Europe has enormous amounts of research concerning its unique cultural and scientific heritage. Multilingual access to these resources is needed for e-learning to understand Europe’s unity of diversities (Ruffolo1), to comprehend its evolving identity as it expands and to re-assess its role in a rapidly changing world.

In Phase 1 of E-Culture Net, there are three basic challenges: 1) to develop a secure, multilingual tool for sharing research and content; 2) to share content using this tool; 3) to keep this tool and its resources up to date. To meet these challenges the E-Culture thematic network has created roadmaps with three objectives:

1) to build a DEED (Distributed European Electronic Dynamic) resource to share research

2) to fill the DEED through networks to reflect national, regional and local diversity

3) to update DEED through specialised networks to create research matrices.

The first objective is to build a tool to share research and resources. E-Culture Net has built a working prototype of a distributed resource (DEED)2 with access to over 1.5 million pages/objects. Twelve modules have been identified, including security, multilingual mapping, semantic, multimodal, spatio-temporal access and virtual environments. Specific groups of researchers will work on each component, and integrate their efforts to create the next phase of the DEED. A second objective is to use this tool to share research, resources and critical methods. Initial examples have been identified. Networks are being developed at the country level to ensure that national, regional and local diversity are duly represented. A third objective is to work with other networks to create research matrices to understand the knowledge production life-cycle through integration of industry, cultural organisations, research institutions and co-ordination with governments adapting Fraunhofer’s semantic, knowledge discovery tool.

To spread excellence the DEED’s resources will be linked with new learning solutions (e.g. PROKNOWnce), use existing Spanish, French and Greek networks, integrated into new European Masters and Doctoral Programmes, in e-distance learning programmes involving both wireless and satellite communications, as well as European and international training programmes.

In Phase 2 of the E-Culture Net, the DEED will evolve into a Distributed European Electronic Resource (DEER), ideally as an IP that builds on the results of BRICKS and PROKNOWNce. The NoE will focus on developing physical and human networks to share research while the research matrices will emerge as a separate activity for which the NoE offers user input only. The connections with a) the Mediterranean, b) NAS and Russia and c) International networks will evolve into subnetworks linked with the European NoE. Together this will help to give substance to the European Research Area (ERA) and E-Europe.
An invitation to house the network in the new European University of Culture on the premises of the European Parliament buildings in Strasbourg provides a fitting, enduring home for the E-Culture NoE. The long-term objective of E-Culture Net is to provide multi-lingual, multi-cultural, spatio-temporal access to Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage for all its citizens.

Notes

1 ) Giorgio Ruffolo, The Unity of Diversities. Cultural Co-operation in the European Union, ed. Parliamentary Group of the PSE European Parliament, Florence: Angelo Pontecorboli, 2001.

2) Initially the example of the JISC’s Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER) inspired the idea of a Distributed European Electronic Resource (DEER). While preliminary study by Suzanne Keene (UCL) confirmed that the DEER was a practical goal, it also suggested that it would require a number of years to achieve. A first response was to distinguish between a short term Distributed Electronic Research Resource (DERR) and a long term DEER. In March 2003, one of the members, Frederic Andres, aptly noted that the DEER had a very static connotation, which was at variance with the dynamic approach that was foreseen through components such as collaborative environments and virtual agoras. As a result the DEER was renamed the DEED (Distributed European Electronic Dynamic) Resource.
The simple purpose of the NoE is to build a DEED (Distributed European Electronic Dynamic) resource, fill this DEED and keep the DEED updated.

The Webster Dictionary reminds us that a deed is among other things an “action”
and “a signed and usually sealed instrument containing some legal transfer, bargain or contract.”
A DEED (Distributed European Electronic Dynamic) resource as a secure, multilingual solution for sharing research and content is thus a fitting vision which can in the long-term lead to a DEER (Distributed European Electronic Resource).