Introducing the playing cards for the Ethics of Open Sharing

The Ethics of Open Sharing card game is meant to be an inspirational conversation starter in cultural heritage organisations. It can be used during coffee breaks and lunch discussions as well as team meetings and strategic brainstorming sessions to reflect on the ethical sharing practices of the organization.

This card deck was developed by the Creative Commons working group on the Ethics of Open Sharing (2022–2023) and is inspired by the MOI playing cards, a project by NEMO. Finnish Heritage Agency has supported the creation of the cards. The design was made by KRUT Collective.

How to play

This card deck is meant to be used as an inspirational tool, more specifically as a conversation starter in cultural heritage organisations. It can be used during:

team meetings, where people from different departments and/ or with different functions come together.
coffee breaks, lunch discussions.
strategic brainstorming sessions about the organisation’s position, vision, ethics and so on.

The cards are divided into 2 card types: Policy & Strategy and Tactics & Practices. Each card covers one or multiple (sub)topics of the ethics of open sharing:

Provenance
Intellectual property rights
Organisational culture
Ecology
Consent for sharing
Protection of sensitive information
Bias or noise by people
Algorithmic bias or noise
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Repair, return, and revise
Risk, harm, and safety
Collaboration and consultation
Accessibility
Learning & understanding
Transparency of choices
Procedures

The card types and the topics help you navigate through the cards. You might for example only have time for a couple of cards, or you might be specifically interested in the ones related to a certain topic. You can easily filter those out with the help of the topic icons.

Download the cards

You can also view and download the cards as svg file or view, edit and print on a wiki page.

The questions on the cards

These are the questions created in the Ethics of Open Sharing working group. You are invited to propose your ideas for the deck. You can for example

Propose a new perspective in addition to the GLAM institution perspective these cards are based on (add a comment on the talk page).
Propose some cards to be merged (add a comment on the talk page).
Propose new cards (just add a new row).
Propose alternative wording (just edit the text).
Translate to your language (translate the whole page)

