The European cyber-infrastructure Dariah (Digital Research Infrastructure for Arts and Humanities), coordinated by the TGE Adonis in France, is under construction, and OpenEdition is actively involved. The aim of the project is to construct a digital infrastructure that promotes, develops and supports research in all humanities disciplines. Dariah will offer tools and services to facilitate research activity in all dimensions: the collection, analysis, production or conservation of data, in the broadest possible sense. The tools and services will be based on IT and communication technologies and on norms and standards enacted by international organisations such as W3C, the Consortium TEI, etc.

The First Stone

Last October, a first stage was completed when France officially submitted its project to the European Commission. Dariah will be governed as an ERIC, European Research Infrastructure Consortium, and its members will not be institutions but States or international organisations. Dariah-ERIC should officially be created next spring. The project will be co-run by Germany, Holland and France. Austria, Denmark, Ireland and Slovenia are also set to become partners, as well as Italian and Swiss institutions.

A point of reference

To OpenEdition, this type of European level infrastructure is essential. The creation of Dariah demonstrates European awareness of the need to step up development and application of new technologies in the humanities and social sciences. Beyond the provision of huge quantities of data, and new tools and exploitation services for this data, Dariah will also become a point of reference at all levels of the academic community, among researchers, politicians, and libraries.

Read this post in French : http://leo.hypotheses.org/10197