The European network of digital cities gathers local actors, territorial institutions, the economic organizations and the cultural entities whose strategies intend to utilise infotechnologies the tools of conjugated regional planning. Confer a visibility to the present and to the future, accompaniment the experimentation and promote the true expertise constitute its major objectives, Nevertheless any decision is not more envisageable for the future of our cities and regions without an intimate knowledge of the European horizons and without an analysis of prospective associated with a placement in value the territorial identity under all its forms. But, beyond the technologies of the numerical one that it attempts to promote, this to a new architecture of the local strengths and European territories that it calls, a territorial architecture that allows experimentation and realization to the ladder of the body of the community.

The European network of the numerical cities received in June 2002 the label “Paris Europe” of the Paris city, some seen notably organization of the European days of the numerical cities: the next encounters will thus be organized in May to Logroño (Spain) and in June to Paris. The network has organized to this day more of than one hundred demonstrations and presented its analyses and recommendations to close to 130 symposia.

The meetings and seminars of the RVN are addressed to all those which, through Europe, wish to contribute to these debates and to analyze the achievements and the projects of each one, this in close connection with all the other organizations interested in such objectives. The taking into account in particular of the new territories intended to join European Community space appears all the more important as the true projects of the next years cannot be considered without true collaborative work between communities and territories and without setting in network the pole of competence.

It acts indeed more than ever to gather territorial actors and carriers of local projects in the context of the genesis of a company of information and knowledge in Europe. After three years devoted to a radiography of experimentations in many communities of the European Community, this network strives today to support synergy between the actors concerned (the realization of true contents for the networks high flow for example) and a real taking into account of this field by research. The objective therefore is to gather together elected officials and actors of all horizons, researchers and experts, in close connection with the European authorities.

Taking into account of the variations of technologies of the communication to the ladder of the European territories is the beginning of its analyses: they are the territorial actors who wished the constitution of places of meetings and experiences exchange with the ladder of the Europe, only naturally which can today constitute a horizon of taking into account of relevant models. Hence, the creation by the ORG ARENOTECH (European Association ART - EDUCATION - NEWS TECHNOLOGIES -www.arenotech.org). University research, long time isolated around the economic, social and territorial  debates is indeed today ready to bring knowledge; this time through the use of the Internet.Only with strong contribution from the best experts, it becomes possible to formulate in a rigorous way the analyses and recommendations which the various players need: the network thus gathers at the sides actors representatives of the media, themselves very often with research of real information that the network strives to obtain.

Elaborating the components of territorial intelligence is the primary concern of the Network European of the Numerical Cities. The purpose of the structure is to accompany the local authorities in their projects implying numerical technologies(setting on line of the cultural inheritance, multi-media spaces access, creation of economic poles such as the poles images that the RVN strive to put in network at the ladder of Europe, services in line…) the creation and participation in European networks of communities dividing on the matter of the objectives of comparable nature,  elaboration of projects for the European Commission and audio-visual, of data processing and the multi-media one, while defining and by especially establishing the bonds and interactions existing in their concrete applications between technologies of convergence.

The European Observatory of Spaces Multi-media ( www.espaces-multimedia.org) of the Network a genuine auxiliary tool of action. The access with Internet, with through in particular of the disposition of partially or completely specific places, indeed appeared within the reflection on the "numerical city" like a major field for all the actions intended to support new forms of transmission of knowledge. Several topics of work are in the centre of the Observatory reflection: the contribution to the development of the territories, facilitation of action of the local economic actors and the professional insertion. The Observatory must contribute answers to various problems: formation of organizers, optimisation of the services , sectoral orientation, specialization of spaces, emergence of new uses, installation of public and private partnerships, the setting in network of the various actors and their actions of information and of formation. It evolves into an up to date tool which makes it possible to locate the innovations with the European ladder, thus attaining a synergistic effect of all the elements..

The Club of prospective analyzes was precisely created to support the action of the Network. Its objective was to allow the decision makers of various horizons , researchers and creative people to share, meet and escape with the double challenge of the social impact of using networks: that memory is necessary and presents – from which a new role of the historians in this respect -, that on the other hand the taking into account of technologies already present in the laboratories and which allow us today a certain visibility with the horizon 2004-2005. With a more distant time scale, the Club takes part in the ' think tank ' "Internet Society 2020" created in Brussels in autumn 2000.

The European Network of the Numerical Cities thus listens, first then allow cities and areas of Europe engaged in actions significant in this field of digitalization of territories and a true scientific accompaniment to collaborate, thus taking destiny in their own hands.

RVN