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Today was a big day in the movement for free and open textbooks! A conference call featuring U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter, CALPIRG textbook affordability activist Arthur Karadzhyan, and other leaders kicked off two exciting new initiatives for open education: 

Open Education Week - Today marks the start of the first annual Open Education Week, seven days dedicated to celebrating and promoting free and open sharing in education. The week's festivities include contributions from more than 130 organizations worldwide including videos, webinars and resources. Join the Student PIRGs tomorrow at 4 p.m. EST for our webinar Open Education and Solving the Textbook Cost Crisis!

Video Competition - Spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Education, Creative Commons and the Open Society Institute, the Why Open Education Matters video contest aims to help the public understand the value of open education through short, creative videos. Entries are due by June 25, 2012, and winners will receive cash prizes up to $25,000. The panel of judges includes celebrities like Davis Guggenheim, Nina Paley and James Franco!

More information:

• Audio recording of today's conference call with Under Secretary Kanter
• Video by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announcing the video contest
• List of Open Education Week activities
• "Open Education and Solving the Textbook Cost Crisis" (Tues 3/6 at 4 p.m. EST)