Promoter - Information technology, research and innovation

Project profile

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DC-NET is an ERA-NET project aimed to promote programme coordination and cooperation for the eventual implementation of a research infrastructure in the digital cultural heritage field.

The DC-NET infrastructure is foreseen in particular as an evolution of the Michael www.michael-culture.org service that was developed by 21 European countries, between 2004 and 2008, with a total investment of over 90 million euros.

The final objective of DC-NET is to deploy a robust and comprehensive data infrastructure for the digital cultural heritage that will include a wide range of end-to-end services and tools facilitating the integration and strengthening of the research capacities in the sector. This objective is pursued through a set of short, medium and long terms plans.

The core activities of the DC-NET project focus on integration and coordination of the research programmes regarding digital cultural heritage which are owned and managed by Cultural (and Research) Ministries and their agencies, in close cooperation with the e-Infrastructures community across Europe.

As an ERA-NET coordination action, the main activity of the DC-NET project is to bring people together, to explore how e-Infrastructures can add value to the research in the cultural heritage sector and to pool programmes and resources to sustain the envisaged research and development.

The main expected outcome of the ERA-NET is the Joint Activities Plan and its initial implementation, through guidelines and dissemination actions.

Interest has also already been expressed by other regions of the world that would like to participate to the European e-Infrastructure initiative of the EC, namely from the Mediterranean Region and from China, that acknowledge the challenges offered by the digital cultural heritage for the development of the research e-Infrastructures and for the improvement of the services to the citizens, the education, the cultural tourists, the creative industry, etc.

Video from DC-NET Final Conference: "The structure of the DC-NET project".

Dr. Antonella Fresa, DC-Net Technical Coordinator.