Programme
Under FP6, the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2002-2006), EU-funded research on digital cultural heritage was part of the programme Information Society Technologies (IST).
In the IST Work Programme 2005-2006, this research was addressed through Strategic Objective 2.5.10 'Access to and preservation of cultural and scientific resources' with the aim to develop systems and tools supporting the accessibility and use over time of digital cultural and scientific resources. There were two main strands envisaged to the work:
- First, to address the emerging complexity of digital cultural and scientific objects and repositories, through enriched conceptual representations, and advanced access methods. This implies strong synergies with leading-edge technologies (especially in knowledge technologies, VR, and visualisation) to research applications that address specific user communities, in proactive and creative use of heterogeneous forms of cultural content.
- Second, to explore how to preserve the availability of digital resources over time, through novel concepts, techniques and tools. This has a focus both on short term experimental work and on defining the longer term research issues of how to deal with complex, dynamic, high-volume and highly interactive resources.
During the preparatory stage of the work programme 2005-2006, the European Commission consulted the research community to help define the topics to be addressed. A consolidated report covering the fields Technology-enhanced Learning and Cultural Heritage is available for download (PDF, 250KB).
The previous version, the IST Work Programme 2003-2004 targeted 'Technology-enhanced Learning and Access to Cultural Heritage' as a single strategic objective. The goals of research into 'Access to Cultural Heritage' were to improve the accessibility, visibility and recognition of the value of Europe's cultural and scientific resources, and to develop new forms of cultural experiences.