Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Celebrating five decades of Franco-German friendship
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
France and Germany today celebrate 50 years since the signing of the Elysee Treaty in Paris by French President Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. The treaty marked a dramatic move away from hostility towards an era of unprecedented cooperation. The two nations soon came together as founding members of the European Union and to forge a partnership that would usher in an era of peace and prosperity in Europe.
We have worked with the
German-Franco Institute
,
German-Franco University
and
The Office for French-German Youth
to put together a
series of online exhibitions
which tell the stories behind this Franco-German friendship.
Videos
,
photos
,
documents
and expert commentary tell the human impact of the accord and chart the exchanges, academic cooperation and friendships launched by the treaty.
From
cultural institute
A particular highlight is a digital copy of the original
Elysee Treaty
supplied by the
German Foreign Office
. Visitors may zoom in to read the details of the agreement. Videos from the
Memory of the Nation
project explain what the postwar political relationship has meant to ordinary citizens. Testimony from people present in the crowd during De Gaulle’s
speech
to the German Youth calling Germany a ‘great nation’ and
photos
from the 300,000 exchanges between French and German youths help to capture the spirit of the new partnership. Around 170 multimedia items chart the history of how the Treaty led to the formation of the European Union and the evolution of the French-German relationship to the
present day
.
As well as being available online, our exhibitions and other information about the Franco-German partnership are being displayed in the German Foreign Office in Berlin and were unveiled by Deputy Minister of the German Foreign Office, Georg Michael Link, and the French Minister for European Affairs, Bernard Cazeneuve. The displays are open to the public until mid-March, additional information can be found
here
.
The five decades of Franco-German partnership represent the latest chapter in the work of the Google Cultural Institute, which aims to promote and preserve culture online. You can explore all its exhibitions on
www.google.com/culturalinstitute
and follow us on our
Google+ page
.
Posted by Philipp Bieberstein, Google Cultural Institute
Rewarding innovative journalism in France
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Internet may be changing the ways in which we consume information, but it also offers great opportunities for innovative journalism. And by reducing the costs of production and distribution, a new generation of entrepreneurial journalists can reach readers more easily than ever before. To encourage this new generation of digital journalists, we teamed up with one of France’s most prestigious journalism schools, run by Sciences Po and
supported a contest
for the best student-run digital news start-up.
This year’s winner, announced today in Paris at the school’s
annual digital journalism workshop
, is Sciences Po student Amandine Briand who created a
local news website about the 19th “arrondissement” in Paris
. Her venture demonstrates how the Internet can bring back 'hyper-local' journalism.
#NPDJ12 - 1 minute avec Amandine Briand
par
ecoledejournalisme
At the awards ceremony, Agnès Chauveau, Executive Director of the Sciences Po School of Journalism, highlighted to students the opportunity offered by the Internet. “The traditional economic models of the press are going through a crisis, so our students have to be able to invent new ones and innovate,” she said.
After the success of this year’s contest, we and our partners at Sciences Po have decided to reprise the Innovation Award in Journalism next year too. But in the 2013 edition, there will be multiple awards, rather than just one - we’re throwing the competition is open to professional journalists too. You can find more information on the
Sciences Po website
.
We hope that through initiatives like these, we can encourage the kind of innovation that will help journalism thrive and give the up and coming generation of French journalists a bright future.
Posted by Florian Maganza, Policy Analyst, France
Libération wins Google-supported digital press prize
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
They were ingenious ideas. At the first ever Google-supported
GEN
Editor’s
Lab
Paris
, a team from the French daily
Libération
developed an online application called Qui+. The application tags faces in photos that are published on the the newspaper’s website, linking to additional information about image. According to Libération’s Florent Latrive, Qui+ will be implemented in the newsroom during the first half of 2013.
Ask Media
was the runner up, with an application called InstaLive that organizes streaming social media photos by hashtags, facilitating the process of photo selection for editorial use.
Held last week in
Le
Nouvel
Observateur’s
headquarters near the Paris Stock Exchange, the day long workshop demonstrated how Google and newspapers can find common ground on bringing high-quality journalism to the net.
Seven different media organizations across a wide range of the French media spectrum participated. They included
Le Nouvel Observateur
,
Libération
,
France 24
,
Play Bac Presse
,
Ask Media
,
Citizenside
, and
OWNI
. Several Google speakers took part.
