Edwin van Huis, Algemeen Directeur, Beeld en Geluid
(The Netherlands)
There is a growing need for schools, universities, artists and also
the general public to use audiovisual programs, films, tv-shows, news
etc for their studies, there work and their leisure. The European
archive is the only institute who tries to establish this public domain
on a European level, not tied to nationalities, religion, cultural
domains, governments, broadcasters or commercial partners.
Prof. Keith G. Jeffery, President ERCIM
'The web changes everything'. How often have we heard that. However,
because it changes everything, and is itself changing, the European
Archive is of utmost importance. Slowly organisations are becoming more
aware of their need to curate information but at present only legalistic
e-records are kept generally, with some organisations going further
including e-librarians (...). However, these curated archives capture only
small splinters of the information space and a holistic view is also
needed. ERCIM with its > 12000 researchers in 17 major
ICT research institutions in Europe has been active in web developments
(it also manages the European office of W3C) and in digital libraries.
(...). It is thus completely unsurprising that ERCIM supports strongly this initiative
which will provide Europe with important historical information,
important information to be mined for improvement in the future and a
particular view of the web through time.
Prof. Pierre Lévy, Fellow of the Royal Society
of Canada, University of Ottawa (Canada)
The European Archive is one of the best living proof that Europe is
heading towards a creative and open digital-based culture. (...) It
acknowledges the ubiquity, inter-connectedness and dynamic character of
digital information in cyberspace, and its ability to support a
representation of a multicultural and virtually infinite cognitive
universe. They lead the integration of indexation, search, retrieval,
research, and interpretation into dynamic open information architectures
fostering collective intelligence of creators, curators and users.
David Thomas, Director of technology, The National
Archive (UK)
The European Web Archive is of vital importance in preserving the
history of the web for future generations of scholars. The web is a new
and unique resource and unless vigorous steps are taken to ensure its
survival it will rapidly disappear (...) We are working closely with the
European Archive to ensure the survival of important UK government sites
(...). We consider that the web can only be preserved by collaboration
within countries and across national and regional boundaries and are
pleased to be associated with the European Archive in this
endeavour.
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Weikum, Max Planck Institut
Informatik (Germany)
The European Archive is a great opportunity for Internet researchers
and scholars in humanities alike. By capturing the timelines of evolving
topics it provides an invaluable knowledge source for scholarly work in
sociology and other sciences, and it is also an information gold mine
for better understanding of how Internet content, structure, and access
evolve over time. I am enthusiastic about this new opportunity.
