On January 1st of every year, new heritage works enter the public domain. Unfortunately, oftentimes these works can still end up being inaccessible to the public, despite the fact that, legally speaking, nothing should prevent public access.
In order to share experiences and best practices in opening up this material, we co-organise the annual Public Domain Day. In 2025, we will celebrate the public domain on Thursday, January 9, with numerous partners, local and international.
In order to discuss the Public Domain from as many angles as possible, this year, we have decided to offer a choice of two tracks for the morning session. We are still putting the final touches on the programme, but we can already share a broad outline:
Held mainly in Dutch, the Belgian track will highlight developments in the public domain in Belgium and beyond. The sessions will revolve around showcasing recently unlocked public domain works and the (re)use of public domain material. The track will also host the Wiki Loves Heritage Belgium award ceremony.
Held in English, the European track will discuss some of the biggest limiting factors for the Public Domain and highlight ongoing initiatives and projects at the European and international levels that aim to overcome these barriers.
In the afternoon, we will look at the handling of the public domain by cultural heritage organisations and policies through a European lens. You will learn more about European policies and the impact of new technologies (such as 3D and AI) on the public domain, among other things.
Registrations for attending the Public Domain Day 2025 in person and online are open now (through meemoo’s website). Please note that online participation will be limited to the European track in the morning and the plenary session in the afternoon.
On January 1st of every year, new heritage works enter the Public Domain. Unfortunately, oftentimes these works can still end up being inaccessible to the public, despite the fact that, legally speaking, nothing should prevent public access. In order to share experiences and best practices in opening up this material, we co-organise the annual Public […]
