Council Resolution of 25 June 2002 on preserving tomorrow's memory — preserving digital content for future generations
Date: 2002-06-25
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, cultural cooperation, digitisation, heritage protection, information network, information society

C 162/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

6.7.2002

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 25 June 2002

on preserving tomorrow's memory — preserving digital content for future generations

(2002/C 162/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RECALLING the strategy set by the European Council on 23 and
24 March 2000 in Lisbon aiming at preparing the transition of
the European Union ‘to a knowledge-based economy and
society by better policies for the information society and
R & D’; as well as the ‘eEurope 2002’ action plan, presented
to the European Council held in Santa Maria da Feira on 19
and 20 June 2000, that called for increased digitisation and use
of the Internet, e.g. in e-commerce, in public service, in health
services and in cultural institutions,

RECOGNISING that European society and the economy as a
whole are increasingly dependent on digital
information and
that the archiving of this information will be essential in the
future in providing a comprehensive view of European devel-
opment and collections,

NOTING that the cultural and intellectual assets of our society,
which are created, usable and available in digital form and
which form the memory of
tomorrow are dependent on
rapidly changing technologies, on fragile media and are
widely distributed geographically and that
these assets are,
therefore, at great
risk of being irremediably lost unless
positive measures are taken to preserve them and to keep
them available for the future,

FURTHER NOTING that memory institutions such as archives,
libraries and museums have a central role to play in these
actions,

ALSO NOTING that the digital preservation extends the existing
vast publicly held collections and that a significant quantity of
digital content is also in the possession of various private
(such as publishers and broadcasters etc.), which
actors
should be taken into account when analysing the situation
and planning long-term preservation measures,

the European
NOTING that Decision No 182/1999/EC of
Parliament and of
the Council of 22 December 1998
concerning the fifth framework programme of the European
Community for
and
demonstration activities (1998-2002) (1)
includes actions ‘to
enable linguistic and cultural diversity’ and scientific and tech-
nological objectives such as ‘accessing scientific, cultural and

technological development

research,

FURTHER NOTING that

other items through the networking of libraries, archives and
museums’;
new
information society technologies providing improved access
to and preservation of cultural and scientific resources will
remain essential for the foreseeable future,

research

into

NOTING that the Council Resolution of 26 June 2000 on the
conservation and enhancement of European cinema heritage (2)
emphasised that through the cinema heritage the citizens, in
‘have access to one of the
particular future generations, will
most significant forms of artistic expression of the last 100
years and a unique record of the life, customs, history and
the Resolution recalled,
geography of Europe’ and that
the
among other
vocational
problems
training
response
demanded,

absence of
transnational nature of

interdisciplinary nature of

and the

involved,

specialist

things,

the

the

the

RECALLING that the Council Resolution of 21 January 2002 on
culture and the knowledge society (3) called on the Commission
and the Member States to, inter alia ‘to assist in the digitisation
of cultural content and in the interoperability of the related
systems with a view to preserving, protecting and raising
awareness of
the European cultural heritage and European
cultural diversity’,

NOTING the vast changes in methods of creating, storing and
preserving records, documents and archives,
in particular in
digital form; and STRESSING the need to continue to develop
methods and guidelines for long-term preservation of these
records, documents, collections and archives essential for safe-
guarding the heritage of Europe,

it

CONVINCED that
to target practical
is therefore essential
actions, shared by all of the Member States, that will address
the high fragmentation of approaches across different cultural
sectors and taking into consideration not only the tech-
nological challenges but also the broader socioeconomic impli-
cations,

NOTING the need for long-term digital preservation work which
takes account of what has already been undertaken or is under
way in different international networks and organisations, in
particular the Council of Europe,

(1) OJ L 26, 1.2.1999, p. 1.

(2) OJ C 193, 11.7.2000, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 32, 5.2.2002, p. 1.

6.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 162/5

PROPOSES the following objectives and indicative measures for
further analysis:

— stimulating the development of policies for preserving
digital culture and heritage, as well as their accessibility,
through

— establishing cooperation frameworks and mechanisms
between Member States for exchanging experiences on
policies, programmes and related regulatory issues, and
for developing shared approaches,

— supporting the relevant custodial organisations (e.g.
libraries and museums) collectively and indi-
in their responsibilities for collecting digital

archives,
vidually,
content and keeping it accessible over time,

the

— examining
technical
compatible networks of
tories,

organisational
standards needed to support

and
stable and
trusted preservation reposi-

infrastructures

— advancing advocacy and awareness,

through networks
which support the sharing of experiences and progress,
the
the
measurement and dissemination of good practices,

appropriate

standards,

adoption

and

of

— considering appropriate investment, and analysing the cost
and the impact on current and future funding, as well as
the potential synergy between public and private funding,

— improving the skills base, by creating mechanisms for the
exchange of knowledge and skills, and for the ongoing
identification of emerging skills requirements and training
needs,

— stimulating research into problems and solutions, through
the development of research programmes, technology trials
and experimental large-scale applications,

CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION AND THE MEMBER STATES, as
appropriate, and within their respective areas of competence
and respecting fully the subsidiarity principle, to undertake,
develop or study the feasibility of the said measures,

INVITES THE COMMISSION

— in collaboration with Member States, to assess the situation,

— to report back to the Council (in principle every two years

after the adoption of this Resolution),

— to draw up an action plan, as appropriate.

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 25 June 2002

on a new work plan on European cooperation in the field of culture

(2002/C 162/03)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. NOTING that,

in accordance with the Treaty establishing
the European Community, the Community is to contribute
to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States,
while respecting their national and regional diversity, to
encourage cooperation between Member States and,
if
necessary, to support and supplement their action, while
fully respecting the principle of subsidiarity as well as the
Commission's right of initiative in the fields falling within
Community competence;

2. NOTING that 7 February 2002 was the 10th anniversary of
the Treaty of Maastricht and of the inclusion of a specific
article on culture in the Treaty establishing the European
Community;

3. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the fact that the Community is
facing new challenges in a very different context from
the one in which the Treaty of Maastricht was signed;

5. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the increasing importance of inter-
cultural dialogue, the mass of technological innovations in
the knowledge and information society, as well as the
challenges of the globalisation process;

6. TAKING DUE NOTE of

the European
Parliament of 5 September 2001 on cultural cooperation
in the European Union;

the Resolution of

7. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the mandate of

the Council
Resolution of 21 January 2002 on the role of culture in
the development of the European Union (1);

8. NOTING the debates held on one hand at the informal
meetings of Ministers for Culture in Falun (20-22 May
2001), Bruges (4-5 December 2001) and Salamanca (18
March 2002) on the implementation of Article 151 of the
Treaty and on the other hand the debates held during the
second Forum on Cultural Cooperation in Europe
organised by the Commission on 21 and 22 November
2001 on the future of Community cultural action;

4. WHEREAS this new context

is notably marked by the

impending enlargement of the European Union;

(1) OJ C 32, 5.2.2002, p. 2.