{"id":77493,"date":"2026-02-10T21:47:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T21:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/?p=77493"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:17:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:17:58","slug":"semana-de-la-cultura-libre-with-cc-uruguay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2026\/02\/10\/semana-de-la-cultura-libre-with-cc-uruguay\/","title":{"rendered":"Semana de la Cultura Libre with CC Uruguay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In November 2025, we had the privilege of supporting and participating in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Semana de la Cultura Libre<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Open Culture Week) in Montevideo, Uruguay: a week-long celebration of open culture organized by CC Uruguay. Through panels, workshops, concerts, and conversations, the week offered a powerful reminder that free culture is not an abstract idea but a living practice shaped by local communities, histories, and needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read CC Uruguay\u2019s recap on our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/creative-commons-we-like-to-share\/everything-that-happened-during-a-week-of-free-culture-660189de207d\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We Like To Share<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> community blog.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What stood out most was not only the richness of the programming but how clearly this event illustrated both the strengths and the challenges of open culture work today, especially in a rapidly enclosing digital environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Free Culture Is Alive\u2014Even When the Licenses Aren\u2019t<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most striking takeaways from conversations with<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/ileanasilva\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ileana Silva<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jorge-gemetto-68662b35\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jorge Gemetto<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who lead <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.creativecommons.uy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the CC Uruguay chapter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was how deeply DIY culture thrives in Uruguay. Artists and organizers share freely, collaborate generously, and remix constantly, often without explicitly using CC licenses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This speaks to something important: openness as a cultural instinct often precedes openness as a legal or technical practice. At the same time, the chapter shared a recurring challenge they face in outreach: many people conflate content that is merely available online with content that is truly free and open. For example, a common response to projects like <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/musicalibre.uy\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Musicalibre.uy,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which curates openly licensed music, is: \u201cWhy would I need openly licensed music? I already use Spotify.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This points to a growing need to remind people why the commons matters, even before getting into how to use CC licenses.\u00a0 As platforms become increasingly proprietary and extractive, user convenience can obscure a loss of agency, access, and collective ownership underneath. These topics, such as the political economy of the internet, feel especially important to continue to surface in the face of AI.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Opening the Week: Free Culture in a Time of Extraction<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The opening panel, \u201cWhat do we talk about when we talk about free culture? Practices and challenges,\u201d set the tone for the week. Speakers addressed themes including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cultural and data extractivism, particularly from the Global South to the Global North<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ways AI complicates and challenges long-standing commitments to openness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The need to defend cultural participation as a collective right<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We were thrilled to use this space to<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> introduce attendees to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/openheritagestatement.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open Heritage Statement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the work of the Open Heritage Coalition (formerly TAROCH), and look forward to more engagement from Uruguay!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\ud83d\udcfa Watch the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">r<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ecording<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2prAjdbiHLQ\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2prAjdbiHLQ<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b>Tools, Practices, and New Generations of Makers<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was great to see workshops throughout the week showing the many ways people use open source tools for creative practices and for aiding research as well as demonstrating how art has always been a practice of inspiration and remixing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One notable observation: some of the most active participants in these sessions were younger creators who used open source tools in their creative process that were not CC licenses. This raised compelling questions about how CC might further support open resources for design, publishing, and artistic production to encourage the use of digital technology in the creative process outside the scope of what AI has to offer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"post-77495 media-77495\" class=\"align-none\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Social-Header-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"attribution\">Photo by Jocelyn Miyara, 2025, licensed with <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY 4.0<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Technology, Power, and Accountability<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b><i>Content warning: discussions included references to genocide and mass surveillance.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most powerful moments of the week came during the panel on Apartheid-Free Technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panelists shared their experiences and perspectives on technologies and AI tools being used in systems of surveillance, repression, and genocide. These conversations underscored the importance of allowing CC chapters the autonomy to convene discussions that reflect their political viewpoints as they intersect with today\u2019s technology and all of its uses.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Music, Radio, and the Commons in Practice<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Live music programming brought joy and immediacy to the week. Local bands who release their music under Creative Commons licenses performed for free, demonstrating that openness is not a theoretical commitment but a practical, sustaining choice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The relaunch of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/musicalibre.uy\/radio\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radio Com\u00fan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a CC-licensed online radio station, offers an enduring home for this work\u2014extending the spirit of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Semana de la Cultura Libre<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> well beyond the week itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\ud83d\udcfa Watch a clip from the performance<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/i> <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/JyVbDasxiiY?feature=share\">https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/JyVbDasxiiY?feature=share<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b>Small Investments, Big Impact<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We supported <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Semana de la Cultura Libre<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a small grant\u2014an approach we are piloting to engage more with regional events in the community.\u00a0 With the help of these funds, the chapter was able to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compensate local spaces and collaborators<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pay a graphic designer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide speaker stipends<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support local musicians releasing work under CC licenses<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We were thrilled to be invited to attend the event as a participant rather than a host. This allowed the chapter to center the issues that matter most to their community, while highlighting their work to CC HQ.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Looking Ahead<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the coming months:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We will soon be sharing a framework for selecting a couple more regional events to support with a small stipend as a part of our 25th anniversary celebrations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Uruguay chapter has expressed interest in making Open Culture Week a global phenomenon next year. If you are interested in participating please be in touch with them at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:contacto@creativecommons.uy\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contacto@creativecommons.uy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re grateful to CC Uruguay for their leadership, care, and vision, and we look forward to building what comes next together.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In November 2025, we had the privilege of supporting and participating in Semana de la Cultura Libre (Open Culture Week) in Montevideo, Uruguay: a week-long celebration of open culture organized by CC Uruguay. Through panels, workshops, concerts, and conversations, the week offered a powerful reminder that free culture is not an abstract idea but a living practice shaped by local communities, histories, and needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":77495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77493"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77529,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77493\/revisions\/77529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}