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 Nigeria, Kwara State Branch, Ilorin bringing together a mix of professionals and enthusiasts dedicated to cultural preservation and knowledge sharing.
The gathering attracted a diverse audience, including librarians, historians, researchers, entrepreneurs, and students, fostering a rich exchange of ideas. Attendees engaged in discussions centred on Nigeria’s public domain, focusing on preserving historical knowledge and ensuring open accessibility for all.
The event commenced with an introductory address delivered by Mrs. Abdulazeez, Head of the National Library of Nigeria, Ilorin Branch, setting the tone for a meaningful and collaborative session.
This impactful event highlighted the vital role of libraries in safeguarding culture and inspired collective action to promote free and accessible knowledge in Nigeria.
Creative Commons, Public Domain, and Digitization
The first session was led by Àlàáfíàbámí Ọládipúpọ̀, Co-founder and Director of Education and Research at Free Knowledge Africa. He gave the audience insights into Nigeria’s historical knowledge and the documentation gaps identified by Free Knowledge Africa.
Àlàáfíàbámí explained how open-source tools and platforms such as Wikipedia and Wikisource are instrumental in the preservation of Culture. He cited examples of how digitized works in the Public domain can be indexed on Wikipedia, which can lead to the birth of multiple Wikipedia articles. He also introduced the concept of Creative Commons and provided an overview of the different 6 major Creative Commons licenses. He elaborated on the conditions attached to each license, emphasizing their proper application. His presentation transitioned into an explanation of the Public domain license and the Public Domain, he detailed how any creative works including collective works enter into the public domain following the Nigerian Copyright Act of 2022, and he emphasized the critical role librarians and historians play in preserving public domain content through digitization.
Freedom of Panorama, Copyright, and the Librarian
The next session, led by Bolaji Alabi, Director of Programmes at Free Knowledge Africa, explored Freedom of Panorama in Nigeria and the implications of the 2022 Nigerian Copyright Act.
Bolaji began by explaining the concept of Freedom of Panorama, shedding light on its limitations in Nigeria due to the signing of the 2022 Copyright Act. She engaged participants in a discussion about the exceptions available for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) and how these institutions can leverage such exceptions to preserve cultural heritage.
The session concluded with an inspiring call to action for librarians, historians, and cultural heritage professionals to join the Open Movement and actively support Free Knowledge Africa’s mission to document and digitize works in Nigeria’s Public Domain.
The event proved to be an exciting, engaging, and educational experience. Key takeaways and conclusions from the session included:
1. Nigerians must familiarize themselves with copyright and intellectual property laws.
2. While protecting intellectual property, we must prioritize preserving our rich cultural heritage.
3. Collaborative documentation efforts can make a lasting impact on Nigeria’s cultural history.
She also ended her session by asking participants to visit the website Publicdomain.ng to see the progress the organization has made as it relates to its digitization efforts. She also mentioned that the organization is building a GPT model that can engage public domain works. She also encouraged participants to reuse the works that were available on the website. She also enjoined the participant to volunteer with the organization the preserve the African cultural heritage.
The event ended on a high note, leaving participants enlightened and motivated to contribute to the preservation and accessibility of Nigeria’s cultural knowledge.
You can check out the slides presentation, and view the complete photo album and highlight video.