COMMUNIA x Create.Refresh present: Defending freedom of expression and European digital culture

On 20th of March 2018 in Brussels, we will be hosting the first COMMUNIA salon. It will be part of a joint event with Create.Refresh on the defending freedom of expression and European digital culture.

The salon will take place on the 20th of March 2018 at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, which is located 5 minutes walking distance from the European Parliament which will vote on the EU  copyright reform package later this month. The COMMUNIA salon will run from 1400h to 1730h and will be followed by a series of talks and artistic interventions starting at 1800h.

The COMMUNIA salon will bring together activists, academics and policy makers to discuss challenges on the intersection of creativity, value creation and copyright in the online environment. We want to  provide a longer term perspective that looks beyond the discussions around the proposed DSM directive. One that in our opinion does not provide a convincing answer to these challenges.

We will kick off the day with a discussion on the future of creativity in the online environment. This session (1430h – 1600h) will focus on the issue of rewarding creators for their contributions, while preserving the open nature of the internet.Speakers for this session include Paul Keller (COMMUNIA Association, Amsterdam), João Pedro Quintais (Institute for information Law, Amsterdam), Fátima São Simão (Creative Commons Portugal and UPTEC, Porto) and Raegan MacDonald (Mozilla Foundation, Brussels).

The second session (1615h – 1730h) of the day will focus on exploring the consequences of the half hearted copyright reform proposal that is currently moving through the European Institutions. Under the title “Copyright Directive 2030: what kind of internet will we have in Europe if the current Directive passes?” we will explore a possible copyright landscape in 10 years from now. Speakers include Anna Mazgal (COMMUNIA Association, Brussels), Stef van Gompel (Institute for information Law, Amsterdam), Marcin Talarek (IRL, Warsaw), Krzysztof Siewicz (Modern Poland Foundation, Warsaw) and Ásta Helgadóttir (SPARC Europe, TBC).

Join us for an afternoon of discussions about the future of copyright in the EU and how to can defend freedom of expression and European digital culture. The COMMUNIA salon will be followed by a series of talks and interventions hosted by the Create.Refresh. Snacks and refreshments will be served throughout the day. Participation is free of charge but we kindly to register by RSVPing to communia@communia-association.org

Engraving of Daniel questioning the elders by Philips Galle, after Maarten van Heemskerck
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