UNESCO TechCul Online Ideathon
12月6日，联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）联合FOSSASIA在亚洲发起线上创意马拉松挑战TechCul，用科技工具去解决文创领域遇到的挑战，清华大学Open FIESTA中心作为支持单位加入，所有参与者可以获得数字证书，入围项目机会赢得大奖和后续更多支持。
What is UNESCO TechCul
UNESCO is launching the TechCul Initiative to bring together tech and culture leaders with startups and entrepreneurs to develop innovative digital solutions and win-win business models to address challenges faced by the culture and creative sector. The global pandemic has created major disruptions with the closure of cultural institutions, collapse of existing businesses, skyrocketing unemployment, loss of income and restricted access to events and services. As a short-term coping strategy, many arts and cultural organizations have sped up the adoption of technology and online modalities, with varying degrees of success. In reality, the crisis has worsened pre-existing structural problems and revealed the fragility of practitioners and institutions in this sector. Innovative tech and entrepreneurial solutions are needed to tap into the power of digital transformation in order to rebound and pivot to new opportunities in the long term, through:
❒ more diversified and resilient business models
❒ improved platforms for arts and cultural products and services
❒ better networking and exchanges, and
❒ a more sustainable ecology for the culture and creative sector.
UNESCO TechCul Challenges 挑战列表
Develop solutions for the culture and creative sector!
1. Diversify Income 多元化收入
How to create more diversified and resilient income streams? Most artists, cultural and creative professionals do not have regular employment and income, and, in this region, they are only starting to consider digital solutions to expand their revenue. Meanwhile, many cultural institutions depend largely on government funding, which is often limited in this region. During the pandemic, conventional income streams, particularly from tourism, have been hard hit. Examples innovative solutions could address:
Monetizing online access, including through better sales and IP practices.
Ensuring fairer remuneration to artists and content producers for their digital content.
Creating alternatives to tourism-based revenue.
Improving WordPress workflow
Tapping into alternative funding sources, such as crowdfunding.
Developing locally self-sufficient business models.
Sharing income with local communities.
Reaching out to global markets.
2. Expand Access 更广泛的访问
How to expand access to arts, cultural heritage and creative goods and services? During the pandemic, many people have turned to arts, cultural and creative goods and services for recreation or education purposes. It has accelerated the trend to create digital content, including local content. However, there are still limited channels for non-mainstream and more diverse content, including both traditional and contemporary forms. Digital content delivery platforms have boomed, but mostly are dominated by big global players. How can Asian artists and creative producers expand their footprint and how can consumers worldwide enjoy improved access to such goods and services? Examples innovative solutions could address:
Improving platforms to disseminate artistic, cultural and creative content from Asian producers.
Creating platforms to sell cultural and creative goods and services that reach a local, regional and global markets.
Leveraging Smart Cities and IoT as channels for distributing artistic, cultural and creative content.
Reaching special targets like those with limited internet access, hardware/equipment, technology skills, or those with disabilities.
Crossing barriers in terms of different languages, UX/UI platforms.
3. Improve Networking and Collaboration 改进网络和协作
How to improve networking and collaboration among culture, creative, business and tech sectors? The arts, culture and creative fields are typically individualistic and fragmented, and practitioners face challenges connecting and collaborating with each other. Digital platforms offer new possibilities for closer networking and collaboration among those working in these fields. It could also enhance networking with other allied sectors including business and tech. Examples innovative solutions could address:
Improving networking and collaboration within the arts, cultural and creative individuals and organizations.
Providing professionals with opportunities for mentorship and advice to advance their work.
Facilitating connections between the arts/culture/creative sector with the business and tech sectors.
Enhancing connections and lowering costs within the supply chain (from raw materials to designers, producers, retailers).
Overcoming governance silos (between government agencies, between national-provincial-local government, between government-civil society- private sector).
Leverage technology so the public sector can serve more as a regulatory and facilitator role (rather than operator role).
4. Upgrade Knowledge Management 升级知识管理
How to upgrade knowledge management and harness data for more informed decision/policy making? Lack of data and poor data/knowledge management is a main challenge in this sector. Many organizations work without up-to-date, accessible or searchable data (about visitor numbers, sales, number and location of businesses, etc). This makes it difficult to make good business decisions or to develop meaningful policies, strategies and plans. Examples innovative solutions could address:
Improving systems for data collection and data analytics in various arts, culture or creative sectors (museums, music, film, arts).
Connecting people to learn good practices from other institutions and individuals.
Creating platforms to visualize/share data for the sake of transparency or real-time decision-making.
5. Safeguard Cultural Heritage 保护文化遗传
How to safeguard cultural heritage in a more effective and inclusive manner? Tech and digital solutions have the potential to overcome many challenges in safeguarding cultural heritage such as: weakened transmission of living heritage to young generations, lack of engagement or empowerment of communities and other stakeholders in safeguarding cultural heritage, lack of information about threats to heritage sites and institutions due to limited numbers of staff for monitoring, among others. Examples innovative solutions could include:
Transmitting living heritage using digital means, apps, platforms.
Allowing for real-time, geo-coded monitoring or data collection.
Creating measures for social distancing, crowd control and visitor management.
Deploying no-touch technologies for museums, galleries and other institutions.
Empowering communities and stakeholders using digital technologies to become more involved in participatory heritage safeguarding.
6. Connect to Resources 资源对接
How to connect cultural and creative practitioners and organizations to resources? Beyond funding, there is a wide-spread challenge in accessing other supportive resources for individuals and organizations in the arts, culture and creative sector. In some cases, these resources simply don’t exist, and new ways should be proposed to increase the supply or create alternatives (ie, online performance venues instead of conventional theatres). In other cases, people just lack information about available resources that are already out there. Examples innovative solutions could address:
Improving access to space/venues, equipment, specialized workers.
Pooling and visualizing information about available resources.
Buying, booking or swapping resources.
Matching people with specialized skills with jobs/projects.
7. Enhance Capacity 能力提升
How to enhance training and education to support culture and creative professionals and consumers? The digital wave could leave many players in the arts, culture and creative sector behind, as they do not have the tech or entrepreneurial skillsets to compete. From the consumer side, one of the major challenges facing this sector is a lack of appreciation for diverse forms of arts, culture and creative goods, or a perception that such goods are a luxury. Examples innovative solutions could address:
Enhancing the creative skillsets of workers (both vocational and professional) through upskilling/reskilling.
Educating future arts & culture consumers with diverse tastes through new forms of heritage and arts education (online, interactive or digital).
Leveraging online learning modalities to connect diverse teachers and learners together, crossing geographic, sectoral and cultural barriers.
Resources 更多参考资源
Heritage Threats
https://ich.unesco.org/en/dive&display=threat
Culture Response
https://en.unesco.org/covid19/cultureresponse
Impact and Response Tracker
https://en.unesco.org/news/culture-covid-19-impact-and-response-tracker
Digital Meets Culture
https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/
Innovators in Cultural Heritage
https://www.innovatorsinculturalheritage.eu/
Existing Solutions
https://techcul.org/UNESCO_TechCul_ExistingDigitalSolutions.pdf
官方网站：https://techcul.org/