Alek Tarkowski is a sociologist, copyright reform advocate and researcher of digital society. Co-founder and President of Centrum Cyfrowe Foundation, a think-and-do tank building a digital civic society in Poland. Alek is the Public Lead of Creative Commons Poland and European Policy Fellow with Creative Commons and co-founder of Communia, a European advocacy association supporting the digital public domain, and of the Polish Coalition for Open Education (KOED).
In 2016-2017, he served as co-chair of the global strategy process for the Creative Commons Network. Formerly member of the Polish Board of Digitisation, an advisory body to the Minister of Digitisation (2011-2016), and member of the Board of Strategic Advisors to the Prime Minister of Poland (2008-2011), responsible for issues related to the development of digital society. Policy expert on open content and copyright policies, open and digital education, and digital skills.
For over a decade involved in building a digital commons and public domain in Poland and abroad. Author of “Alfabet nowej kultury i inne teksty” [The Alphabet of New Culture and Other Texts], a collection of essays written together with Mirosław Filiciak. Sociologist of new media, obtained PhD in sociology from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Science. His research interests include new models of cooperation, production and distribution of digital goods, digital policy and digital literacy.
ABSTRACT
Blockchain and Open Education. How can the technology support the values defined in the Cape Town Declaration on Open Education?
The core vision of the Open Education movement is one of employing digital technologies and legal solutions to further a vision of equal access to knowledge and to build new pedagogies. Traditionally, the movement has focused on the openness of resources, such as textbooks. Over time, a broader range of issues were identified, including data flows and analytics. Growing popularity of blockchain raises new chances, but also challenges, for open technology. I will analyse how this technology can further the vision defined 10 years ago in the Cape Town Open Education Declaration.