Subject: Urgent support and adequate funding for the common European data space for cultural heritage under the Digital Europe Programme Work Plan 2025 - 2027
From: "Harry Verwayen" <[email-masked]>
To: "KUM min" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Kristiin Meos" <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>, "Lorena Aldana" <[email-masked]>, "Shadi Ardalan" <[email-masked]>, "Kerstin Arnold" <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:20:06 +0300

To the personal attention of Ms. Heidy Purga
Minister of Culture of the Republic of Estonia

Dear Minister Purga,

On behalf of the Europeana Initiative, we urgently seek your support in 
securing adequate funding for the common European data space for cultural 
heritage <https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en>  within the Digital 
Europe Programme (DEP) Work Plan 2025-2027, which is currently under 
development by the European Commission and EU Member States.

As you know, this data space, deployed by the Europeana Initiative, 
accelerates the digital transformation of our sector and fosters 
accessibility and reuse of cultural collections. It supports the development 
of robust, forward-looking and harmonised digital heritage policies across 
Member States. While Digital Europe acknowledges the need to enhance digital 
infrastructures in culture as a matter of public interest, the data space is 
the only earmarked cultural project and therefore the sole opportunity to 
achieve this goal.

The indicative budget for the data space in the first draft of the DEP Work 
Plan is set at €15 million, with an annual allocation of €7.5 million. With 
funding for the data space already heavily under pressure due to stagnant 
budget allocations which have not kept pace with inflation, this proposal 
jeopardises the operational capacity of the data space.

It also falls short of the ambitions of the Europeana Initiative, the EU and 
the cultural sector in Member States, as outlined in the European Commission 
Recommendation 
<https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-proposes-common-european-data-space-cultural-heritage> 
of 2021.

The data space supports Member States to continue their digitisation 
efforts, expand the reach of their data across Europe and accelerate 3D 
digitisation of at-risk and most visited monuments, while enhancing 
preservation and supporting reuse across sectors. Realising these goals 
requires a budget that reflects their importance.

Additionally, it is regrettable that the first draft of the DEP Work Plan 
does not allocate any funding for data space supporting projects, which are 
essential for the success of the data space. These projects enable 
contributions by cultural institutions in your country and support them to 
experiment and innovate in areas like Artificial Intelligence and 3D.

As discussions on the draft Work Plan progress, we are mobilising efforts 
across Europe to secure the necessary funding for this flagship initiative. 
We now seek your support which is vital to help us achieve this goal.

Given the current financial needs, a detailed cost analysis and future 
projections, we kindly request your support in advocating to the European 
Commission for an annual budget of €12 million for the core data space 
service. This funding is essential to sustain the data space’s operations 
and networking, ensure its long-term viability, and maximise its impact on 
the cultural sector at both Estonia and Europe-wide level. Additionally, we 
seek your backing for an annual allocation of €2 million annually for data 
space supporting projects, with a maximum co-funding rate of 25% from 
participating institutions.

In the first two years of data space, we have established a robust and 
interoperable infrastructure building on Europeana, improved data 
aggregation systems, and provided tailored support so that the Member States 
and the sector can benefit fully. Building on this strong foundation, the 
data space can scale operations and deliver greater value to you. But 
supporting you in your ambitions and achieving the targets of the 2021 
Recommendation requires additional efforts and greater resource allocation.

We would be most grateful for your support on this matter. If you are in 
agreement, we respectfully ask you to advocate for our request by sending a 
formal appeal to Mr. Roberto Viola, Director General for Communications 
Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission, who is 
responsible for the Digital Europe Programme Work Plan. For your 
convenience, we have enclosed a template letter with key messages that you 
may find helpful. Should you find it useful, we kindly invite you to adapt 
the template as you see fit.

We hope to count on Estonia to secure an annual investment of €14 million 
for the data space (€12 million for the core service and €2 million for 
supporting projects). This will allow the data space to thrive, enhancing 
the preservation and promotion of our shared heritage, and unlocking new 
opportunities for data reuse across various sectors in your country, 
including tourism, media, education and research.

As Europe strives to enhance its global digital leadership and sovereignty, 
investing adequately in  the common European data space for cultural 
heritage - one of the few operational data spaces to date - is crucial. Your 
support is crucial to making this vision a reality.

Yours sincerely,

Harry Verwayen
General Director, Europeana Foundation

On behalf of:
Rob Davies
Chair, Europeana Network Association

Kerstin Arnold
Chair, Europeana Aggregators’ Forum

-- 

Harry Verwayen | General Director
M: +31(0)6 10884060
E: [email-masked] <mailto:[email-masked]>

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