The eContent project is a Leonardo II project promoted by the Direction General of Information Society of the Junta de Extramadura in co-operation with its Foundation for Science and Technology (FUNDECYT). It formed by a European wide partnership aimed at studying the training needs in the audio-visual sector and at designing a training plan for the professionals in this field. Thus,

• Globalisation and digitalisation of the information have caused the audio-visual and multimedia sector to be in continuous expansion. The Communication of the European Commission “Strategies for employment creation in the Information Society” proposes to foment the use of multimedia technologies for distance education, training networks, multimedia applications and electronic services. This, in combination with the growth of digital television and the massive use of internet in working and private life, demand the development of new contents that fill with information the European networks and technological infrastructures.
  
  
• Estimations are that the growth of the audio-visual sector will be 70% in the year 2005. This growth will be translated into 300.000 new jobs. This causes an urgent need for specific training in the audio-visual and multimedia sector which requires transnational co-operation to be able to exchange experiences and good practices which contribute to the success of this sector, stimulating creativity and cultural diversity in Europe.
  
  
• The cultural and audio-visual industries constitute key elements for projects for transformation and regional development. The connection between the cultural industry and the audio-visual sector – supported by projects based on the Information Society – represent an enormous opportunity to stimulate the growth of a pushing/emergent economic sector.