This article was re-published with permission.
On 15 September, IFRRO brought together authors, publishers, and collective management organizations for a high-level side event at UNESCO Mondiacult 2025. The session was moderated by Tracey Armstrong, CEO of CCC and President of IFRRO, who also delivered the opening remarks. The panel featured a diverse line-up of speakers: Kevin Fitzgerald, Secretary General of the IAF; Caroline Sutton, CEO of STM; Dora Susan Salamba-Makwinja, Executive Director of COSOMA in Malawi; and Ana MarÃa Cabanellas, Vice-President of CADRA in Argentina. Together, they explored how licensing and curated content can strengthen education systems worldwide, particularly in the context of digital transformation and the rapid rise of AI.
Key takeaways included that collective licensing complements direct licensing by offering a practical, scalable solution for uses that cannot be managed one-to-one. Direct licensing remains essential in education, while collective licensing complements core textbooks and journals by enabling teachers and students to lawfully access a broader range of materials. Collective licensing also ensures that smaller publishers and individual authors are represented and remunerated. Authors were recognised as central to sustaining diverse educational ecosystems by making learning relatable and culturally rooted in ways that AI cannot reproduce. At the regional level, multilateral licensing models such as AMPRA in Africa and CARROSA in the Caribbean were showcased as powerful tools to simplify cross-border education licensing.
By transforming cultural works into sustainable economic assets, licensing enables fair remuneration, supports millions of creative jobs, and fosters cultural diversity. Panellists called on policymakers to recognise that strong licensing frameworks are not only protective tools but also drivers of innovation, inclusion, and growth. In conclusion, IFRRO and its members remain committed to continuing their collaboration with UNESCO and partners worldwide to ensure that licensing remains central to education, culture, and the creative economy.
IFRRO extends its best wishes to UNESCO for a successful Mondiacult 2025 conference. More information on the conference can be found here.
The full recording of IFRRO’s side event is available on IFRRO’s YouTube channel HERE