Canadian Culture Online
Table of Contents
The Internet and Canadian Culture
The Internet provides citizens–even those living in the most remote areas of Canada– with access to information, and allows them to share their ideas and perspectives in ways that no one could have imagined just a few years ago. Like no other media before, the Internet enables dialogue, stimulates and engages all Canadians.
How Canadian Culture Online connects with the objectives of the Department of Canadian Heritage
- The Canadian Culture Online strategy reinforces our capacity to stimulate the development and production of digitized Canadian cultural content in both official languages on the Internet, and promotes an understanding of Canada and its rich diversity.
- It strengthens Canada as a learning society, particularly Canadian youth, by organizing and providing easy access to innovative, positive, relevant, educational and entertaining content about Canada.
- It facilitates greater understanding of and communication among the diverse communities in the Canadian fabric by providing a platform for Canadians to preserve and express narrative, record and exchange experiences and share their creativity.
- It develops the capacity of our cultural industries, institutions, creators and communities to produce and make the wealth and diversity of our culture and people available to Canadians and the rest of the world.
Canadian Culture Online mandate
The Department of Canadian Heritage's Canadian Culture Online funding programs exist to foster a deepened understanding of Canada and its rich diversity by stimulating the development of, and ensuring access to, quality Canadian digital cultural content.
The Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP) supports the digitization of Canadian cultural content with a particular emphasis on the creation of French-language content and content for young Canadians.
The Canadian Culture Online Program supports the digitization of Canadian cultural content.
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Content
Achieve a critical mass of Canadian digital cultural content in both English and French. |
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Access
Create visibility and audiences for Canadian digital cultural content. |
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Environment
Create a conducive environment and tools to help Canada become a world leader in digital cultural content creation and production. |
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Canadian Culture Online funding programs
Canadian Memory Fund
This Fund provides assistance to federal institutions for the digitization of Canada's key cultural collections and helps bring Canadians closer to their diverse heritage.
Partnerships Fund
This Fund assists partnership initiatives between not-for-profit organizations across Canada and partners from the private and public sectors in the digitization of cultural collections for presentation online in a manner that specifically targets youth.
Electronic Copyright Fund
This Fund provides support to improve copyright management in the digital environment through the creation of online copyright licensing systems and mechanisms that facilitate access to and the exploitation of all types of existing copyrighted works by Canadians, including new media creators and producers (see page 21).
New Media Research Networks Fund:
This Fund aims to mobilize Canada's research talent in the private, academic, public and non-profit sectors and facilitate partnerships in new media research. It will provide assistance for research at the intersection of technologies and culture and advance digital content-based research activities.
Virtual Museum of Canada
Administered by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), both linking Canadian museums on a single online portal and showcasing its own unique content, the Virtual Museum of Canada celebrates the stories and treasures of Canadian museums that have defined Canada over the centuries (see page 16).
Canada New Media Fund
This Fund administered by Telefilm Canada provides assistance to the development, production, distribution and marketing of high-quality, original, interactive or online Canadian cultural new media works, in both official languages, made by Canadian new media producers (see page 23).
Applied Research in Interactive Media:
Administered and cost-shared by CANARIE Inc., this Fund stimulates innovation in Canada's cultural and new media sectors and promotes research and development in interactive media.
Francommunautés virtuelles:
Administered by Industry Canada, this initiative is part of the Canadian government's activities to encourage use of the Internet and new media content creation in French by working specifically with Francophone communities (see page 19).
Through its funding activities, Canadian Culture Online fosters and strengthens connections among Canadians and deepens understanding across diverse communities.
Canadian Culture Online prioritizes initiatives that represent the interests and needs of many groups including:
- Youth and educators
- Aboriginal peoples
- Francophones
- Canada's diverse ethnic and cultural communities
- Canadian artists and creators
As a result of Canadian Culture Online support, the Internet is also used to bring Canadian history to life and illuminate our shared heritage, offering Canadians a window through which to learn more about themselves and others.
