European Cultural Backbone

Set up in March 1999 as a coalition of mediacultural institutions and individuals working together to creatively use and develop participatory media for social change. Based in Amsterdam and Vienna.

The initial member organisations that participated in the ECB launch meeting in March 1999 included: Ars Electronica (A), ARTEC (UK), De Balie (NL), C3 Center for Culture & Communication(H), CRAC Media Centre (S), cybeRex/Cinema REX (YU), e-Lab (LV), FACT (UK), Glass Palace Media Centre (FI), Ljudmila Digital Media Lab (SLO), Open Studio/WRO Foundation (PL), Public Netbase/t0 (A), STEIM (NL), Terravista (PT), V2 Organisatie (NL), De Waag/ Society for Old and New Media (NL).

History

• Oct 1997: Dutch Virtueel Platform organizes conference The Practice to Policy (P2P) conference: Towards A European Media Culture, Amsterdam and Rotterdam
• 1-3 Oct 1998: Launch of position paper ‘Networking Centres of Innovation’ at the Cultural Competence conference, Linz, http://competence.netbase.org
• 4-7 Mar 1999: ECB meets in Rabenstein, Austria, link
• 1999: Publication of the book New Media Culture in Europe, containing many newly commissioned texts from ECB members and published by the Virtual Platform.
• 1999: launch of the Hybrid Media Lounge, database of new media culture practitioners in Europe, of which a Cdrom is included in the publication New Media Culture in Europe, http://www.medialounge.net/
• 1999: ECB meets in Helsinki, on the occasion of the event ‘Connected: networked media culture in a changing Europe’
• 10-11 Jul 2000: ECB meets in Brussels, on the occasion of the launch of the World-Information.Org exhibition. http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0007/msg00051.html
• 2001: Official launch ECB website, including new Medialounge, Amsterdam; ECB meets

http://web.archive.org/web/20050115094834/www.e-c-b.net/