DigiCULT
.
Info
33
the earlier effort was limited to a loose
connection through a Website with
addresses, E-Culture Net foresees a more
systematic co-operation by involving exist-
ing specialised networks in specific ele-
ments of the DEER vision. By joining
these smaller networks in a common task,
E-Culture Net achieves a new critical
mass; at the same time it brings into new
light (valorising, in the language of
Brussels) various excellent achievements
such as the Inventaire, which were previ-
ously often unknown beyond their coun-
try of origin. Among the networks
included to date are ERPANET
LAR/). Other specialised networks such as
the Réseau d'Ethnologie and GLEN
(Greek and Latin Epigraphy Network) are
in the process of joining.
A
series of links with UNESCO and
with other cultural networks have
been initiated and strengthened.These
networks include: Canadian Heritage
Information Network (CHIN,
Cultural Heritage Network (CCHN),
Asian Network of Excellence on
Digital Silk Roads (ANoEDSR), Russian
Cultural Heritage Network (RCHN,
Roads Cultural Grid (NSF DSRCG),
and the UN Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO,
DISTRIBUTED EUROPEAN ELECTRONIC
RESOURCE (DEER)
H
ow does one translate a long-term
vision into a practical reality? A first
step when considering how to create the
DEER was to identify a series of 12 mod-
This issue will affect intangible heritage
(e.g. performances, crafts, oral traditions)
and the way in which it is presented in
museums, historic sites, libraries and
archives at a local, regional and national
level. The draft is available for download-
images/0013/ 001307/130784e.pdf
"P
reliminary Draft International
Convention for the Safeguarding
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and
report by the Director-General on the
situation calling for standard-setting and
on the possible scope of such standard-
setting" has been distributed by
UNESCO in preparation for its biennial
General Conference in autumn 2003.
UNESCO C
ONVENTION FOR THE
S
AFEGUARDING
OF THE
I
NTANGIBLE
H
ERITAGE OF THE
W
ORLD
E-C
ULTURE
N
ET
T
HEMATIC
N
ETWORK
(2002-2003)
K
IM
H. V
ELTMAN
Scientific Director of the Maastricht Mc Luhan Institute and co-ordinator of a new
EU Network of Centres of Excellence in Digital Cultural Heritage
I
n the past year, the E-
Culture Net
Thematic network has
produced a number of
reports ranging from
surveys of content in
Germany and Russia to
discussions of
Distributed
Autonomous Cultural
Objects (DACOs), a
new protocol that sits on top of the Open
Archive Initiative (OAI) work, and devel-
opment of a framework for a Distributed
European Electronic Resource (DEER).
INTRODUCTION
E
-Culture Net (IST-2001-37491)
began on 1 July 2002 as a one-year
thematic network and resulted in twelve
outcomes including: a Website with defini-
tion of vision, structure and expansion;
taking the first steps towards Distributed
European Electronic Resource (DEER);
the development and demonstration of a
DACO protocol for access to local databas-
es; the development of new research areas,
topics, European Masters and Doctorates,
and the development of national networks.
E-CULTURE NET WEBSITE
O
ur vision is to provide
access to Europe's cultural
heritage through co-ordination
of networks and to develop a
Distributed European Electronic
Resource (DEER) through a
grid for culture; to use the
DEER to develop critical meth-
ods and thought via European Masters and
Doctorates; and to keep it up-to-date
through research matrices to understand
the digital knowledge production life-cycle
and generate new research topics. Interest
in joining the Network of Excellence came
from institutions across the EU, from the
EU's prospective members (Newly
Accessed States) and internationally.
E
-Culture Net has taken up afresh the
idea of a Network of Networks,
introduced in 1989 by UNESCO through
Culture Link (Network of Networks for
Research and Co-operation in Cultural
org/) and CIRCLE (Cultural Information
and Research Centres Liaison in Europe,
© Salzb
urg Researc
h 2003