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By Guy Ben-Ari - January 2001
Guy Ben-Ari, the National Node representative for Israel, reflects on the initial lack of Israeli participation in cultural heritage and digital content programmes and the work by ISERD that has led up to Israel's recent entry into the IST programme. ISERD, ISrael Europe Research and Development, is the Israeli National Node for CULTIVATE [1].
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ISERD, the Israeli Directorate for the Fifth Framework programme of the European Union, has been jointly established, as a non-profit organisation, by the Ministries of Science, Industry and Trade, Finances and Foreign Affairs and the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education. ISERD was appointed to promote the participation of Israeli companies and the research institutions in the EU RTD Fifth Framework programme, with the aim of realising the inherent business potential of this programme. ISERD commenced its activities in promoting the EU research programmes in August 1996 and has been active in organising seminars and consultancy meetings, disseminating information via mail and newsletters and partner searching.
On May 8th 1999 the new association agreement between the EU and Israel entered into force. Israel consequently continues to be a full participant in the 5th. Framework programme. Israel’s’ reasons for participating in this research and development (R&D) programme are numerous. First and foremost, participating was seen as a step toward becoming part of the globalisation process via the EU economy. The fostering of research cooperation and the founding of strategic partnerships and business ties with EU organisations were also important points which were taken into consideration. Finally, the Framework programme offered an opportunity for alternative finance sources for Israeli organisations and academic institutions.
The Israeli high-tech sector, which ISERD supports, is one of the worlds’ largest. Production from this sector accounts for over 50% of all of Israel’s’ industrial production and a similar percentage of its industrial exports. Israeli spending on R&D is amongst the worlds’ highest at 3% of the GDP. Civilian spin-offs of the defense technologies and the world highest per-capita science graduates and scientific work force (1.4 % of the population) are other important factors in the Israeli high-tech success story.
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| Figure 1: Archaeological excavations at Bet Shean in the Jordan River valley |
The worldwide success of Israeli high-tech and R&D has now come of age within the European R&D programme. Since the beginning of FP5, hundreds of proposals with Israeli partners have already been submitted within the IST programme alone, resulting in over 100 participations in R&D projects. More important, these projects enabled Israeli entities to cooperate in technological development with European industries, research institutions and universities and to showcase Israeli abilities, often in collaboration with important European multinationals.
To date, the cultural heritage and digital content sectors were the ones that saw the least Israeli participation. The first three IST calls for proposals (Jan. 1999 – May 2000) saw only a handful of Israeli partners in submitted proposals from these action lines. There were several reasons for this under representation. Firstly, the Israeli hi-tech sector is very business oriented, and digital cultural heritage was seldom seen as an attractive alternative to the more profitable software, telecommunications and Internet sectors. Secondly, the local culture organisations tended to be under budgeted as well as technologically conservative, which usually did not lead them to search for innovative technology solutions for the management, preservation and display of their content. Last but not least, both the industrial and culture sectors suffered from a severe lack of information regarding the possible means of cooperation and funding offered by the European Commission for research into new cultural heritage applications.
And yet Israel definitely has a lot to offer not only in IT, but also in the cultural heritage field. Its long and varied history, from the earliest Canaanite civilization through Biblical, Medieval and modern times, has made it a historian’s and archeologist’s paradise. The fact that it has seen the birth and flourishing of two world religions, Judaism and Christianity, has contributed to the country’s’ rich cultural and religious heritage. Lastly, since its creation in 1948, the state of Israel has been committed to the preservation and research of the many aspects of Jewish culture in the hundreds of Jewish communities around the world.
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| Figure 2: View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives |
Since the beginning of this year, ISERD has focused on achieving greater participation of Israeli companies and organisations in the cultural heritage action lines of the IST programme. The first step was to ensure proper dissemination of information on the possibility of participation in FP5 and to raise awareness of this opportunity for funding and cooperation within the Israeli culture community. This was done through the enlistment of the aid of the Culture Directorate in the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport, the government body heading the country’s cultural affairs [2]. Within a short time, a list of all major culture organisations - museums, libraries and archives, had been made, thus identifying the most important local players who should be approached and introduced to the IST programme.
Next, personal meetings were arranged with the heads of these organisations, with the aim of convincing them of the benefits that are to be reaped from participation in the IST programme. Many meetings were arranged with the help of the Culture Directorate and the Culture and Scientific Agreements Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [3]. The assistance of this second, no less important, government body was also important in securing ties between Israeli culture organisations and ISERD. Within a few months, all the important players (and many of the smaller ones) in the Israeli cultural heritage sectors were made aware of the IST programme, and some were quick to begin the long march toward participating in its proposals.
