Humanities on the way to the electronic future

Academies union and competence center at the
University of Trier agree intensive cooperation

In everyday life as in research, the following applies: The way in which we search for information and process it is undergoing massive changes. As the sponsor of the central program for basic research in the humanities, the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities therefore sees an urgent need for action: The valuable knowledge stores for developing, securing and visualizing our cultural heritage that are developed in the academy program are being prepared for the challenges of the digital future.

The competence center for electronic cataloging and publication processes in the humanities at the University of Trier has built an excellent reputation in this field for many years and is therefore the preferred cooperation partner of the Academies Union. Thanks to the cooperation to date, some academy projects are leading when it comes to publishing their research results digitally on the Internet or on CD-ROM, creating intelligent research options and links, and thus making them easier to handle for experts and interested laypeople.

The cooperation between the Academies Union and the Competence Center in Trier will be even more intensive in the future: On July 2nd, 2009 at 12 noon, representatives of both institutions will sign a framework agreement at the Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz.

Invitation to the press conference

At a joint press conference we want to inform you about fields and challenges in the field of electronic publishing.

Time: Thursday, July 2nd, 2009, 12 noon
Location: Hall of the humanities class of the Academy of
Sciences and literature, Mainz (Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 2, Mainz)

You can speak to:

• Doris Ahnen - State Minister for Education, Science, Youth and Culture in Rhineland-Palatinate
• Prof Dr Peter Schwenkmezger - President of the University of Trier
• Prof Dr Claudine Moulin - scientific director of the competence center for electronic cataloging and publication processes in the humanities at the University of Trier
• Prof Dr Günter Stock - President of the Union of German Academies of Sciences, Berlin
• Prof Dr Elke Lütjen-Drecoll - President of the Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz and Vice-President of the Union of German Academies of Sciences

They will all be happy to give you individual interviews afterwards.

We look forward to a short message as to whether we can count on you to come. Please use our fax form for this.

Your contact persons

Jana Schlütter, Press and Public Relations of the Union of the German Academies of Sciences, Berlin office on 030/325 98 73 70 or schluetter [at] akademienunion-berlin.de (schluetter[at]akademienunion-berlin[dot]de)

Heidi Neyses, Press Office of the University of Trier on 0651/201 -4238 / -4239
or neyses [at] uni-trier.de (neyses[at]uni-trier[dot]de)

The Union of German Academies of Science is the umbrella organization of eight science academies that have come together to implement common interests. More than 1,600 scientists from various disciplines are united under the umbrella of the Union, who are among the nationally and internationally outstanding representatives of their disciplines. The Union coordinates the “Academy Program”, which is one of the largest and most important humanities research programs in the Federal Republic of Germany. It promotes communication between the academies, conducts press and public relations work and organizes events on current problems in science. The Academies Union communicates with science organizations at home and abroad and sends representatives to national and international science organizations.

The competence center for electronic cataloging and publication processes in the humanities at the University of Trier is firmly anchored in the digital research landscape eleven years after it was founded. It plays a leading role in the main developments in the field of eHumanities and is a sought-after cooperation partner on a national and international level. The center's cooperation partners have also included the German science academies from the outset, because it is there that basic works of research in the humanities and cultural sciences are created in long-term projects: scientific dictionaries, lexicons and critical editions of great thinkers and musicians. Unlocking this central cultural heritage for the new possibilities of enhanced humanities will be one of the most important tasks of the research institutions in the next few years.