ACTeN initiative looks to develop e-content in an enlarged Europe
A new Commission funded project was launched in September 2002 with the aim of stimulating the development of a European e-content industry, with a particular emphasis on cooperation between EU and candidate countries. The ACTeN (anticipating content technology needs) project is a collaborative initiative that brings together 11 educational, research, and commercial partners from 10 EU and accession countries. ACTeN will run for two years and receive one million euro funding under the information society technologies section of the Fifth Framework Programme. 'The key aim of the ACTeN project is to foster a European e-content network by bringing content experts from all countries face-to-face to collect information and exchange their best practices,' explained Dr Andrea Buchholz, head of EU industry monitoring at project coordinators MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg (agency for media and IT development in Germany). This is a particularly relevant requirement with regards to the 10 candidate countries due to join the EU in 2004, where ACTeN members believe that vast untapped marketplaces exist that would benefit from knowledge sharing and participating in events at a European level. The instruments through which the project will construct its e-content network are market monitors, business roundtables, scouting workshops and scholars conferences. In order to deliver immediate value to the industry and decision making bodies such as the European Commission, results from regular events are disseminated on an ongoing basis in the form of reports, national profiles, and via the project website. The first business roundtable took place in November 2002 in Budapest, and brought together a range of national experts to look at the topic of e-learning. This has led to the production of a business briefing which gives an overview of the current e-learning market in Hungary, and draws a number of conclusions which provide guidelines for further development actions. Recommendations contained within the report include promoting the involvement of small and medium sized enterprises in Community research programmes, a call for a more efficient system of disseminating and sharing the results of projects, and highlighting the benefits of effective representation in Brussels to lobby EU institutions and promote Hungarian participation in European initiatives. Christian Bauer, the ACTeN work package leader for business roundtables, told CORDIS News that: 'Roundtables are an important tool within the overall project as they examine very practical issues with real world applications. The experts involved in these events are aiming to learn the lessons offered by looking at economic realities, which is an effective complement to some of the more abstract elements of the ACTeN project.' Further roundtables are planned in coming weeks in Poland and Germany on the subjects of mobile multimedia technologies and the potential of paid content. By producing similar business briefings after each event, the organisers hope that their recommendations will act as reference points for the shaping of future EU funded research in the area of e-content. An innovation unique to the ACTeN project, scouting workshops aim to create e-content experts and expertise in Europe by inviting the winners and nominees of the Europrix contest to demonstrate their products and give insider tips on how to produce quality multimedia content. The ACTeN consortium evolved from the participants of the Europrix project, which seeks to promote and reward Europe's leading multimedia content makers. The immediate success of ACTeN will be measured by the number of people attending the various events it organises, and the traffic on the project website. The ultimate goal of the consortium, however, is the creation of an e-content network that will carry on similar initiatives beyond the end of the ACTeN project in August 2004. Thus, the participants see ACTeN as the first step in the creation of a vibrant and truly European e-content industry.