The way has not been an easy one. Many culture organisations find it hard to make the transition from classic to hi-tech applications in their institutions. Those who do are often hampered by lack of funds and/or manpower, insufficient technical know-how within the organisation and inability to team up with strong technology providers. In addition to this, initiating the first contacts with potential European partners has been difficult, especially for those organisations used to operating mainly at the local, regional and national levels.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel: Israeli hi-tech companies as well as culture institutions are currently making their first attempts at successful participation in the Multimedia and Content key action of the IST programme. The fourth IST call has seen the first major participation of Israeli organisations in its proposals, both as partners and as coordinators. Preparations are already underway for an even wider response to the sixth call in the beginning of 2001. It must be stressed that this significant increase in participation was in part due to the willingness of on the part of the European partners to cooperate with the Israeli “newcomers”. Once initial contacts had been established, the stage was set for personal interaction, exchange of ideas and professional relations on a regular basis.
Israeli is still taking its first steps on the European scene of technology applications for cultural heritage. Bearing in mind the technological and cultural advantages its organisations posses, the future of cooperation within the FP5 IST programme seems bright.
The culture sector in Israel:
Today, Israel boasts over 180 Museums situated in all parts of the country [4]. The collections are varied indeed, and include such themes as archeology, Mediterranean history, Jewish history, art, nature and science. The Museum Department of the Culture Directorate (part of the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport) is in charge of allocation of funds to the many museums, but also of the training of professional museum staff and of the forming of museum policies (including digitization policies) at a national level. It also aids museums in acquiring and implementing new technologies and in long-term preservation programmes.
The Museums Department is divided into 3 sub-departments, each covering a separate region of the country. One sub-department covers Haifa and the north of Israel, another covers Tel-Aviv and the central part of the country, and the third is in charge of Jerusalem and the southern regions.
The top national body in charge of all libraries in Israel and their policies is the Libraries Department in the Culture Directorate. The Department budgets the acquisitions of public libraries from suppliers, fosters the professional advancement of librarians, advances computerization and communications, and plans new projects in the libraries.
Another important body at national level is the Israeli Center for Libraries (ICL) [5]. This is a professional body, which renders services in various areas for all libraries in Israel, with a special emphasis on public libraries. The objective of the Center is to enable libraries to extend their professional knowledge and to develop a fruitful professional dialog among librarians and libraries in Israel. Amongst other things, the Center aids in the training of library professionals and in the implementation of new technologies in the libraries sector.
Apart from these two bodies, all major municipalities in Israel have a department of libraries in charge of the libraries in their city. Last, but certainly not least, all the libraries in Israel’s universities and colleges are interconnected via the Israeli Academic Inter Library Network [6]. Believing that modern information services can be provided more efficiently and at a lower cost per-user by inter-university cooperation and pooling of resources, the network provides access to fulltext services and bibliographic databases, which are available to any workstation with a university internet identification number and with a standard WWW browser.
The Israeli States Archives is the official body governing the archives sector in the country. These comprise an organised, systematic collection of records from the period of Ottoman and British Mandate rule until today. The Archives oversee the management of governmental records, public archives and other material of value to scholars, the Jewish People, and Israeli society. In addition, the Archives actively perpetuate the memory of Israel's presidents and prime ministers and publish documents on the State of Israel's foreign relations. The Archives also hold advanced training courses on managing historical records and archives.
The second important organisation in this field is the Israeli Archives Association (IAA) [7]. This body coordinates the activities of some 50 local and regional archives in Jewish and Arab communities around the country, and also helps preserve data related to Jewish communities around the world. In addition to these activities, the IAA is involved in the creation and operation of study programmes in universities and colleges for "Certified Archivist" Diploma.
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Mr. Guy Ben-Ari
IST programme Assistant
ISERD – The Israeli Directorate for EU FP5
GuyBa@gilat.com
URL: <http://www.iserd.org.il/>
Phone: +972-3-5118122
At the time this article was written Guy Ben-Ari
was the Assistant to the Director of the IST
programme in ISERD. In this role he helped provide Israeli organizations
with information on EU Fifth Framework programme projects and
partner search and aided in the maintenance of
international cooperation between organizations from EU states
and those in Israel. Guy has recently been replaced by Judy Goldberg.
She can be contacted on judy@iserd.org.il
Following three years of service in the Israeli Defense Forces, Guy worked for five years at the Israeli Prime Minister's Office as an independent consultant on language, culture and communications issues, prior to joining ISERD.
Guy Ben-Ari holds a BA from Tel-Aviv University in General History and Political Science and is currently completing his masters degree in International Relations. He left ISERD a month ago to work as coordinator for EC funded research and development projects at Gilat, an Israeli satellite communications company.
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For citation purposes:
Ben-Ari, G. "National Node Column: Israel", Cultivate Interactive, issue
3, 29 January 2001
URL: <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue3/nodes/>
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