MULTI-MEDIA ACCESS TO EUROPE'S CULTURAL HERITAGE

A Memorandum of Understanding and European Charter

European museums and art galleries have a major part to play in ensuring that there is a substantial European cultural content to the services and products in the Information Society. However, moving our cultural heritage into the digital, "on-line" environment presents new and complex technical challenges. Chief amongst these are the sheer volume of material, its diversity, and how to make it interesting and intelligible (including in appropriate languages) to a very wide public.

The relationship between culture and multimedia is the object of the Council Resolution of 4 April 1995, which amongst other things invites the European Commission to study how to enable cultural institutions to gain access to the actions and programmes of the European Union, especially those relating to the development of the information society.

With this in mind, an urgent priority is to establish a Europe-wide reference framework for public/private partnerships, consensus development on technical standards, protection of legal rights and new multi-media service structures. Terms of reference are also necessary to ensure that the increasing number of EU research, technology development and other co-operative actions involving museums and galleries can work within a clear framework of telecommunications and cultural policy principles.

For these reasons, a Memorandum of Understanding has been established, together with a European Charter for Museums and Galleries.

This document sets out the new perspectives for access to the European cultural heritage through the use of advanced communications developments, and the priorities for a common vision on these in Europe. It describes how the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the Charter can help reach a consensus, what its objectives are, and what commitment these represent for participating organisations.

The Memorandum remains open for signature, and the working groups still welcome new participants and input to Draft guidelines in their areas of consensus development.

Thanks are due to the 1996 Italian Presidency and in particular to Mr Pier Benedetto Francese, the Minister Plenipotentiary and Diplomatic Adviser to the Italian Ministry for Cultural Assets and Environments (Ministro Plenipotenziario Consigliere Diplomatico presso il Ministero dei Beni Culturali e Ambientali), ably supported by Ms Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli from the same ministry, who made an invaluable contribution in discussions with the Committee of Cultural Affairs of the Council.

For further information, please contact:

DG XIII-B1 - European Commission: Tel +32.2.296.81.97, Fax +32.2.296.29.80

E_mail: ege@postman.dg13.cec.be

or look-up our site at:

http://www.infowin.org/ACTS/analysys/general/mou

P. D. Johnston