Access to Knowledge Without Barriers
In 2011, Nigeria passed into law the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The law gave every Nigerian citizen regardless of education, status, or connection the legal right to demand information from any public institution. This includes government contracts, spending records, policy documents, meeting minutes. All of it, in principle, is accessible to anyone who asked. …
Nigeria has a rich and complex history deserving to be told by Nigerians, for Nigerians, and shared with the world. However, too often, we see our historical materials: documents, photographs, books, and newspapers that perfectly and accurately capture our past, hidden and locked away in archives, making them inaccessible to the very people whose stories …
In cities like Helsinki, residents can access dozens of well-funded public libraries within a short commute. In contrast, Lagos, a city of over 15 million people, has only a handful of functioning public libraries. The disparity is sharper in rural Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa, where entire local government areas may have no library at …
Public Domain Day, celebrated on January 1st of every calendar year, marks the moment when works that were once copyrighted become free to be used and reused by all. In celebration of this year’s Public Domain Day, we published this blog post highlighting films, albums, and movies released in 1976 that will enter the public …
Every year, as the calendar turns to January 1st, something remarkable happens in the world of creativity and culture. It is a moment when the doors of history swing open, and works that were once locked behind copyright protections step into the light, free for all to enjoy, remix, and reimagine. It’s a celebration of …
The public domain is a collective inheritance. It is where knowledge, songs, stories, and art live freely — not bound by ownership, but by memory. Listening to the speakers at the Public Domain Conference, I realised that this freedom is what oral storytelling has always represented for African societies. Long before we learned to write, …
Nigerian music has evolved over the years. From the days of Bobby Benson to contemporary Nigerian artists, music has been a constant factor propelling a lot of creatives in the entertainment industry. Lou Rawls once said “Music is the greatest communication in the world. Even if people do not understand the language, they still know …
The year 2025 began with the fresh streams of Joy as Free Knowledge Africa, in partnership with the Kwara State Branch of the National Library of Nigeria, hosted an advocacy event themed “The Public Domain in Nigeria: The Role of Libraries in the Preservation of Culture.” The event took place at the National Library of …
Celebrate Public Domain Day 2025 with Free Knowledge Africa! Discover newly available works from literature, music, and photography, including iconic Nigerian treasures. Learn how these cultural gems inspire creativity, education, and preservation.
“I believe in copyright, within limited precincts, but I also believe in fair use, public domain and especially transformation” David Shields Free Knowledge Africa is no stranger to the public domain as we have carried out a series of campaigns promoting the public domain and emphasizing its importance to the creative world. Our previous Public …