Daniel Sieberg
, author of the book Digital Diet, gave a keynote speech about the value of innovation in journalism and Christian Witt, Google TV’s development manager, held a masterclass on digital Internet-enabled TV.
During the event, each participating media represented an Editors' Lab teams. At the end of the workshop portion each presented a five minute pitch of their projects. Both winning teams are invited to the next level of the Editors’ Lab: The International News Hackathon, which will take place at the GEN News Summit from 19 - 21 June 2013.
Posted by Alexandra Laferriere, Public Policy & Government Affairs Manager, France
Big Tent Paris - digital revolution or bust?
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Concrete, not canvas, was the backdrop for our first Big Tent in Paris. We held the event in the imposing Palais d’Iéna, home of our hosts the
Conseil économique, social et environnemental
. The President of the CESE, M. Jean Paul Delevoye, pointed out that concrete was the great symbol of progress when the palace was built in the 1930s.
Today, the Internet represents progress and the day’s theme was to ask how the digital revolution can bring economic growth back to France and Europe. According to a
new OECD study
, the Net already accounts of 13 percent of American business output, impacting every industry, from communications to cars, and restaurants to retail. OECD economist Taylor Reynolds called on other countries to collect data in order to make comparable estimates in other countries. In a video message, the French digital economy minister
Fleur Pellerin
said digital companies grow faster and are more profitable than others in Europe. That’s why, she said, digital companies must be at the heart of future French economic growth.
While that idea sounds uncontroversial, it provoked a series of hotly debated questions during the course of the day. Does the digital revolution create or destroy jobs? How do we balance the value of data and the protection of consumers? Why do investors in digital startups prefer London or Berlin to Paris? We heard about the size of the opportunity for France, as in this
film.
We also heard about the scale of France's competitive challenge, as in this film promoting London, not Paris, as a home for start ups.
For France, will it be a digital revolution, or bust?
Posted by Elisabeth Bargès, Public Policy Manager, Innovation, France
Partnering with GEN and Le Nouvel Observateur
Monday, November 26, 2012
Publishers are making the transition to the digital age and we’re working in France to make this happen to benefit readers. On November 28 and 29th, we’re supporting a workshop titled
"Journalistic Tools for News Photos"
with key French newspapers.
Le Nouvel Observateur
is hosting. The
Global Editors Network
, a non-profit media association that promotes innovation in journalism, is producing the content.
Representatives from Le Nouvel Observateur,
Libération
,
Le Parisien
/ASK Media,
France 24
,
Play Bac/Mon Quotidien
,
OWNI
and
Citizenside
, are entering teams. During the workshop, the teams will be challenged to incorporate digital photography, animated GIF, slideshows, pictures, 3D, and augmented reality into their news coverage. Three masterclasses will be offered. Christian Witt, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google TV, will speak about the opportunities around connected TVs and Google TV.
On the evening of November 29, the teams will present their final projects. Google’s consultant for editorial innovation
Daniel Sieberg
, Emmy-nominated and award-winning science and technology TV correspondent and author, will give a keynote speech about the future of journalism. A jury of experts will select the best project, and the team will be invited to the Editors' Lab final stage – the International News Hackathon during the 2013
GEN News Summit
in June 2013 at the Paris City Hall. Last year’s event attracted several hundred entires from around the world.
This workshop represents only the latest initiative to partner with the French press. Over the past year, we have worked with
Le Monde to bring Tunisian journalists
into their newsroom. We worked with
Liberation on their Forum de Lyon
. And we have sponsored digital
news awards
for students studying at Institut de Science Politique’s Journalism School.
For more information regarding the Editors’ Lab - Paris, contact GEN Deputy Director
Antoine Laurent
or Le Nouvel Observateur Online Editor
Aurelien Viers
.
Posted by Anne-Gabrielle Dauba-Pantanacce, Head of Communications, France
Google Play music arrives in Europe
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Music lovers rejoice! There’s now an even easier way to manage and listen to your music. Today
music on Google Play
is live in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
Google Play lets you store 20,000 songs from your existing music collection in a personal library in the cloud, so you can access it from all your devices. In addition, our new matching feature streamlines the process of uploading your music, so it will be added to your library even more quickly. Both of these we offer free of charge.
