led by representatives of a global, diverse community of organisations and institutions involved in cultural heritage and with an interest in open cultural heritage. While our individual missions differ, we all believe in the transformative power of open solutions and share a vision of fair and equitable access to cultural heritage. For a complete and up-to-date list of coalition members, check the Statement of Commitment.
Promoting open access to cultural heritage
Members of the TAROCH Coalition share the belief that culture, including cultural heritage, is the existential foundation of humanity and that open access can contribute to helping people around the world to:
- Exercise their fundamental rights to participate in cultural life and enjoy the arts, as enshrined in Article 27(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Article 15 of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966);
- preserve and access documentary heritage including in digital form, as enshrined in the 2015 UNESCO Recommendation;
- benefit from a more prosperous, inclusive, and resilient world by advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and leaving no one behind, including the recognition of culture as a Sustainable Development Goal in and of itself;
- honour, promote, and preserve cultural and linguistic diversity and cultural heritage as per the 2024 UN Pact for the Future; and
- activate the 2022 Mondiacult Declaration and enjoy culture, including cultural heritage, as well as the digital commons (in keeping with the Global Digital Compact) as global public goods.
The aim of TAROCH
The ultimate goal of the TAROCH Coalition is to achieve the adoption of a UNESCO standard-setting instrument by 2029. In the meantime, the initiative will focus on two main activities, to which COMMUNIA will contribute actively:
- the development and adoption a Statement on Open Access to Cultural Heritage for signature by civil society organisations and institutions; and
- the implementation of an advocacy strategy and dissemination of advocacy tools and materials to promote the wider recognition of open access to cultural heritage.
We are happy to announce that COMMUNIA Legal Director Teresa Nobre will act as the co-chair of the drafting workspace.
Open for membership applications
Any organisation or institution supporting the mission statement of the Coalition can apply for membership in the Coalition. To apply, please read the Statement of Commitment, and submit your application through the membership application form.
