International copyright agreements and domestic law should be balanced between the rights of creators and the rights of users in order to support the development and diffusion of education, knowledge and research. 

At present the European Commission is finalising an initiative to pass a directive on Copyright which will have a broad impact on the work of teachers, professors, academics and researchers.  

With a view to influence the political debate at EU level and in light of the policy developments at global level, the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) - Education International's European region -, COMMUNIA - a network of activists, researchers and practitioners from universities, NGOs and SMEs established in 10 Member States advocating for policies that expand the public domain and increase access to and reuse of culture and knowledge - and the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE) are organising a conference to discuss and provide insights into intellectual and creative property rights of academics and researchers, in particular into their copyrights at higher education and research level. 

Access to good education is a fundamental human right and a prerequisite for a thriving knowledge-based economy and for the advancement of science and innovation We need an exception that includes all relevant providers of education and an exception that permits the diversity of educational uses – both digital and analogue – of copyrighted content.