You can also buy new music from your favourite artists and build out your collection. We’ll automatically sync your entire music library—both purchases and uploads— so you can listen across all your devices. No need to worry about cables, file transfers or running out of storage space. Even listen when you’re offline - simply “pin” the playlists and albums you want and they’ll be available on your Android device. And for any song you’ve purchased on Google Play, you can share a free full listen with your friends on Google+.
We’ve partnered with all the major record labels and thousands of indie labels to sell their music in Google Play. And if you’re a talented, unsigned or independent musician looking for your big break, check out the
Google Play artist hub
, a great way to sell your music directly to fans.
Check out Google Play today. It will be music to your ears.
Posted by Paul Joyce, product manager for Google Play
The facts about our position on French copyright proposals
Thursday, October 18, 2012
There has been some interest around an extract from a note we have prepared about a proposal by French news publishers associations to require search engines to license all of the content that they help users to find across the web.
The web has led to an explosion of content creation, by both professional and citizen journalists. So it's not a secret that we think a law like the one proposed in France and Germany would be very damaging to the internet. We have said so publicly for three years.
In order to shed light on the reasons that lead us to believe that this law is detrimental to French users, innovation on the Internet and ultimately to the news publishers themselves, we decided to post the note in its entirety. We have always been and remain committed to collaborate with French Publishers associations as they experiment and develop sustainable economic models on the Internet.
Posted by Olivier Esper, Director, Public Policy, France
Debating the future of Europe’s Single Market
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
“Europe wake up! We will only return to growth and prosperity if we complete the Single Market.”
This motion will be
debated tonight at 19:00 CET
, live via Google+ Hangout on Air and on YouTube.
European Commissioner
Michel Barnier
will open the debate. Four EU experts - from the left and the right of the political spectrum and each with an axe to grind - will argue for and against the motion. Via Google+ Hangouts, the experts will cross-examine witnesses - including
journalists
,
academics
,
economists
and
entrepreneurs
from Ireland, Poland, Germany, France and Greece - to convince you they’re right. Veteran journalist and broadcaster
Christine Ockrent
will moderate.
The debate takes place just a few days before the EU marks the
Single Market’s 20th anniversary
. When it was launched in 1992, the Commission’s bold attempt to construct a seamless, truly tariff-free, pan-European market stimulated a wave of ‘Europtimism’. Now, with Europe facing challenging economic times, the Single Market’s importance to Europe is being re-examined.
You can have your say by voting on the motion - both before and after the debate - via
youtube.com/versusdebates
.
You can also join the discussion by adding your comments and questions to the
+Versus Google+ page
during the debate. The best questions, as decided by the debate organiser, Intelligence Squared, will be put to the panel, live on air.
Posted by Al Verney, Senior Communications Manager, Google
Books on Google Play arrives in France
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Earlier this year, we introduced
Google Play
, a digital entertainment hub where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite apps and movies on your Android phone or tablet. Today we’re adding books to
Google Play
for people in France.
Books on Google Play offers millions of books, including hundreds of thousands of French titles, from new releases to bestsellers and classics. It's easy to find great French authors such as Antonin Varenne, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Fred Vargas and Dominique Sylvain, plus international bestsellers, in the country’s largest ebookstore. With the launch of ebooks, Google Play becomes a one-stop-shop for the very best digital content available on the web.
France is the fifth European country to launch books on Play, following in the footsteps of Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK. This follows on our recent
announcement
of a settlement of all outstanding litigation between us and French publishers.
Books on Google Play is all about choice: we’re offering many titles and many ways to access and read them, so that your library is literally at your fingertips no matter where you are. You can choose from great titles from hundreds of award-winning and diverse publishing houses at launch, not to mention the telethousands of international publishers Google works with around the world.
With Google Play you can read on the device of your choice. And with your books in the cloud you can read on the web, a phone, or a tablet and pick up right where you left off. You can discover, purchase and read books on:
Android phones and tablets - you can purchase books in the Google Play Store and begin reading them instantly in the Google Play Books app;
your computer - you can purchase and read books on the Google Play store and read in your web browser; and
iPhones and iPads -- you can read books in the Google Play Books app
We’re happy to make it even easier for all French book lovers to discover and buy whatever they want to read, whether that’s the next bestseller, a new release from their favourite author or a well-loved classic. Whether you’re a bookworm or casual reader, we hope you find something great to read on Google Play.
