The demand is growing for high-quality content and new user experiences, with some specific trends in the society and businesses:
- media convergence,
- social media,
- widespread use of mobile devices,
- broadband internet penetration,
- increasing computing power,
- the consumption of content anywhere, anytime and on any device.
The economic performance of the cultural and creative sectors in the EU account for 3.3% of GDP and employ 6.7 million people (3 % of total employment). Figures are also important if one considers fashion and high-end industries, which account for 3% of the EU GDP each and employ respectively 5 and 1 million people. Between 2008 and 2011, employment in the cultural and creative sectors showed growth rates, varying however between subsectors. Some sectors have a high percentage of youth employment (figures extracted from a Commission Communication from 2012).
Research and Innovation activities will provide professionals and citizens with new tools to model, analyse, and visualise vast amounts of data from which to extract more value, to make an intelligent use of data coming from different sources and to create, access, exploit, and re-use all forms of digital content in any language on any device. This opens new possibilities for personalisation, accessibility and inclusion.
Topics in this area address in particular key aspects of digital content and information management.
Big Data:
Worldwide Big Data technology and services are expected to grow from EUR 2.4 billion in 2010 to EUR 12.7 billion in 2015. The challenge is to strengthen Europe’s position as provider of innovative multilingual products and services based on digital content and data, addressing well-identified industry and consumer market needs.
Two main problems to be solved:
- improving the ability of European companies to build innovative multilingual data products and services, and
- solving fundamental and applied, market driven research problems related to the scalability and responsiveness of analytics capabilities.
Content convergence and content rights management
The aspects covered will be user generated content rights, real time rights management, orphan work rights, conditional access throughout different networks.
Machine translation
The goal will be to overcome barriers to multilingual online communication which is still hampering a wider penetration of cross-border commerce, social communication and exchange of cultural content enabling the full deployment of the Single Digital market.
Media convergence and social media
Adoption and deployment of innovative ICT solutions by and for the creative industries SMEs, including on media convergence and social media. This can be achieved through collaboration with ICT providers and by accelerating and supporting the growth of European creative and media industries. Research, development and exploitation of new or emerging technologies support the creative and media industries
- from the content side (e.g. 3D, augmented reality technologies, real time media), and
- from the user context (relevant community feedback, context-centric), including new forms of experiencing environment.
Technologies for better human learning and teaching
Their purpose is to boost the market for innovation, requiring close cooperation of industry and academia, aiming at a European digital learning ecosystem, including formal and informal learning. Advanced gaming/gamification in professional, educational and other non-leisure context to fight digital exclusion through new technologies and better cross-sectorial synergy.
