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Background
For the purpose of supporting its numerous networking activities, research projects and the Culturelink review, the Culturelink Network has established the Culturelink Databank, with the task of making information on cultural development, cultural policies and life accessible to all members of the Network.
Complemented and updated on a daily basis, these services represent a unique source of information on UNESCO and the Council of Europe's Member States.
One of the main goals of the Culturelink Network is to serve all of its members, especially through the use of the Internet. The Network has thus been accessible via the Internet since 1994, and has established its WWW information services as early as 1996. The Network's long-term objective is the development of a world-wide information system for the study of cultural development and cooperation.
The Culturelink Databank consists of the Cultural Policy Database, the Cultural Development Database (also called the Culturelink Database) and the Bibliographical Database of the Documentation Centre for Cultural Development. It also offers online access to a rich hand-picked, structured collection of links to relevant WWW resources, to serve as basis for a portal and gateway to the field of culture currently being developed.
Cultural Policy Database
Access to the Cultural Policy Database:
The Cultural Policy Database is a textual database developed as an integral part of the IMO project entitled "Current State and Trends in Cultural Policy and Life in UNESCO Member States". It is organised as a system of menus following the specific structure of the cultural policy of each country.
Since 1995, the Cultural Policy Database has been reachable through the Internet at IMO's Gopher site, and since 1997 at its WWW pages. The target users for the Cultural Policy Database are mainly researchers and scholars working in the field of culture, as well as policy makers worldwide.
Though conceived as information support for the project, upon its completion, the Database has remained in function as an ongoing international database for cultural policies. Thus, the information in the database is continually updated.
Cultural Development Database
This database of institutions and networks in the field of cultural development (also called the Culturelink Database) was built to serve the needs of the members of the Culturelink Network and others involved in the field of cultural development.
It contains general information about more than 1500 cultural networks and institutions from all regions of the world, active in the field of cultural development. The Database describes their objectives, information infrastructure, publications, artistic activities, international cultural cooperation, etc.
In 1995 a printout of the Culturelink Database has been published under the title The Directory of Institutions and Databases in the Field of Cultural Development. It is intended for all those seeking information on cultural development - researchers, policy makers, and cultural managers, aiming to provide precise and useful information to facilitate cooperation in the cultural community.
The Culturelink Network also prepared a regional directory, published as a special edition, focusing on cultural institutions in Central and Eastern Europe, with the intention to bring data about them to the attention of corresponding institutions in the West.
This database is not acsessible online as it is no longer being updated. For relevant information, please see the Culturelink Members & Partners Database below.
Culturelink Members & Partners Database
Aiming to stimulate its members and partners to establish contacts with others active in their fields of interest, the Culturelink Network has developed the interactive, online searchable Culturelink Members & Partners Database, providing its members and partners, as well as all other cultural professionals, with an efficient tool for establishing new ways of cooperation.
Bibliographical Database
The Bibliographical Database of the Documentation Centre for Cultural Development is a database developed for the needs of the Culturelink Network members. Implemented in the ISIS system, this is a database of documents and publications in the field of international cultural development and policies. It is planned to make the Bibiographical Database also publicly accessible via the Internet.
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