Posted by Philippe Colombet, Google Books France
Writing a new chapter for French books
Monday, June 11, 2012
For the past six years, we have been embroiled in a debilitating dispute over digitisation with French book publishers and authors. Today, we are announcing agreements that end all our legal battles. We are forging partnerships that we believe will put France ahead of the rest of the world in bringing out-of-print works back to life.
Much of the world’s information is found on the printed page. But almost 75 percent of the world’s books are out-of-print and unavailable except to the lucky few who can find old copies in libraries. In order to make this treasure available to everyone, anywhere in the world, we digitised millions of out-of-print works in U.S. libraries.
Until now, legal challenges, not only in France, but also in the United States, have kept us from realizing our goal. French authors and publishers sued us, separately, for copyright violations back in 2006. U.S. authors and publishers also sued. Although we reached an agreement with the American
Author’s Guild
and
Association of American Publishers
in 2008, a U.S. District court in New York last year rejected the agreement.
In France, however, we have found a way to move ahead. Both the French Publishers Association (
Syndicat national de l’édition
) and the French Author’s Association (
Société des gens de lettres
) have withdrawn their suits.
In this win-win solution, publishers and authors retain control over the commercial use of their books – while at the same time, opening the possibility for out-of-print books to reach a wide audience. We remain hopeful of reaching a solution in the US allowing us to make the world's books searchable and discoverable online.
This agreement represents a new step in our broad
support
for French culture. Over the past two years, we have signed agreements with several French collecting societies representing musicians, screenwriters and other creators. Our international culture center is based in Paris.
We are taking other measures as well to support French publishing. As part of this agreement, we will sponsor publishers’ new Young Reading Champions Program, which promotes the pleasures of reading among young people. We are also supporting the Publishing Laboratory -
le Labo de l'édition
- which helps publishing startups and traditional partners test digital technologies.
Our project with the authors is equally exciting. We will support their initiative to build a comprehensive database of published writers, a process that will help identify copyright holders and help them receive payment for their works.
Our hope is that these partnerships will boost the emerging French electronic book market. They make France a pioneer in spreading knowledge in the digital world. Watch this space for more progress on putting the written page online – and keep on reading.
Posted by Philippe Colombet, Strategic Partner Development Manager of Google Books France
Follow the French elections on Google
Friday, June 8, 2012
After electing a
new President
in May, French citizens head to the polls again on Sunday for Parliamentary elections. Over 6,000 candidates are competing to win just 577 seats in the Parliament. It promises to be an exciting contest and, as with the Presidential election, you can follow all the action on our special politics and elections website,
www.google.fr/elections
.
Built together with French news agency
AFP
(Agence France Presse), the site gives easy access to up-to-the-minute information about the election. You can sort news and videos from Google News and YouTube by political party or specific campaign theme - and interact directly with with political parties via their Google+ pages.
Throughout Sunday evening, a special Google Map will show the results of the first round of voting. The results will be displayed live, as they are published by the Ministry of the Interior, across all of France’s 577 electoral districts.
The French website is the latest edition of our Politics and Election platform, which has so far been rolled out in the
US
,
Mexico
,
Egypt
and
Senegal
in an effort to give internet users easier access to information about elections.
See you Sunday, and as we say in French: bonne navigation!
Posted by Florian Maganza, Policy Analyst
Data journalism awards announced
Friday, June 1, 2012
At the
News World Summit
in Paris this week most of the discussion was about how technology is transforming journalism. A good example is the rapid growth data journalism, the analyzing and filtering large data sets to uncover news.
Last November we announced our support for the first international
Data Journalism Awards
organised by the
Global Editors Network
and the
European Journalism Centre
. Winners were announced this week in Paris at the News World Summit.
1.
Terrorists for the FBI
(Mother Jones and UC Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program, USA) Data-Driven Investigations (national/international)
2.
Methadone and the Politics of Pain
(The Seattle Times, USA) Data-Driven Investigations (local/regional)
3.
Riot Rumours
(The Guardian, UK) Data Visualizations and Storytelling (national/international)
4.
