European Commission: Public consultation on Europeana

IRIS 2018-1:1/9

Svetlana Yakovleva

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam & De Brauw, Blackstone, Westbroek

On 17 October 2017, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the Europeana Digital Platform for Cultural Heritage. The purpose of the consultation is to evaluate the development of Europeana in order to set the direction for its future development (see IRIS 2014-10/3). The consultation was initiated following the Council of the European Union’s Conclusions of 31 May 2016 on the role of Europeana regarding digital access to, and the visibility and use of, Europe’s cultural heritage. In these Conclusions the Council highlighted the importance of strengthening Europeana both through technological advancements and the realisation of cultural and user-oriented projects.

The consultation process consists of seven blocks of questions that enquire into: 1) the user experience with Europeana and alternative sources of cultural heritage information; 2) the experience of providers of materials (data partners) with Europeana; 3) the relevance of Europeana for finding and exploring European cultural heritage; 4) the effectiveness of the platform, mainly in terms of the “findability” of content; 5) user experiences with the re-use of material from Europeana in other (creative) activities; 6) participation in the Europeana Network Association (a community of experts working in the field of digital heritage, united by a shared mission to expand and improve access to Europe’s digital cultural heritage), and 7) the “added value” brought by Europeana in the collection and dissemination of digital cultural heritage at the European level. Furthermore, the consultation provides an opportunity to raise other important issues, problems, opportunities or priorities to be addressed by Europeana, and to make general suggestions regarding the future development of the platform.

The Commission invites all stakeholders with an interest in digital cultural heritage or Europeana to participate in the public consultation before 14 January 2018. Responses can be submitted through the online questionnaire in any of the official languages of the EU.