About the Canadian Culture Online Branch

The Canadian Culture Online Branch operates within the Cultural Affairs Sector of the Department of Canadian Heritage. Its purpose is to develop policies and programs related to the Internet and digital technology to bring our country's cultural content to Canadians.

More than half of Canadians now have access to the Internet. Going "online" has become part of our everyday life. For young Canadians in particular, the Internet is a key resource for learning. It not only lets us access information but also allows us to share our ideas and perspectives in ways that we could not have imagined just a few years ago.

Through a variety of funding components we make available, and the policy initiatives we undertake, Canada's cultural industries, institutions, creators and communities are able to develop and publish cutting edge cultural products and content on the Internet, in both official languages. The combination of programs and policies offered through Canadian Culture Online allow us to foster dialogue between our diverse communities and promote our shared values and history. They enable Canadians, regardless of location, to participate and learn about our country's rich heritage, arts and culture.

Our Objectives
Canadian Culture Online Program
Canadian Culture Online Policy
Canadian Culture Online Research and Planning
Canadian Culture Online National Advisory Board

Our Objectives

1. To achieve a critical mass of quality cultural content on the Internet in both English and French.

The Canadian Culture Online Branch works to ensure a strong place for our country in new media and on the Internet. For example, we promote the creation of high quality Canadian cultural content in both official languages by supporting the digitization of nationally significant collections, and by helping to make primary resources on Canada available online. In doing so, we place a particular emphasis on meeting the content needs of young Canadians.

2. To build a conducive environment for Canada's cultural industries, institutions, communities and creators to produce and make available Canadian cultural content on the Internet.

The Canadian Culture Online Branch also helps improve the content development capacity of our new media producers and creators, notably through digital content-related research and development and mechanisms to improve access to technolinguistic tools.

3. To increase visibility and build audiences for Canadian digital cultural content.

The Canadian Culture Online Branch helps organize Canadian cultural content to make it easier to find among the millions of sites available on the Internet, notably through the creation of Culture.ca, Canada's cultural gateway.

We believe that success for the Canadian Culture Online Strategy will translate into highly diverse, better quality, and more readily accessible digital cultural content in both official languages, which reflects Canadian realities and values.

Canadian Culture Online Program

Within the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Culture Online Branch implements the objectives of the Canadian Culture Online Strategy through the administration of a number of funding programs. Canadian Culture Online also supports:

• The Canada New Media Fund administered by Telefilm Canada;
• The Virtual Museum of Canada administered by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN);
• Culture.ca, Canada's cultural gateway, administered by the eServices Branch; and
• Culturescope.ca, the on-line service of the Canadian Cultural Observatory, administered by the eServices Branch.

The strategy encourages our cultural industries, creators, communities and institutions to produce and make available to Canadians and Internet users worldwide the digital cultural content that will help promote Canada's rich culture, history, arts and heritage. Canadian Culture Online actively supports the development of French-language content for the Internet, partnerships between the public and the private sectors for the creation and delivery of content, and projects that focus on the needs of young Canadians.

Canadian Culture Online Policy

The Canadian Culture Online Policy group works with the program group, other sectors of the Department, other government departments and agencies, and private sector stakeholders to develop policies, strategies and programs that serve the online needs of Canadians. Policy work related to Canadian Culture Online includes such issues as:

• Ensuring a balance of content in both official languages;
• Ensuring that the content developed is consistent with commonly used standards associated with the Internet;
• Ensuring that copyrights can be respected in the online environment, while facilitating the creation and use of content;
• Encouraging the development of a strong, vibrant Canadian new media industry, including assisting in the development of sustainable business models;
• Fostering research and development in the area of online content; and
• Focusing on social issues such as contributing to closing the digital divide and promoting a safe environment for children on the Internet.

To ensure that the needs of stakeholders and citizens are always taken into account in all policy work, Canadian Culture Online Policy consults regularly with representative groups.

(See: Canadian Culture Online Policy Statement)

Canadian Culture Online Research and Planning

The Research and Analysis group conducts studies and performs analysis in support of Canadian Culture Online program operation and policy development. Specific areas of activity for the group include:

• Monitoring and analyzing new media and Internet-related developments and trends in Canada and around the world;
• Conducting special studies and analysis on specific issues of interest for program operation and policy work;
• Implementing a performance measurement framework for Canadian Culture Online, and assessing program results on an ongoing basis;
• Assessing the satisfaction of Canadian Internet users with regard to the digital cultural content funded through Canadian Culture Online Program; and
• Reporting on results.

National Advisory Board

In November 2004, the National Advisory Board fulfilled its mandate with the publication of its second report, A Charter for the Cultural Citizen Online: Canadian Culture Online.