New media is continually evolving on the local scene as well at the international level. Updating the knowledge of its evolution and innovations, which constantly emerge and in all its fields of activity, has now become a need impossible to circumvent for all those who do research and creation in this field, from the point of view of both the arts and cultural industries as well as of the aesthetic, sociological, and technological stakes. These stakes are connected not only to the arts and the digital communication technologies, but also with the problematic of art and science. In the field of digital new media, Montreal currently enjoys a recognized international positioning, particularly in digital cinema and video games, but it must be consolidated and widened.

This International Digital Observatory will consolidate individually existing international collaboration initiatives that are dispersed, but which will gain by being joined together. Moreover it will develop collaborations between Canadian researchers with equivalent centers throughout the world, thus creating a showcase for our researches and creations.