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21/04/2017
Closingstatement:Sharing is Caring – Hamburg Extension
OpeningUp!BuildingConnectivitythrough Cultural Heritage
The Hamburg extension itself isanexpressionof connectivity,builtbetweenthe museumand
academia, indeed along-standingandwellestablishedconnectivity;Butalsothe connectivity
betweenarchives,libraries,museumsandothercultural ormemoryinstitutions withacademia;it
was takenuphere ina freshandparticularway for (critically) reflecting anddiscussingcultural
heritage workunderchangingconditionsof the digital. Itmergesthe efforts,achievements and
reflectionsof digitizationin cultural institutionsandrelatedfieldsof practice (e.g.,civilsociety
organizations, creative/ITindustries,cultural politics,…) aswell asforusers withthe capacitiesfor
theorizingandresearching cultureatuniversities. ShareCareX isstrongly committedtothe ideaof
the free circulationof knowledge(s)andequal opportunitiesforeducation ascrucial elementsfor
openand inclusivesocieties aswell as the recognitionof cultural diversity withitsrichvarietyof
cultural expressions. Followingthisbroadunderstandingof sharingcultural knowledge andmaterials,
we call for a reflective openingupwithrespecttotoday’sdiscussionson legal, technological,
economic,social aswell asethical issuestoforge genuine connectivitythroughcultural heritage (ina
sustainable way):
Openingup! – Free cultural materials shouldstay free,alsoin the digital realm.
Cultural materials thatare free of rights shouldstayfree whenbroughttothe digital realm.Here
theyshould be easily accessible andusableforeverybody,consideringthe standardsof digital
representationand accessibility.
* Can culture be copyrighted (Brown,1998)?How can copyrightregimesbe reconnectedtothe
practical understandingsof authorsandthe general public?
* Howcan we change conditionsthatpeople inthe creative realm donothave to live precarious?
How can the cultural sectorbenefit adequately fromthe addedvalues made inknowledge
economiesincreasinglythrough creativeandcultural production inthe publicrealm?
Openingup! – Enabling and encouragingthe circulation of cultural materialsthrough diverse forms
of mediarepresentation not inthe self-interestofGLAMsbutto serve communitiesbest.
Culture staysvital whencultural materialscancirculate freelyacrossanalogue anddigitalmediaand
are available asmaterial forfurtheractionsandpracticesof reuse.The vitalityof cultural expressions
isan importantelementinEuropeandemocraticsocietiesandanimportantsource of learning,
socialization,identificationandlastbutnotleasta source for intercultural dialogue andenvisioning
possible future developmentsof Europeansocieties.
*How can cultural heritage workimprove the circulationof cultural materialsthroughawide range
of media– fromthe analogue tothe digital andbackagain – in an openandinclusive way?
*What is necessarythatpeople andgroupswithlittle affinitytomemoryinstitutionsgetincontact
withtheircultural materialsandmake use of itfor theirindividual “creative”purposesor,tolookat
it the otherwayaround,how can highculture materialsbecome partof popularculture?

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Openingup! – Developingbusinessmodelsforopen cultural data in a creative way adequate to
openGLAMsthe cultural sector and its strength.
An openpolicydoesn’tmeantoabandona businessmodel. Digitizationof cultural materialsisacost-
intensivematter,reuse of cultural materialsbycreative industriesseemstopromise some returnsof
investment,andthe symboliccapital of sharingcultural materialsturnsouttobe an importantasset.
Moreover,ineconomiescreating addedvalue increasinglythroughknowledgeandcultural
production,ascurrentlygiven,the questionisapparenthow the cultural sectormaybenefitfrom
these gains.
* What doessharingof opencultural datameanin economiccontexts?
* What couldbe economicallygainedfromsharingcultural materialsunderpublicdomain?
* What couldbusinessmodelsforopen GLAMslooklike?Are there anybestpractices?
Openingup! – Developinganotherunderstanding of successof openGLAMsthat focus on impact as
a value and that is at the same time self-reflexiveaboutthe role ofGLAMs in society
Highlightingthe particularqualityof culture, value inthe realmof culture hasmanydimensions.
