Council Resolution of 21 January 2002 on culture and the knowledge society
Date: 2002-01-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Internet, communications industry, cultural pluralism, culture, information network, information society

5.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 32/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 21 January 2002

on culture and the knowledge society

(2002/C 32/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. NOTING that culture is a fundamental part of the knowledge

society;

2. NOTING that culture is instrumental in promoting mutual
ideas and
respect
for and understanding of different
identities, and that such mutual understanding can be
developed further through improved access to information
in the framework of digital projects;

(i) to assist in the digitisation of cultural content and in
the interoperability of the related systems with a
view to
raising
awareness of
the European cultural heritage and
European cultural diversity;

preserving,

protecting

and

(ii) to support
knowledge;

the multilingual dissemination of

(iii) to promote training in information technologies;

2000

stated

3. RECALLING that the Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24
March
digital,
that
knowledge-based economy, prompted by new goods and
services, will be a powerful engine for growth, competi-
tiveness and jobs and that content industries create added
value by exploiting and networking European cultural
diversity;

shift

the

to

a

4. WELCOMING the fact that at that European Council meeting
the Member States were called upon to ensure that every
citizen of the European Union is equipped with the skills
needed to live and work in the information and knowledge
society and that no one is excluded from access to the
Internet and to other multimedia resources;

5. WELCOMING the
in this

initiatives
e-Europe;

implementation of various European
field, particularly in the context of

6. NOTING the need to encourage training programmes and
initiatives aimed at the mastery of information technologies;

7. NOTING the need to make optimum use of and, where
appropriate, consolidate the application in the cultural
sector of relevant research programmes aimed at easing
the transition to a digital economy and the development
of new technologies;

8. Therefore CALLS ON the Commission and the Member
States, within their respective spheres of competence, to:

(a) make optimum use of

appropriate,
consider
consolidate
creating new programmes and resources, in particular:

programmes,

and, where

relevant

and

(iv) to promote the use of existing networks or of any
networks which might be set up in the future in the
to facilitate cooperation and to
Member States
exchange
at
good
European level;

information

practice

and

(b) develop the exploitation of digital cultural content so as
to encourage cultural cooperation and promote the
common cultural heritage making use of existing
resources and know-how;

(c)

facilitate access by cultural operators to the different
Community instruments that support content digiti-
sation;

(d) encourage (cid:145)quality-initiatives(cid:146) in cultural websites;

(e) promote the networking of cultural

information to
enable all citizens to access European cultural content
by the most advanced technological means, particularly
by continuing to encourage the development of
the
European electronic portal started by the Commission
and by linking this portal with the digital cultural
content that exists in the Member States;

(f) promote the participation of all sections of the public in
cultural life and their social integration, using the possi-
bilities for interactivity made available by the Internet;

(g) encourage the initiation and training of all sections of
the public in the use of such technologies in cultural
and training centres to allow access to cultural diversity
for all.