European Context
The European Commission
The key role for scientific and cultural heritage has been recognized in the eEurope Action Plan 2002 approved by all the Member States at the Feira Council of June 2000.
The most important aims of the actions to undertake are:
- to promote the creation of European cultural contents to collocate on the global networks with the idea to support the preservation and dissemination of scientific and cultural resources,
- to foster the creation of new training opportunities
- to encourage the cultural tourism
The EU Information Society Directorate-General – Preservation and enhancement of Cultural Heritage Unit has the coordination role of the single States concerning the digital policies applied to cultural heritage.
The Lund Principles
On April 4th, 2001 representations and experts of the European Community had a meeting in Lund, Sweden, to deal with the problems of digitisation national programmes coordination and exploitation. Recommendations defined Lund Principles, necessary to give life to following digitisation programmes coordination actions, and a Coordination Programme and Digitisation Policies Action Plan, have been published at the end of the congress.
The Minerva Project
The Minerva Project (MInisterial NEtwoRk for Valorising Activities in digitisation) has the aim to realize the coordination hoped by the EC and by the Member States and to realize the Lund Action Plan. MINERVA is a project funded by EC within the IST -Information Society Technologies- Programme and the Fifth Framework Programme, with the aim to create a network of Member States' Ministries, under the Cultural Heritage and Activities Ministry, to coordinate digitisation national policies.