Card type	Question	Topics
Tactics & Practices	Which data publications in our collection require obtaining prior and informed consent from data subjects or their descendants, and why is this permission needed or not?	Consent for Sharing Learning & Understanding Consultation & Collaboration
Policy & Strategy	We partner and collaborate with community members and experts on IP rights, privacy, and ethical sharing to achieve our open sharing objectives.	Organisational Culture Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Consultation & Collaboration
Tactics & Practices	Have we identified the living communities whose cultural heritage we are helping to safeguard by preserving and sharing with our open data strategy?	Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Consultation & Collaboration
Policy & Strategy	What societal goals have been taken into account when materials are being either made openly accessible or not?	Transparency of Choices Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Policy & Strategy	Our open sharing strategies are well-understood and supported by both our staff and stakeholders.	Organisational Culture Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Policy & Strategy	We determine priorities for open sharing to achieve our goals, while also identifying areas for future improvements.	Organisational Culture
Tactics & Practices	We use the most effective communication methods to share data openly with both data providers and users in relevant communities.	Organisational Culture Provenance Consultation & Collaboration
Policy & Strategy	What skills do our staff need to develop to implement ethical open sharing practices in our organization? How can we acquire these competencies?	Organisational Culture Learning & Understanding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Tactics & Practices	How does our organisation balance between complying with laws, promoting open sharing to the fullest extent possible, taking calculated risks, and addressing concerns about sensitive information related to individuals and communities?	Organisational Culture Intellectual Property Rights Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Tactics & Practices	What are the primary impacts of digital transformation that we need to consider in our open sharing practices?	Learning & Understanding Organisational Culture Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Policy & Strategy	Do we have a clear and common understanding of the condition under which digital access can be provided? Do we regularly review our policies?	Learning & Understanding Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual Property Rights
Tactics & Practices	Are we adequately engaging with the relevant communities, groups and individuals in our domain when developing activities or care related to this living heritage?	Learning & Understanding Consultation & Collaboration
Tactics & Practices	Are the labels, terms of use, and other language we use clear and transparent to both our end users as well as the originating communities, groups and individuals?	Dostępność Procedury Intellectual Property Rights
Tactics & Practices	Do we have clear procedures in case rightsholders, data subjects or living heritage communities contact us with a concern regarding what we share online?	Repair, Return, and Revise Transparency of Choices
Tactics & Practices	How thoroughly do we acknowledge the origin and background of our collections and online content, including metadata?	Pochodzenie Bias or Noise by People Procedury
Tactics & Practices	Is it possible to determine the sources of the information that our organization has made publicly available, such as through research, communities, or AI?	Bias or Noise by People Algorithmic Bias or Noise Provenance
Policy & Strategy	We consider and make accessible the range of diverse interpretations and perspectives related to our content.	Transparency of Choices Bias or Noise by People Provenance
Tactics & Practices	Are we proactively addressing historical biases and inaccuracies in our collection data due to colonialism, racism, political repression, or biases related to gender, sexual preference, religion, and other factors?	Repair, Return, and Revise Bias or Noise by People Protection of Sensitive Information
Policy & Strategy	What are the criteria for honoring requests to opt out of releasing certain data, and what are examples of borderline cases where such requests may not be honored?	Repair, Return, and Revise Procedures Protection of Sensitive Information
Policy & Strategy	In which ways do the values we stand for as an organisation affect our open sharing practices?	Organisational Culture
Policy & Strategy	We are transparent and communicate openly about what we collect and disseminate, and our policies for these areas are freely accessible.	Organisational Culture Risk, Harm, and Safety Transparency of Choices
Tactics & Practices	Are we aware of the carbon footprint of our open data sharing activities? Do we have a plan to reduce it?	Ecology Organisational Culture Repair, Return, and Revise
Tactics & Practices	How do we incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals into our open and ethical sharing practices?	Organisational Culture Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Ekologia
Tactics & Practices	Which ethical considerations play a role in our choice of partners, software products, or services related to sharing data?	Learning & Understanding Transparency of Choices Protection of Sensitive Information
Tactics & Practices	How should we respond or take action when the stakeholders, such as the data subjects, communities, staff, or data/collection reusers, have differing views about open sharing?	Procedury Risk, Harm, and Safety Consent for Sharing
Policy & Strategy	Have we established procedures for determining how and if we can openly share data concerning minors, minorities, activists, and similar groups?	Procedury Consent for Sharing Protection of Sensitive Information
Tactics & Practices	Which aspects should be taken into consideration before openly sharing content, even when it is not or no longer protected by copyright?	Intellectual Property Rights Protection of Sensitive Information Risk, Harm, and Safety
Tactics & Practices	We provide clear guidelines for reuse when we publish data online. Where possible we use standardised and machine-readable labels to indicate reuse conditions (copyright licenses, rights statements, traditional knowledge labels,...).	Procedury Intellectual Property Rights Consent for Sharing
Policy & Strategy	What are the criteria for using (semi-)automated metadata creation techniques, such as HTR, OCR, image recognition, speech-to-text, or NLP, for our collection in an ethical and effective manner?	Algorithmic Bias or Noise Learning & Understanding Pochodzenie
Tactics & Practices	Should all decisions made by algorithms to produce metadata about our collections be validated by humans?	Bias or Noise by People Algorithmic Bias or Noise Transparency of Choices
Tactics & Practices	How do we appropriately record consent from data subjects or communities when it is deemed needed?	Consent for Sharing Risk, Harm, and Safety Procedures
Policy & Strategy	We carefully think about using the most appropriate platforms to share our data.	Accessibility Risk, Harm, and Safety Protection of Sensitive Information
Policy & Strategy	What should be done differently when metadata is generated by algorithms in addition to being added by human staff?	Bias or Noise by People Algorithmic Bias or Noise Protection of Sensitive Information
Policy & Strategy	Do we consider the ethical implications of the tools we use in our open sharing workflows, including their impact on the environment, algorithmic transparency, or business model (e.g. Open Source)	Risk, Harm, and Safety Ecology Learning & Understanding
Policy & Strategy	Do we have a policy to address unlawfully obtained collection items, such as those acquired through colonialism, theft, or looting during political conflicts? Does it provide sufficient reparations to affected individuals or communities?	Repair, Return, and Revise Pochodzenie Procedury
Policy & Strategy	We are vocal advocates of ethical data sharing with our peers and contribute to policy creation with governments.	Organisational Culture Diversity, Equity, Inclusion