Buh.

[rivka]

I just got an e-mail through Flickr, which purports to be from an employee of the Flemish Ministry for Education and Training. In Belgium.

Dear Ms,

I'm asking you this question on behalf of the Ministry of
Education and Training, in Flanders, Belgium, Europe.

Could I use one of the photo's you posted on flickr.com -
e.g.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rivka/540584772/

or a similar photo - on our nursery education website at

www.onderwijs.vlaanderen.be/jaarvandekleuter ?

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Luc Stoops
Flemish Ministry for Education and Training
Brussels,Belgium, Europe
luc.stoops@ond.vlaanderen.be

Huh.

Any reason why I shouldn't give my okay? I can't imagine a more innocuous, share-able picture.

Comments

[rms10.livejournal.com]

I don't see any big red flags -- they contacted you first, and they selected a picture in which Alex's face is hidden. You might want to ask them exactly what they intend the picture to illustrate, or how exactly they found it (it's not tagged "nursery school", or anything like that), but it all seems above the board.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

It's definitely innocuous - particularly that you can't see her face.

I am wondering in general because someone else on my flist also got asked if a photo of theirs could be used in a relatively unrelated context. What I'm wondering is, if professional/official web sites are now trying to avoid having to pay professional photographers (either for an actual session, or fees for existing pictures) by trawling the net for talented amateur photography.

This may simply be paranoia on my part.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Yes, they are. The agency I works for, among others, always looks for royalty-free images first, because we have only a tiny publication budget that doesn't often permit buying them.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

It's definitely innocuous - particularly that you can't see her face.

On the other hand, there is another face in the picture, over to the right. rivka, you might want to get that person's permission (or the parents' permission, if it's another child -- I wasn't sure).

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I did notice that face, and thought they might want to crop that part out - it doesn't strike me as relevant to what they want.

[juthwara.livejournal.com]

I can't see why not. The website he gives seems to be legitimate (as far as I can tell, given that I don't read Flemish), and it's an innocent picture that doesn't show her face.

[platypus]

I ran it through babelfish; it seems quite legit.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I Googled his name, and it came up in the middle of a .pdf of Flemish educational planning stuff.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

If you feel comfortable with it, I see no reason not to. as rms1o notes, they were careful to select a photo that doesn't make her easily identifiable.

FWIW, I've had several requests to use my Flickr photos for various Web sites and blogs - I think it's becoming the go-to site for people who are looking for royalty-free images, because it's so searchable (both the photo name and descriptive text are indexed along with whatever tags you might use). I almost always say yes, and thank them for asking.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Awwwwww. Do you have anybody who speaks Flemish on your list to make sure the Internet address checks out as valid? Otherwise, I'd say go for it.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I Googled the man's name, and came up with a Belgian .pdf about technology in education, which seems about right for him to have charge of this website. I also ran the website through Babelfish (is Flemish the same as Dutch? Because Dutch-to-English worked just fine), and came up with a charming promotion for "the year of the small child." Sample Babelfished text: "Each day in the small child school is an investment in the future. The year of the small child wants do small children come regularly."

It looks as though they're playing up the importance of early childhood education, and want nice stock photos to illustrate. Although why they don't have piles of pictures of little Flemish children, I don't know.

[timill]

FWIW, there is at least one Brussels resident on your flist.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, she looks delightful in the photo, and I say give her her 15 minutes of Internet fame!

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

I think it's a hoot that they'll use a picture of an American child to illustrate (presumably) Belgian education. They must have been searching for just such a picture, with an unidentifiable, generically northern European child cheerfully doing something at preschool.

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Wich reminds me: when I was working at Children in Scotland (http://www.childreninscotland.org.uk), the archive CD of permission-cleared images we used for the magazine and the biannual course catalogue came from an American company. This worked pretty well, except every now and again there was something subtly "off" in the images, some hint of strange differences.

[melebeth]

If you give them permission you should specify that they can ONLY use the image on the site specified and in the context specified (when you've asked what it is) without seeking further permission. They should also list you as the copyright holder on the image.

[obafugakum.livejournal.com]

My Dutch is a little rusty, but it definitely seems on the up-and-up.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Is Flemish the same as Dutch? Suddenly I feel very ignorant. A Dutch-to-English Babelfish translation certainly seemed to work.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

...Never mind. I Googled it.

[obafugakum.livejournal.com]

I don't have a straightforward answer for that. In The Netherlands they speak Dutch. As far as the Dutch are concerned in Belgium they speak Dutch and French (more Dutch towards the Dutch border, and more French towards that border, with a little of each basically everywhere). In the southern part of The Netherlands is where people talk about people speaking Flemish, also the northern part Belgium, but the only difference I could tell when I was there as a student is that it is a slightly more French influenced Dutch than Official Dutch. But it also seems to be one of those things were we (as Americans) call it Flemish, and they would call it Dutch (or more accurately Nederlands), just as properly it is The Netherlands (Het Nederlands), and we call it Holland. Which apparently started with the flower/bulb exportation, since most of the bulbs/flowers are exported out of Holland and South Holland, two of the central provinces. Of course my information and memories are all 10+ years old at this point, and sadly I can no longer vouch for 100% accuracy of such.

[obafugakum.livejournal.com]

Wow is that long-winded, and definitely influenced by reading Stephen Fry.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Of course you should do it.

(I guess she looks a bit Flemish.)

B

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

I don't see a problem offhand. You might want to require that they crop the other child from the picture, if getting permission looks to be too tangled a process.

[dichroic-elf.livejournal.com]

As someone who does read Flemish (and yes it is related to Dutch) this is completely legit.

[(Anonymous)]

How would you define the difference between Dutch and Flemish?

[bosssio.livejournal.com]

I was gonna say, yes, if they found a free photo that works for their site, they won't necessarily care that it is American and not Belgian. while it is great if the photos are from the schools/people/activities discussed on the site, it isn't considered strictly necessary.

hey, a ready to use free digital photo in the hand, is worth ten thousand piled on your desk needing to be scanned, edited, cropped, permission sought...

[bosssio.livejournal.com]

the other comment I wanted to make - if you are allowing images of your child to be displayed on the internet (which I do, btw), you have de facto already made them available to whomever, for whatever purpose they want. If someone comes to you asking for permission to use a photo you posted on the internet, be aware that logistically, they don't need to (even if legally they should).

I mean, when exactly is any of us going to be checking out Belgian government sites? What are the chances that any of us would find a photo reused without permission? And then what are we meant to do if they refuse to take it down or ignore them? Sue?

This is why all photos and images for sale have copy write logos overlaid on top of the images - just so people don't just take them and use them for free. Because they DO just take them and use them for free. All the damned time.

[bosssio.livejournal.com]

copyright. Dur.