Europe, a common heritage. Anita Rozenholc. Culture and heritage, and the net-economy

The information society, the net economy, the new economy of the e.Europe are all terms that denote the “new industrial revolution” taking place, which offers all regions unprecedented opportunities with respect to their economic, social and cultural development.

Like any revolution, this new revolution is triggering a process of change and upheaval.

The two previous industrial revolutions can be summed up as those of the steam engine and electricity.  Today’s revolution is that of networked digital information.

Whereas, yesterday, nationwide distribution of electricity was used to generate wealth thanks to the possibilities it created for mass production, today this function is largely performed by access to information which must be available to everyone “everywhere”.

In other words, knowledge may be regarded as the raw material of the 21^st century, with IT networks being to the circulation of information what electricity is to energy supply.

Paradoxically, in the new industrial revolution, it is the “local” scale that offers possibilities for both meeting needs as regards identity and becoming an efficient player in the world economy.

 

Industrial revolution. Mariemont mining environment.

Culture – along with heritage – has a special role to play in this new economy.  It is the catalyst for a new process of regionalisation and is becoming a strong economic argument and leading factor in the drive and standing of regions. 

In other words, culture has a large part to play in a region’s attractiveness and ability to compete, regardless of its urban development.  The paradox is such that in the Net economy a rural environment rich in different kinds of heritage may sometimes actually generate more wealth than towns and cities.

In addition, ICTs encourage cost-effective use of e.culture and heritage through hyper-industrialisation, which generates more jobs.

This is the field where hypermedia services are developing most rapidly.

It is also here that the convergence between information technology, the audiovisual industry and telecommunications is at its most powerful and finds an ideal opportunity for expression.

This is a far cry from the traditional and conventional use of culture and heritage which is still all too often the only one known to many local and national players.

In its modern sense, which sees competence and uniqueness as forces that spur economic development, culture has progressed from being merely useful for tourism and identity purposes to become a major factor of economic and social growth.

The first stage in this process consisted in gradually digitising heritage collections of museums and libraries and linking libraries together in a network.  However, now that exhaustive inventories and regional digitisation plans have become essential for regional economic development and are an integral part of territorial development a new approach is needed.

If a single example were necessary as proof that needs have changed, it suffices to take a critical look at regional Internet sites and to imagine what they could be like with more databanks and better conditions of access.

It is vital that regions understand the need to systematically present themselves in image form.  To do this, they must first identify the databanks that will enable them to benefit from the considerable advantages to be gained from being able to project themselves in virtual form and exploit spatial scanning technology.

 

These databanks are concerned with all kinds of heritage: 

1.         cultural heritage in the traditional sense (museums, monuments, etc),

2.         environmental heritage,

3.         artistic heritage and popular tradition,

as well as the geographical data needed for navigating and piloting nomadic objects and vehicles.

 

Café of Europe. Enghien-les-Bains. Photographs for souvenirs. Photo Loiez Deniel.  

All travellers and tourists will quickly get into the  habit of finding out what possibilities the places they visit have to offer.  Accordingly, it is all of a region’s heritage and geographical data that are needed to develop teleservices.  It is becoming increasingly difficult, therefore, to distinguish between local residents’ needs and the needs of people simply passing through, be they tourists, travellers or teleworkers.

In addition, if they are to show themselves in a good light and set themselves apart from other goods and services, all individual goods and services will need digital cultural or heritage data proving that they are firmly anchored in a particular region and have their own distinctive features.

New regional maps must be developed that give regions a strong identity that becomes their “hallmark” and allows them to take up their place and be recognised on a world scale.  Once designed and developed by the regions themselves, it is this hallmark which will of course determine whether or not their cultural and heritage identity is able to survive in the current context of fierce competition.

 

Serveurs blade Cisco UCS.

According to CISCO SYSTEMS, one possible consequence of networks will be “deterritorialisation” insofar as the digital world performs the role of an equaliser of opportunities by making it possible for all players, regardless of size or geographic location, to be in contact with the world market – and world audiences, world partners, etc.  Regions will neither be present in, nor a significant part of the global networks unless they adopt a new way of thinking that ensures they give a detailed representation of themselves on the networks.

Basically, it is a case of grasping the mutually-enriching interaction between the virtual and the real.   

However, the hyper-industrialisation that characterises this sector of creation and activity also means that heritage and culture come to be regarded as commodities.  This fact will need to be taken into account in future, and it is essential that all central and local government agencies realise just how important it is for them to master the effects of such industrialisation.

It goes without saying that this is a problem that will have to be addressed rapidly at world level, particularly with respect to the poor countries.

Anita Rozenholc , aujourd'hui retraitée, statisticienne de formation, productrice télé puis chargée de développement du numérique (responsable des nouvelles technologies à l’aménagement du territoire pendant 14 ans).

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