Creative Commons (CC) is proud to launch the TAROCH Coalition (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage), a collaborative effort to achieve the adoption of a UNESCO standard-setting instrument to improve open access to cultural heritage. We are grateful to the Arcadia Fund for supporting this initiative.
TAROCH stands for Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage.
TAROCH is a community initiative led by Creative Commons.
The mission is to encourage UNESCO Member States to draft and adopt a Recommendation (or other standard-setting instrument) promoting open solutions to enhance access to cultural heritage in the public domain.
The ultimate goal of the TAROCH Coalition is that cultural heritage is equitably accessible to all, in line with UNESCO’s broader mission and cultural and information policy, in particular intercultural dialog and cultural exchanges, thereby contributing to building more connected, resilient, and sustainable societies.
Who Drives TAROCH?
CC is the organization steering and funding TAROCH. The Coalition is led by representatives of a global, diverse community of organizations and institutions involved in cultural heritage and with an interest in open cultural heritage. While our individual missions differ, we all believe in the transformative power of open solutions and share a vision of fair and equitable access to cultural heritage. Meet the initial members of the TAROCH Coalition!
[Clip]
What are TAROCH’s Key Deliverables?
We aim to achieve the following by May 2026:
Develop and adopt a Statement on Open Access to Cultural Heritage for signature by civil society organizations and institutions.
Widely implement an advocacy strategy and disseminate advocacy tools and materials to promote the wider recognition of open access to cultural heritage.
For More Information about TAROCH and to Read About Our Work To Date:
Read our 2024 report CC Strategic Workshop Reveals Big Opportunities for Open Access to Cultural Heritage.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