Pedestrian Crashes in Novosibirsk
(Nikolay Guryanov, Stas Seletskiy and Alexey Papulovskiy, Russia) Data Visualizations and Storytelling (local/regional)
5.
Transparent Politics
(Polinetz AG, Switzerland) Data-Driven Applications (national/international)
6.
Illinois School Report Card
s (Chicago Tribune, USA) Data-Driven Applications (local/regional)
Congratulations to all the winners who will each receive a prize of EUR7,500 We hope you’ll take a look at their projects.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relations, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
A victory for the web in France
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Today is an important day for the Web. A French court rejected claims from France’s largest television broadcaster
TF1
that
YouTube
has violated its copyright.
The case reaches back to March 2008 when TF1 sued YouTube over copyright infringement by making available of several of their TV programs on YouTube: TF1 claimed more than EUR140 million in damages.
The overall decision is a victory for everyone who uses the Web. Every day, hundreds of millions of people use computers and mobile devices, tablets and televisions to freely exchange ideas and information. After this decision, these creators can be secure to post their materials on YouTube and other platforms and we can host their content without fearing a giant liability. The end result will be more videos posted on the Net, more revenue generated for creative artists, and more exposure to a global audience for these artists. Already, we have deals in place with 3,000 media groups around the world, including important French partners such as
BFM
,
Arte
and
AFP.
The verdict demonstrates how the Internet is enriching French culture. Over the past year, we have signed contracts with five French collecting societies to pay royalties to French writers, musicians, and other artists. More generally, we have a major investment plan for the French economy and culture, demonstrating how committed we are to France.
By embracing the Web, this verdict moves France a step forward to further benefit from Internet’s massive economic and cultural opportunity. We hope this judgement will allow us to build
constructive partnerships
and bring more French language content online. Watch this space!
Posted by Christophe Muller, Head of YouTube partnerships, Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa
Big Data, Part II: Mining gold in public data
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, calls it a “goldmine.” Better yet, Europe enjoys plenty of the resource. What is so potentially valuable? The data collected by governments.
Under Mrs. Kroes’s lead, the Commission is taking important steps to open access to public data. It is creating a European Open Data Portal making the Commission’s data accessible and easy to use. The Commission would like other public administrations to follow suit.
Public data could boost Europe’s economies without requiring new public spending.
Estimates
suggest that the European Union could add EUR 40 billion per year in the continent’s economic activity if it fully opened up access to public data. Another recent
study
finds that direct and indirect economic impact of public data amount to about EUR140 billion annually. Individuals and firms can use this information to develop new business ideas.
Another benefit is increased accountability of public services. Openness in public administration helps to nurture trust in institutions -which is particularly needed in times of economic crisis. Empowered and informed citizens may feel more confident to explore new ideas and create new businesses.
France has taken a strong step forward in this field.
Etalab
, the French governement initiative launched the
data.gouv.fr
site late last year. Journalists, researchers, and all French citizens now can analyze line by line the budget of the French government, or know what books are held by public libraries.
Etalab encourages the public to develop apps with the information. Citizens are able to build applications such as
where does my money go
. Along with other companies, we are sponsoring a service called Dataconnexions, which aims to boost the reuse of public data in general and especially those of the portal data.gouv.fr.
Data Connxtions
is organising a number of events throughout the year 2012, including four contests application development. We are holding Google Open Data Workshop, the first of which was held on March 14. Excerpts are visible below.
Bravo! We look forward to seeing more initiatives like Etalab in the future.
Patricia Wruuck, Policy Analyst, Brussels and Elisabeth Bargès, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google France
Celebrating Exceptional Young Minds
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Its time to celebrate the ten winners of our ‘
Zeitgeist Young Minds
’ online competition.
All are aged between 18 and 24 and have done something exceptional through science, the arts, education and innovation. They will attend Google’s annual Zeitgeist event near London on May 21 and 22, alongside some of today's greatest minds and innovators. While in London, they will participate in masterclasses and have their voices heard.
A panel of prestigious judges chose the winners. It included UK Digital Champion
Martha Lane Fox
, social entrepreneur and hip-hop artist
Akala
, award winning inventor
Emily Cummins
, software developer and founder of metaLayer.com
Jonathan Gosier
, and Channel 4 news presenter and correspondent
Jon Snow
.
