Annual Report 2024/Story: Advocacy – the association is gaining ground

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In this story, we focus on Wikimedia Sverige's increased engagement in copyright policy advocacy, supported by the Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) project. Over the year, the association has organized seminars, influenced legislation, developed learning modules, and published a comprehensive report on copyright and AI.

Over the past year, Wikimedia Sverige has taken on an increasingly significant role in copyright policy advocacy, both nationally and internationally. A key enabler of this has been the Arcadia-funded project Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21), where Wikimedia Sverige serves as the national coordinator.

Thanks to KR21, the association has been able to organize seminars, establish contact with legislators, provide expert input to politicians, government agencies, and other stakeholders, and lead national-level networks advocating for copyright policies that better support users. Throughout the year, KR21 has also enabled an expansion of Wikimedia Sverige's advocacy efforts through targeted sub-projects, such as the development of learning modules on copyright and the initiation of a review of the political and institutional reforms needed to promote open science.

2024 began with the completion of the government inquiry in which Eric Luth participated as an expert on behalf of the association. The document was submitted to the responsible minister. This was followed by the usual round of consultations in which Wikimedia Sverige contributed with comments. Similar to how the association acted during the implementation of the DSM directive, we also took a coordinating role this time, with the aim of assisting actors with limited resources in their work to submit consultation responses and to coordinate input from like-minded organizations. This resulted in Wikimedia Sverige's response also being supported by several other stakeholders, DFRI, OKFN and Creative Commons Sweden. During the year, planning also started for a physical meeting in early 2025, where this previously informal network will be formalized and meet at least twice a year.

Building on the insights gained from the inquiry, the association also produced a comprehensive report in three parts – on the three-step rule, open science and AI training. The report aims to serve as a knowledge base for further advocacy, but also as a resource for those who want to understand how different parts of copyright law interact. The report was released in June at a major conference on AI and AI training, organized by Wikimedia Sverige in collaboration with the Swedish Library Association and the Institute for Intellectual Property and Market Law at Stockholm University. The conference was an important example of how the association not only participates in, but also leads, the conversation on copyright policy. The combination of the report and the conference also marks an increased ambition on the part of Wikimedia Sverige not only to react to legislative proposals, but to actively contribute to shaping future policy.

Throughout the year, we have also developed several new channels for both advocacy and informing the general public about our work. One example is the newsletter on copyright, law and free knowledge, which we launched in 2024. Our initial goal was to reach 100 subscribers; currently, we have 115. The newsletter allows for in-depth exploration of complex issues, and the high open rate, along with positive feedback in individual conversations, indicates that we have successfully reached an engaged audience.

We have also increased our presence in various forums through presentations and digital webinars. Over the year, we participated in 20 events with presentations and workshops, which has increased the visibility of our issues and strengthened our role as a knowledge leader. Many of these events have attracted a well-informed and influential audience, including experts from universities, libraries, and other institutions.

The fact that the KR21 project has secured funding for another five years, until December 31, 2029, creates favorable conditions for us to continue and further develop this strategic advocacy work, as we remain national coordinators in this second phase as well.