On Tuesday, 27 January 2025, at the MaMa club in Zagreb and online, the event “Open Knowledge – Publications, Platforms and Movements” was held, organised by the Multimedia Institute, HrW, and the Open GLAM Wikimedia initiative. The program included project presentations and a panel discussion dedicated to current issues of open knowledge, digital public goods, and their institutional, social, and political frameworks.
The event was held on the occasion of Public Domain Day, celebrated on 1 January, as well as the recent global celebration marking 25 years of the Wikipedia.org project. The discussion focused on a critical reflection of local challenges related to the development and sustainability of open knowledge systems. Special attention was given to issues of working within smaller language communities, limited resources, and the relationship between global digital platforms and local cultural and scientific ecosystems.
Participants in the program included CULTMED project associates Dr Jaka Primorac and Dr Paško Bilić, as well as IRMO library librarian Maja Hoić, who, alongside the roundtable discussion, contributed to the debate on open knowledge from the perspective of research on technology, culture, and public goods. The moderators were the CULTMED project leader, Dr Aleksandra Uzelac, and Zrinka Džoić from the University of Zadar.
In addition to IRMO, representatives of the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography, the Multimedia Institute, and the Centre for Documentation of Independent Culture (AbcDNK) also presented their experiences and projects, covering topics such as the development of digital encyclopedias, open publications, independent culture archives, and advocacy for participatory models of knowledge governance. Introductory presentations were delivered by Tomislav Medak (Creative Commons HR) and Željko Blaće (Multimedia Institute, HrW, and the GLAM Wikimedia initiative), while the presentations also included contributions from Dr Nataša Jermen and Dr Zdenko Jecić (Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography) and Miljenka Buljević (Centre for Documentation of Independent Culture – AbcDNK).
The discussion also addressed questions about the future of open knowledge in light of current European initiatives such as EDIC Digital Commons, which aim to establish a European digital space based on the values of the commons, interoperability, and cooperation. The contribution of IRMO’s researchers particularly emphasised the importance of considering regulatory policies, institutional capacities, and the long-term sustainability of digital public goods in the cultural and scientific sectors.
Cover photo: MaMA