The winners are:
Ada Umeofia, 19 from Nigeria:
WeBuilt: Africa is a design-centered social enterprise that redesigns and constructs market stalls for poverty-stricken Africans by recycling found building materials in slums.
View the entr
Alex Leboucher, 21 from France:
The Schoolbag (NGO) connects young people to education and a sustainable future by enabling children to pursue an education by providing eco-friendly school supplies.
View the entry
Elliott Verreault, 23 from Sweden:
It'sOneHumanity: The Humanitarian Social Network is inspiring a new humanitarian culture by leveraging the stories of humanitarian workers with the help of social media.
View the entry
James Boon, 23 from the UK:
Socially responsible enterprise ElephantBranded.com, sends a school bag to a child in Asia and Africa for each product sold on the website.
View the entry
Joel Mwale, 19 from Kenya:
Skydrop Enterprise Inc has brought safe drinking water to a community of 5,000 and has become a profitable enterprise from selling bottled water across Kenya and Uganda.
View the entry
Jordan Ridge, 23 from South Africa:
Made by Mosaic is a job creation project fro women in South Africa addressing the challenges of economic development in the townships.
View the entry
Maaike Veenkamp, 23 from the UK:
Off The Bench is a project with a core aim to empower young people through positive activities.
View the entry
Sibusiso Tshabalala, 20 from South Africa:
Developed reading clubs and a library renovation programme in South Africa to encourage critical thinking and thoughtful debate within local high schools.
View the entry
Simeon Oriko, 23 from Kenya:
The Kuyu Project trains school children on how to use social media for social change and promotes digital literacy.
View the entry
Simon Straetker, 19 from Germany:
An independent filmmaker, promoting conservational and social projects around the world making videos that engage young people with their natural environments.
View the entry
Congratulations! We're looking forward to hosting these talents here in the UK.
Posted by Elizabeth Dupuy, Event Manager, External Relations
Informing France’s voters for their presidential choice
Monday, April 23, 2012
Update, May 6, 20112:
Socialist candidate Francois Hollande captured the presidency in the second and decisive round of the French Presidential elections. Internauts followed the results live on Sunday evening from 8pm CET on
www.google.fr/elections
."
The Internet plays a central role in citizens’ search for information about elections. Polling company
Opinionway
published a
study
at the end of last year that showed 52% of French citizens follow the electoral campaign online compared to 38% for the written press and 27% for the radio.
In order to help satisfy this growing demand, we developed
www.google.fr/elections
, an information hub to study, watch, discuss and participate in the French presidential campaign. Google tools such as Google News, Google+ YouTube and Google Maps were integrated to present information from a variety of sources on the campaign and its results.
This French presidential site is the latest edition of our Google election websites. After being rolled out in the
United States
to cover the Republican primaries, they now have expanded internationally to include presidential elections in
Senegal
,
Egypt
and
Mexico
.
When the polls closed last night at 8 p.m. in France, French internet users discovered the election results in real-time on Google Maps. Viewers could see each candidate’s performance for each of France’s 106 departments as well as for each of the country’s 33,844 towns.
By clicking on a candidate on the side-bar, users were able to visualize the nuances in a candidate's performance. The brighter the colour, the more votes a candidate obtained.
Socialist candidate Francois Hollande and incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy finished first and second respectively. The two front-runners now face off for the next two weeks until French voters again go to the polls. Google will be there to five the results in real time - and in great detail. See you on May 6th for the 2nd and decisive round!
Posted by Florian Maganza, Policy Analyst, Paris
Going global in search of great art
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
South African rock designs
.
Brazilian street graffiti
.
Australian aboriginal art
. Today we’re announcing a major expansion of the
Google Art Project
. From now on, with a few simple clicks of a finger, art lovers around the world will be able to discover not just paintings, but also sculpture, street art and photographs from
151 museums
in 40 countries.
Since we
introduced
the Art Project last year, curators, artists and viewers from all over the globe have offered exciting ideas about how to enhance the experience of collecting, sharing and discovering art. Institutions worldwide asked to join the project, urging us to increase the diversity of artworks displayed. We listened.
The original Art Project counted 17 museums in nine countries and 1,000 images, almost all paintings from Western masters. Today, the Art Project includes more than
30,000 high-resolution artworks
, with Street View images for 46 museums, with more on the way. In other words, the Art Project is no longer just about the Indian student wanting to visit the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
. It is now also about the American student wanting to visit the
National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi
.