Opencultural datacannot be measuredbyclicksor returnsof invest,buthasotherdimensions,such
as utility,prestige,education,cohesionetc. The lensmattersthroughwhichevaluationsof open
cultural data are done.
*How can we acknowledge the variousvaluesof culture adequatelyinevaluationsof openGLAMs?
*How can we broadenthe publicperceptionof GLAMsinthis respectandbe self-reflective atthe
same time?
*What is the social impactof IT-infrastructuresandsocial media,how cantheybe reflectively shaped
for facilitatingopencultural data?
Openingup! – Towards cultural citizenshipandcitizenscience:recognizingand representingthe
variety of today’s societies
Culture is botha mirror to reflectsocietyatlarge andan importantdrivingforce todevelop open
democraticandpluralisticsocieties inEurope. Memory institutionsplayakeyrole increating,
representing,andsharingthe cultural heritage of variouspeopleandgroups inEurope.Conceptslike
cultural citizenship demonstrate thatpoliciesof mutual recognitionof cultural diversityare
fundamental forforginggenuine connectivityintermsof integrationandsocial participation. Current
opendata approacheshave beendevelopedbasedonexistingcollectionsinmemoryinstitutionsand
are hence translatingcollectionsintothe digital,reproducing these patternsof collectingand
authoritywhere some groupsare onlymarginallyrepresented.
* Whohas beenrepresentedbyopencultural datasofar? How can opencultural databe more
inclusive andreconnecttothe diverse realitiesof individuals’everydaylife?
*How can we use digital mediatoinclude people andgroupswho are underrepresented inthe

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publicssofar and weave theirnarrativesandmemorypractices intopublicmemorywork?
*To whichmemorypractices anddigital modesof communication of people andgroups could
openGLAMsconnectwiththeirmemory work?
Openingup! – Findingand facilitatingnew ways for coping with difficultheritages
The historyof Europe andinternationally hasbeenaffectedbyrepeatedsituationsof crises,conflicts,
and wars. These disruptive forcesof culture,socalled difficultheritage,needtobe acknowledged as
part of our cultural legacyinEurope andadequatelyrepresentedinthe contextof Europeanopen
GLAMs too.The colonial andpost-colonialheritages,forexample,raise manyquestions concerning
“sharingiscaring” and the sustainable developmentof open GLAMs.
* What ishighlighted,whatishiddeninopendataapproaches?
*What additional cultural datadowe needforacknowledging diverse narrativesand heritagesthat
are notyet includedinthe publicmemory,forexample inthe contextof post-colonial memorywork?
*Basedon sharingpractices on social media,whatcanwe learnfrom these modesof everyday
communicationandsocial interaction withrespecttocultural citizenship forremainingcultural
heritage vital?
Openingup! – Exploring what sustainabilitycan mean in the realm of culture?
Sustainabilityinthe contextof culture isarathernew discussionencouragedbyUNESCO’s
frameworkof sustainabledevelopmentthatintroducesculture asanindependentfourthpillarof
sustainable developmentinparallel toecological,economic,andsocial sustainability.The questionof
sustainabilityalsoraisesmanyquestionswithrespecttosharingcultural materialsandhow indetail
thiscontributestothe sustainable/future developmentof open GLAMsand a participatorydesignof
memorywork.
* What doessustainability meanwithrespecttosafeguardingourcultural legacyandsharingculture
whichischaracterizedbya traditionof change (ratherthan throughthe abilitytoreproduce stability
like inthe case of ecosystemsinface of anthropogenicornatural disturbances)?
* To whatextentdocontemporarysafeguardingapproachesreflectthe realitiesof individualsand
groupsand reconnecttotheirdailylife?
* Do we needtodigitize everything?(questionsof digitizationparadigmsandof recollection)?How
do we deal withborn-digital “heritage”?
These are some of the pressingquestions thatwere debatedinthe course of the conference in
Hamburg.What else dowe have to keepinmindto forge connectivitythroughculturalheritage in
digital times?