Open Access News

News from the open access movement


Monday, October 13, 2008

Berlin Manifesto for Public Services 2.0

Participants in the meeting, Staatliche Verantwortung und Öffentliche Daseinsvorsorge in der Informationsgesellschaft (Berlin, September 4-5, 2008), have released the Berliner Manifest: Öffentliche Dienste 2.0.  (Thanks to Klaus Graf.)  Read the manifesto in German or Google's English.

The manifesto calls for unrestricted access to the internet, education, and knowledge.  It doesn't use the term "open access" (in English or German) but calls for taking full advantage of new technologies for sharing knowledge.  It calls for open licenses on public goods and for laws that promote rather than hinder the sharing of cultural knowledge.  It calls for public institutions, such as libraries and museums, to share digital versions of their works, without selling them, and for works resulting from public funds to be digital and "largely free of charge" (weitgehend kostenfrei).  Other provisions concern open government, open standards, and privacy.