Prof. Dr. Manfred Thaller

E pluribus unum. Digitizing Cultural Heritage in a Federal Structure

Describing German cultural policy, one has to describe at least sixteen policies, as there is no central authority in cultural matters. This leads to many strange situations: Some of the recent strategic decisions of Germany's research council (DFG) provide it with one of the most ambitious and systematic funding situations for the digitization of the cultural heritage anywhere in Europe; as the resulting resources are extremely fragmented and poorly visible, even German politicians tend to apologize for the low level of her activities within the area, however.
The presentation starts by showing the richness in reality and analysing the reasons for the lack of its public perception. It continues by drawing parallels between a federal country and a continental infoscape created by independent national players. It closes by some theses what might be learned from the German experience.