Abstract:
This paper provides a brief overview of the African Copyright & Access to Knowledge Project (ACA2K)
which was established in 2007 and which is funded by the International Development Centre (IDRC) in
Canada and the Shuttleworth Foundation in South Africa. This project is probing the relationship
between national copyright environments and access to knowledge in eight African countries. The paper
describes the background and context of the project; why those countries were selected; the conceptual
framework within which the project is conducting its research, and the methodology applied. It discusses
some preliminary research findings and provides some recommendations of future activities of the
ACA2K project.
