"Cultural Heritage: The Business of the Future"

In the last years, computer graphics, hypermedia and telecommunications were applied in exploitation of museums, art galleries, architecture and other kinds of works of art. Network access to museums and galleries seems to offer both easier access to cultural heritage and new revenue for its preservation and display. Many relevant players both in the Museums and ICT communities invested time and resources creating pilot projects and applications ranging between 3D reconstruction, image based rendering and virtual museums. We are now in a position to consider if such investments are effectively useful and really increase and diffuse knowledge in the arts, sciences, and history and if they satisfy users’ requirements. Do virtual museums really provide added value to end-users? Museums, content providers and users are ready and willing new technologies for cultural heritage? This panel entitled “Business opportunities from Cultural Heritage” has a close relation with the work carried out by MEDICI Action Line 7 named “Market Issues and Trials”. AL7 is aimed to address the needs of new emerging market. The discussion is expected to develop new mixedeconomy models for exploitation, repackaging and re-use. The first condition for the development of such a market is close and effective co-operation between those actors who are custodians of the cultural heritage - mainly of course museums, galleries and archives - and those actors who provide the means for ICT dissemination - mainly commercial companies operating in the fields of information technology, telecommunications, broadcasting etc. This is a major challenge, given the completely different business cultures in which these two sectors lie and their different knowledge background and expertise. Historically, museums have been suspicious of industry - fearful of a vulgarisation of the heritage and of being commercially exploited; while industry in turn accuses museums of being impractical and out of touch with harsh commercial reality. This framework of cooperation has allowed an in-depth study of the key factors involved in the future development of the market and the formulation of a first set of guidelines and recommendations for future action. In order to make possible the successful development of this market a number of conditions have to be fulfilled. Potential investors need to understand the potentiality of the return on investments. Companies should look at their investments in the field of art not only as 2 philanthropic programmes but also as multiplier for potential market actions. While indeed many museums and galleries in Europe operate on a non-profit basis this is obviously not true for the companies which develop and market the technology necessary for the multimedia exploitation of European cultural heritage. These companies must be assured that a fair return on investment can be made. Possible scenarios of market structure and development should be available as a result of the panel. An effective deployment of products and services for this sector requires the effort of many actors on the industry, cultural, legal and even government side. In the context of a mutually understood scenario this effort will take place with the necessary degree of cooperation and subsequent effectiveness. Technology should allow interoperability of different systems, in order to keep the market open to all potential actors, including SMEs, and thus allow a worldwide access to European cultural heritage. A closed system, over which one actor or group of actors has exclusive rights, would evidently seriously restrain the growth of the market. The legal framework has to be clarified, most particularly in the field of IPR. Museums especially need orientation in an environment where the technical capacity exists to duplicate and transport images and intellectual content freely and without restraint. www.medicif.org/nevents/MEDICI_events/Cebit2002/Ronchi.ht