16 November 2005

A new action plan has been launched to help more people learn about Europe's cultural heritage via the Internet.

The plan involves the digitisation of cultural resources designed for use in research, education and tourism.

Minister for culture David Lammy announced the launch of the scheme at a conference on e-learning held in Bristol.

It follows digitisation talks held in Brussels on Monday at the Ministerial Council.

"This will provide rich and diverse cultural resources to support education and research, tourism and the creative industries, and to enable digital access by all citizens to the national, regional and local cultural heritage of Europe," explained Mr Lammy.

The Museums and Libraries and Archive Council (MLA) represented UK interests in the development of this pan-Europe plan.

David Dawson, head of Digital Futures at MLA praised the progress of the digitisation plans.

"Digitised cultural resources are essential to help transform teaching and learning in our schools," he said.

"We debated the ways in which the action plan will enable everyone, young and old, to access digital content that reflects the diverse languages and cultures of today's Europe," he added.

The plan has been created from the cumulative efforts of the Netherlands, Luxembourg and UK presidencies and was one of the top priorities for the UK's Culture department this year.

© Adfero Ltd

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