The long-anticipated digital convergence has become an economic reality offering ample opportunities to consumers, content and service providers as well as to the ICT industry.
Slovenia wishes to point out the importance of the cultural industries, as defined by the Lisbon Strategy, and their competitiveness in the single European market, one of the baselines of the i2010 Strategy.

The conference will focus on the promotion of creativity and the accessibility and use of high-quality digital cultural content. Audiovisual media services (in particular, creative online content) are vehicles of evolving European identity and values and, at the same time, promoters of European content in the wider world.
In terms of content, the focus of the conference is on digital content that contributes to the exchange and mutual enrichment of nascent cultural values in Europe as a whole as well as in its individual regions.  The challenge of the ‘cultural and creative content’ disseminated via new communications technology platforms is that it needs to be adapted to the diversity of cultural expression, taking into account the latest guidelines of the European Commission in the area of media literacy, mobile TV, and new business models and licensing. Among other things, the extremely rapid and intensive development of new technologies has raised a number of questions regarding the production and quality of content, the treatment of intellectual property in the online environment, new business possibilities, users’ understanding and acceptance of these forms of communication (media literacy) as well as the potential of content to be used for enhancing European and regional identity (cultural diversity).
Cultural and creative sectors contribute to innovation in other branches of economy. They are of essential importance in the further development of ICT and are vital to economic growth and development inasmuch as they generate innovative, high-quality content for digital platforms. Content is important for growth and employment in both urban environment and regions, exerting a strong social influence at the local level in terms of social regeneration and cohesion.

Nowadays, Europe’s cultural and creative sectors are key elements in the economic renaissance of Europe, as stated in the conclusions of the European Council of 9 March 2007, which inter alia pointed out the outstanding importance of this sector as the driving force of economic growth, new jobs and innovation, particularly through small and medium-sized enterprises.

The conference will stress the importance of the cultural industries in terms of value added to society and its economic potential. Properly functioning content distribution platforms and an effective intellectual property protection system are essential for the European online market to flourish.

The internet market offers ample opportunities for the European creative content sector, and therefore this industry should be encouraged to establish active interconnections aimed at reducing barriers to entry into the internet market. Lawful use of a p2p system, for example, may be regarded as an efficient way of spreading European creative web content. This too could contribute significantly to increasing the offer of quality online content, ensuring respect and promotion of cultural diversity.