Advocacy of libre knowledge

Advocating Libre Knowledge can be challenging! The following might help (please add/edit/etc.).

=Introduction=

The aim is to liberate knowledge by convincing people and organisations that hold the keys. Advocating libre knowledge may be done from various perspectives (e.g. ethical, pragmatic) and occur at various levels (personal, organisational, national, etc.) and spans the knowledge hierarchy (data, information, knowledge, wisdom) and access infrastructures (hardware, software, networks).

This page is the start of a collection of learning resources around advocating libre knowledge - an educational process in itself.

=Basics=


 * Know what you are talking about
 * Present a clear rationale supported by facts
 * Understand the context
 * Approach the right people (e.g. within an organisation or institution)
 * Top-down
 * Bottom-up
 * Both
 * Approach them in the right way
 * Some are looking for pragmatic solutions and approaches
 * Others may be more interested in transparency and ethics ...
 * Be respectful
 * Know the (FUD) arguments against and be ready to respond
 * Tailor the pitch for the specific audience
 * Emphasise the benefits
 * What will it mean for them in practical terms?
 * Learning from Libre Knowledge Initiatives
 * Encourage people to try it by connecting them to existing, active communities
 * e.g. Learning4Content, Wikipedia, ....
 * Showcase prominent examples such as Wikipedia, PLoS, ..., and find examples close the hearts of the audience.

=Issues and Ideas=


 * Educating the audience
 * Not all knowledge should be liberated (privacy, security, company differentiating knowledge, ...)
 * Parallels with FLOSS advocacy
 * Collaborating with the free culture and open knowledge movements
 * when to support, when to criticise.

=Quotes=


 * Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty. (Will Durant).

=Campaigns and Declarations=


 * Declaration on libre knowledge
 * Franklin Street Statement on Freedom and Network Services
 * Barcelona Charter for Innovation Creativity and Access to Knowledge - Libre Interpretation

Interacting with related initiatives
... such as the open education movement and the free software movement.

Be appreciative of any activities which support the cause and critical of those which do not.

=Q and A=


 * Why should knowledge be free as in freedom?
 * explain here ...


 * What are the dangers/barriers to this vision?
 * list them here ...
 * and indicate how to mitigate ....

=Multiple Languages=


 * Conocimiento Libre
 * Wissensfreiheit
 * Coneixement lliure
 * 自由知識
 * Fri kunskap
 * etc.

=Learning Activities=


 * Always be ready to demonstrate libre software and libre knowledge.
 * For software, set up virtual machines on a laptop which can run a few contrasting distros (e.g. with different display managers, or oriented towards different user-bases such as science, education, ...) simultaneously.
 * Include relevant libre knowledge resources and some applications.
 * Present a demo to fellow students role playing as different types of audience.
 * If you will be using a data projector for the demo, test it first with your host GNU/Linux distro.
 * Cross-pollinate: FLOSS advocacy.
 * Write a code of conduct for your advocacy efforts (something like this but different).
 * While surfing the web you notice a site which expresses values consistent with libre knowledge but notice that its content and policies seem to contradict these values. For example, the site includes embedded videos which are not viewable with libre software and provides quick links to download a non-free plugin). Write a letter to the organisation pointing out the error of their ways and providing guidance on taking corrective action.
 * Where applicable, write a tutorial on how to support those values more comprehensively (e.g. media file conversion, where to host the files, how to embed them in a page seamlessly for both free and non-free software users, choosing a libre license, etc.). Link to your HowTo/tutorial below:
 * Media conversion after live streaming event (is there an on-the-fly minimum time-lag desktop/web solution to this?)
 * Not all knowledge should be liberated (privacy, security, company differentiating knowledge, ...) - discuss.
 * Not all knowledge should be liberated (privacy, security, company differentiating knowledge, ...) - discuss.

=See Also=


 * Readings related to libre knowledge
 * Advocacy of Free Software and Effective Free Software advocacy
 * OER Advocacy