The expanded Art Project embraces all sizes of institutions, specializing in art or in other types of culture. For example, you can take a look at the
White House
in Washington, D.C., explore the collection of the
Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar
, and continue the journey to the
Santiniketan Triptych
in the halls of the
National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi
. In the United States alone, some 29 partners in 16 cities are participating, ranging from excellent regional museums like the
Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston
, South Carolina to top notch university galleries such as the
SCAD museum of art
in Savannah, Georgia.
Here are a few other new things in the expanded Art Project that you might enjoy:
Using completely new tools, called Explore and Discover, you can find artworks by period, artist or type of artwork, displaying works from different museums around the world.
Google+ and Hangouts are integrated on the site, enabling you to create even more engaging personal galleries.
Street View images are now displayed in finer quality. A specially designed Street View “trolley” took 360-degree images of the interior of selected galleries which were then stitched together, enabling smooth navigation of more than 385 rooms within the museums. You can also explore the gallery interiors directly from within
Street View in Google Maps
We now have 46 artworks available with our “gigapixel” photo capturing technology, photographed in extraordinary detail using super high resolution so you can study details of the brushwork and patina that would be impossible to see with the naked eye.
An enhanced My Gallery feature lets you select any of the 30,000 artworks—along with your favorite details—to build your own personalised gallery. You can add comments to each painting and share the whole collection with friends and family. (It’s an ideal tool for students.)
The Art Project is part of our efforts to bringing culture online and making it accessible the widest possible audience. Under the auspices of the
Google Cultural Institute
, we’re presenting high-resolution images of the
Dead Sea Scrolls
, digitizing the archives of famous figures such as
Nelson Mandela
, and creating 3D models of
18th century French cities
. Our launch ceremony was held this morning at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, featured in the following slideshow.
For more information and future developments, follow the
Art Project on Google+
. Together with the fantastic input from our partners from around the world, we’re delighted to have created a convenient, fun way to interact with art—a platform that we hope appeals to students, aspiring artists and connoisseurs alike.
Posted by Amit Sood, Art Project
Syrian citizen journalists capture Netizen Prize
Monday, March 12, 2012
For the past year, Syrian citizen journalists have continued to collect and disseminate information on the uprising wracking their country.
Reporters Without Borders
tonight honored these courageous activists, awarding them the
2012 Netizen Prize
.
Jasmine a 27-year-old Syrian activist living in Canada, accepted the award in a ceremony in Paris on behalf of the
Local Coordination Committees
. She preferred to use a pseudonym to protect her family inside Syria. “The Netizen Prize proves that our voices were heard and that we succeeded in delivering the stories of millions of Syrians who are struggling on the ground to achieve what they have always dreamed - to live in freedom and dignity” she said.
This is third year in a row that Google has sponsored the Netizen Prize. Reporters Without Borders counts 200 cases of netizens arrested in 2011, up 30% over the previous year. Five were killed. This is the highest level of violence against netizens ever recorded. More than 120 are currently in jail for keeping us informed. Our own products are blocked in about 25 of 125 countries in which the company operates. “The Internet allows courageous individuals in Syria and elsewhere to tell their story to the world,” said Google France President Jean-Marc Tassetto. “The Netizen Prize and our work with Reporters Without Borders testifies to our belief that access to information will lead to greater freedom and greater social and economic development.”
Syrian journalists and bloggers are threatened and arrested by the government. International news organizations are, for the most part, kept out of the country. In their absence, the committees have become almost the only way to keep the world abreast of the violence wracking the country. They emerged spontaneously following the start of the Syrian revolution last March, bringing together human rights activists and local journalists, and now are found in most cities and towns across the country. “The Netizen Prize proves that our voices were heard," Jasmine said.
Informants on the ground send information and the committees confirm it from multiple sources. A third group translates the news into English and distributes it. News, videos and pictures are posted on the group's
Facebook page
, on its
photo blog
, and on the group’s own
website
. "There are millions of stories that made us cry, laugh, get mixed emotions since the uprising began,” Ola added. “We were talking to a mother of three detainees and she made us all promise each other that no matter what, we will never stop covering the events of our beloved Syria."
