Creative Europe
Desk UK
for Culture

The AccessIT project seeks to deliver a unique package of practical training and skills development, supported by clear guidance, to enable smaller, local cultural organizations in countries where progress in this area is currently limited, to maximise the opportunities provided by new technology. It contributes to one of the three specific objectives of the Culture Programme: Support for the trans-national circulation of cultural and artistic works and products, and its aim is to help cultural heritage organisations from different countries to cooperate so that different sectors can work together and extend their cultural and artistic reach across borders. AccessIT stands for: Accelerate the Circulation of Culture through Exchange of SkillS in Information Technology. The project recognizes that perhaps the most effective way to encourage widespread and democratic circulation of artistic and cultural works and products is by digital means. Internet-based services offer the end user the opportunity to select and view high quality, multimedia representations of works from a very wide range of Europe’s artistic and cultural productions, in their own language and set within their historic, thematic and geographic context. It springs from a recognition that: current membership of the EU does not fully represent the history and culture of Europe; the necessary skills are thinly distributed among local institutions in the three implementing countries (Serbia, Greece and Turkey); and that current funding programmes for Europeana (e.g. ICT-PSP) do not yet cover Serbia and Turkey. The project will enhance digital library skills and competencies in local/regional cultural institutions through the provision of specially targeted online training courses, which cover everything you need to know to be able to contribute your local, digital content to Europeana. It is specifically targeted at small, local organisations and it will create pilot digital libraries in each country which will be included in the Europeana service.