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Good Governance Trainings held in Zambia and Botswana

Mari, Tarja and Inger with the participants of the good governance training held in Botswana in December of 2022.

One of OK Consulting’s focal points is supporting sustainable collective management of copyright and related rights in well-governed organizations. Collective management is a trust-based business. A prerequisite for successful collective managament is good governance and the number one reason for failure is the lack thereof. Solid governance structures and processes, accountable decision-making and transparency are the key components of good governance. In the pursuit of capacity-building in this field, trainings on good governance for board members, CMO managers and the regulators were held in Zambia and Botswana during the latter part of 2022 after a successful pilot training in Ghana in 2021.

The goal of the trainings was to enhance the participants’ understanding of collective management as a trust-based business and the impact of good governance in CMOs. The role of the board and concrete actions in ensuring good governance were in the focus. Another important goal was to empower the rightsholders by improving their ability to monitor CMO operations and to actively take part in the decision-making processes. The collaboration between the regulator and the CMOs was also emphasized in the trainings as bearing the best fruit to the rightsholders and copyright ecosystems as a whole. At the end of the trainings, all participants received a copy of Ms. Mari Wallgren’s booklet on ”Good Governance for Board Members of CMOs”.

The trainings were funded by NORCODE and Ms. Inger Dirdal of NORCODE was responsible for all practical arrangements.

Mari Wallgren promoted to Chief Operating Officer

Mari Wallgren was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in August 2022. She has worked fulltime in OK Consulting since the beginning of 2019 as Project Manager. Prior to joining OK Consulting, Wallgren has worked in different positions in CMOs and rightsholder organizations as well as in the publishing industry. She has experience in copyright legislation, project management, lobbying and awarenesss-raising as well as legal reserach. She holds a university degree both in law and social sciences, and has complemented her degrees with entrepreneurial and corporate responsibility studies. As a life-long learner she is interested in development and growth both on a personal and organizational level.

As COO of the company she is responsible for all operations, handling different projects and trainings as well as developing the company together with Board Chair Tarja Koskinen-Olsson. ”Mari’s role in the company has grown over the years and she has valuable knowledge and experience, so I am happy that she now holds the matching position”, states Koskinen-Olsson.

MasterClass Training held in Nairobi

Mari, Tarja and Inger with the participants of the MasterClass Training Program at the opening ceremony

The first MasterClass Training Program on Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights was held in Nairobi, Kenya May 18-25, 2022. Participants from thirteen countries (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) participated at the training organized by the Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE), in cooperation with ARIPO, IFRRO, CISAC, IFPI and SCAPR.

The participants had previously participated at the NORCODE Regional Trainings in Africa in 2017 and 2019. They had been invited to the MasterClass Training based on their performance and continuous effort and commitment to the enhancement of collective management of copyright and related rights in the region.

Aspects covered in the training included good governance, CMO role and reputation, communication, legislative reform and the CMO of the future together with current topics from all sectors of collective management. Ms. Mari Wallgren and Ms. Tarja Koskinen-Olsson were responsible for the academic program and moderation of the training. The participants played a key role all delivering speeches on chosen topics and presenting their individual development targets. Representatives from partnering organizations contributed to the training both onsite and online. It was a joint learning experience for all that took part.