The award was distributed on
World Day Against Cyber Censorship
. In 2010, the Netizen Prize was awarded to
Iranian cyberfeminists
. Last year, it went to
Nawaat
, a group blog run by independent Tunisian bloggers. The nominees for the Netizen Award 2012 come from across the globe, ranging from Russia to Syria to Brazil and China. their geographic diversity a reflection of the growing impact of the Net.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Celebrating Courageous Citizen Journalism
Monday, March 5, 2012
Each year on
World Day Against Cyber Censorship
, Google and
Reporters Without Borders
join together to celebrate and hand out a prize for defending online freedom. This year, we’ll be gathering in Paris on March 12 to debate the issue of cyberfreedom and name our annual
Netizen of the Year
.
The 2012 nominees come from around the globe, from Russia to Syria to Brazil, China and beyond. Their geographic diversity a reflection of the growing impact of the Net. Once connected, each one of us is now able to share our thoughts and observations with the world.
Forty countries engage in active censorship, up from four a decade ago. Google products are blocked in about 25 of 125 countries in which we operate.
Reporters Without Borders inaugurated the annual World Day against Cyber Censorship in 2008, with the aim of protecting a single Internet, free, and accessible to all. Google joined in 2010 to sponsor the Netizen of the Year award, which recognises a user, or a blogger dissident who became famous for his work in defence of freedom of expression on the Net. An independent jury of press experts chooses the winner who receives prize money of EUR 2,500.
In 2010, the Netizen Prize was awarded to
Iranian cyberfeminists
. Last year, it went to
Nawaat
, a group blog run by independent Tunisian bloggers. The nominees for the Netizen Award 2012 are:
Leonardo Sakamoto, Brazil
: Journalist and professor, Sakamoto covered East Timor's war of independence and Angola's civil war. On his blog, he investigates the plight of Indian minorities in the Amazon.
Wukan, China
: The village of Wukan (13,000 inhabitants) in Southern China was the scene of a violent revolt last December. Village inhabitants used the Internet and social network Weibo to mobilise public opinion.
Maikel Nabil Sanad, Egyp
t: This blogger denounced abuses by the army during the popular protests of spring 2011 and was imprisoned in post-revolutionary Egypt.
Grigory Melkonyants, Russia
: Melkonyant’s
KartaNarusheniy.ru
publishes an interactive map illustrating irregularities in Russian election campaigns. It allows users to locate and report fraud by posting photos, videos or audio recordings.
Media Centers Local Coordinating Committee, Syria
: Groups of citizen journalists collect and disseminate, in real time, information and images of Syria's uprising.
Paulus Le Van Son, Vietnam
: Le Van Son is a 26-year old blogger covers religious and human rights issues. After he reported on anti-Chinese protests and police violence, he was arrested on August 3, 2011, in Hanoi.
We look forward to seeing you in Paris on March 12 to celebrate cyberfreedom and learn the name of the winner.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Paris names Google its Foreign Investor of the Year
Monday, February 13, 2012
Over the past few years, we have made extensive investments in France, recognizing how the country’s Internet economy is booming. Our Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt recently
inaugurated
, in the presence of President Nicolas Sarkozy, a new 10,000-square meter office in a refurbished
19th century Second Empire building
near the St. Lazare Train Station.
In recognition of these moves, the
Greater Paris Investment Agency
this month awarded Google its prize of the international investor of the year. Valérie Pécresse, Minister for the Budget, Public Accounts and State Reform presented the prize to Susan Pointer, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, Southern & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Our efforts in France go far beyond new buildings. We’re encouraging French start-ups by creating a
Startup Café
, an online platform offering information and tools required by entrepreneurs to launch a business. We’re investing in French startups, creating a platform for content and tools.expanding our engineering presence to take advantage of France’s strong engineering talent pool and are making significant academic investments, including a partnership with the French national research center
CNRS
and the creation of a
Google Chair at HEC
.
The new Paris headquarters houses a cultural institute which aims to leverage digital technologies to expand access to cultural treasures around the world. Last year, the number of Googlers in France has doubled to nearly 400 employees, and we are continuing to hire. In the future, more and more products will Google "made in France"!
All of this is just the beginning of what we are sure will be a long love affair with France and its capital.
Posted by Elisabeth Bargès, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google France
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