Content for youth and educators
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/2/index-e.html |
Youth education
Confederation for kids
This Library and Archives of Canada site makes history colourful for 9–13 year-olds. Richly illustrated with historical photos, maps, biographies of key figures and links to give definitions of key vocabulary, the site also offers a special section for teachers giving advice on how they and their students can get the most out of this online resource. |
Learning and safety online
Children's safety online
Media Awareness Network Web site
This is one of Canada's largest educational sites and has been online since 1996. MNet aims to encourage in young Canadians critical thinking about media information, media entertainment and new communications technologies, and to stimulate public debate about the power of the media in the lives of children and young people. |
http://www.media-awareness.ca/ |
www.artsalive.ca/ |
ArtsAlive.ca
This interactive site, produced by the National Arts Centre, invites kids to learn about the history of music, theatre, dance and its interpretation in Canada. |
Entertainment and learning for all Canadians
http://cbc.ca/archives |
CBC Archives
This site enables Canadians to relive their shared history through Canadian radio and television over the past 70 years. It presents online live commentary, analysis, radio and television clips on the major political, social, cultural, scientific and sporting issues that have shaped our recent history. |
Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Sensation
| Through this site, all Canadians can gain access to the Library and Archives of Canada's collection on the life and work of the great jazz pianist. It includes biographical information, compositions, memorabilia, writing by Oscar Peterson himself and, most importantly, dozens of audio clips selected from over 100 albums. |
www.nlc-bnc.ca/oscarpeterson/ |
Featuring…Gratien Gélinas
| Gratien Gélinas (1909-1999) is considered one of the founders of modern Canadian theatre and film. He has worked as a playwright, director, actor, film maker, and administrator of cultural organizations. This Library and Archives of Canada site enables the discovery of this very talented personality. |
www.archives.ca/05/0519_e.html |
www.virtualmuseum.ca/ |
Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC)
This groundbreaking gateway, administered by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), offers links to Canadian museum sites, online activities and games, projects and museum exhibitions highlighting Canadian history, natural history and culture. |
Explore
The Acadien Historical Village
Acadia: Everyday life of the Acadians of the Maritimes from the 18th century to the present day
Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History
The Trace Fossil Mystery
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Holman: Forty Years of Graphic Art
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Northern People and Northern Knowledge: A Virtual Museum of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-1918
Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
Open hearts–Closed doors: The War Orphans Project
Aboriginal peoples online
www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/ |
Aboriginal Canada Portal
This portal provides over 7,500 links to information for and about Aboriginal peoples in Canada, on a range of subjects as diverse as economic development, learning, health and of course heritage, language and culture. |
www.musilab.com/ |
Musilab
Based in Drummondville, Quebec, Musilab is a world-renowned centre for the transfer of technology specializing in music and sound. The main goal of the project entitled "A World of Talking Objects" is to promote French and Aboriginal language oral folk traditions through the Internet. Through research and development, information and training, Musilab is an essential online resource for businesses, institutions and organizations. |
Francophones > French on the Internet
Francommunautés virtuelles
Administered by Industry Canada, Francommunautés virtuelles is a program created to serve the needs of Canada's Francophone and Acadian communities. This initiative aims to expand French-language content, applications and services on the Internet, and encourage French-speaking Canadians to make full use of information and communications technologies. |
http://www.francommunautes.ic.gc.ca/ |
Visit some of these projects:
Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse > Acadian and Francophone regroupment associations and organizations from the Atlantic in the Capacadie.com portal
About 40 Web sites will be created as part of this project and will be featured on a community portal for Acadian associations and organizations. The portal increases the presence and promotes the visibility of the Acadian and Francophone communities on the Internet.
Association franco-yukonnaise > Interactive site and news portal
A news portal and interactive Web site designed for the Franco-Yukon community and the tourist clientele. The portal will be useful for cultural services and business people, and will help link a Francophone population that is spread over a vast territory.
Canada's diverse ethnic and cultural communities online
www.cjvma.org/ |
Canadian Jewish Virtual Museum and Archives
This project developed by the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim enables the digitization and presentation online of thousands of original documents, artifacts and photographs relating the history of Jews in Canada. Highlighted through the project are Jewish Canadians who have made important contributions to Canadian history and society. |
www.archives.ca/05/
0531_e.html |
The Anti-Slavery Movement in Canada
Developed by the Library and Archives of Canada, this site illustrates the story of the historical circumstances that led to the establishment of the first communities of African Canadians over a century and a half ago. |
Showcasing our Canadian artists and creators
Tools for creative and curious Canadians
Some of the Web sites supported by Canadian Culture Online serve Canadians as tools to find the information, advice, resources and networks they need.
We have contributed to the development of four online copyright management and licensing systems that facilitate access to and use of existing copyrighted material in Canada:
Rights Clearing House and SOCAN both deal with musical works.
www.rightsclearinghouse.ca, www.socan.ca
Access Copyright handles English-language literary works.
www.accesscopyright.ca
COPIBEC manages French-language literary works.
www.copibec.qc.ca
For artists, researchers and creators
The Canadian Art Database
Since 1996, the purpose of the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art site has been to introduce and showcase the careers of Canada's professional artists. An ever-growing image and text database, it currently presents information on more than 300 Canadian professional artists, over 20,000 images of their work, and a directory of more than 320 links to other Canadian art Web sites.
http://www.ccca.ca/
Centre for Research on French-Canadian Culture
The site of this renowned research institute informs about the resources available in the centre's extensive archive and fosters academic dialogue on all aspects of French-Canadian culture among scholars, specialists and members of the general public.
www.uottawa.ca/academic/crccf/presentation/overview.html
Canadian Encyclopedia
An agreement between the Canadian Culture Online Program and the Historica Foundation ensures free access for all Canadians to the online version of this unique and essential work of reference in both official languages.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
Canadian Genealogy Centre
In launching this Web site, the Library and Archives of Canada offers immediate access to a vast network of genealogical resources and invites researchers to add to their knowledge of Canadian history by viewing it from a personal perspective—our histories, our families and our communities.
www.genealogy.gc.ca
Telefilm Canada
Telefilm Canada is dedicated to the development and promotion of the Canadian film, television, new media and music industries. The Canada New Media Fund supports the pre-development, development, production, marketing and distribution of Canadian new media products.
http://www.telefilm.gc.ca |
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A word from the Branch
We hope you enjoyed this booklet and that it made you curious to explore the informative and entertaining resources available online.
Canadians of all ages will benefit from an ever-expanding and improving Canadian cultural presence on the Internet.
We are proud to have a role in shaping this future. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
Canadian Culture Online Branch
September 2003
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