Closed or open? Ubongo’s switch from copyright protected to Creative Commons licensing

Ubongo is a non-profit social enterprise, originating from Tanzania and with staff across Africa, which produces edutainment content for kids and caregivers. Ubongo has two main cartoon shows: Ubongo Kids and Akili and Me. Ubongo Kids focuses on science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and life skills for children in primary school (seven years old and up), while Akili and Me is aimed at promoting learning readiness for pre-primary children.

Almost all of Ubongo’s content was copyright protected until 2020. This brief tells the story of Ubongo’s decision to switch from copyright protected licensing to Creative Commons (CC) licensing, why, and the possible ramifications for open educational resources (OER) more broadly.