Panteia presents European Commission study on cultural discoverability in Paris

On 9 July 2026, Panteia presented the findings of the European Commission’s Study on the Discoverability of Diverse European Cultural Content in the Digital Environment at the 12th Forum Entreprendre dans la Culture in Paris. The event was organised by the French Ministry of Culture and brought together stakeholders from the cultural and creative sectors across France and Europe.

Panteia project manager Martin Clarke presented the study during a session moderated by Emmanuel Vergès. The discussion provided an opportunity to exchange perspectives with cultural organisations and initiatives working directly on the challenges of making diverse cultural content more visible online.

Availability alone is not enough

The study was commissioned under the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023–2026 and conducted by a consortium of six organisations. It examined discoverability across five cultural sectors, with a particular focus on music and books. Its central message is that making content available online does not necessarily mean audiences will find it.

Digital platforms, recommendation systems, playlists, search rankings and social media increasingly influence which works are seen, heard and read. In an environment characterised by an abundance of content, visibility and audience attention have therefore become central cultural policy concerns.

During the presentation, Martin Clarke highlighted several challenges identified by the study. These include language barriers, translation gaps, incomplete metadata, limited access to platform data and unequal promotional capacity between large organisations and smaller or independent cultural actors. The rapid growth of generative AI adds further pressure by increasing the volume of content competing for attention.

The study also found that European cultural content often performs relatively well within national markets but circulates less effectively across borders. This underlines the need to improve the visibility of works from other European countries, languages and cultural traditions.

Strengthening the visibility of European culture

The presentation outlined a range of potential actions, including improved metadata and interoperability, greater transparency around recommendation systems, stronger collaboration between cultural actors and platforms, investment in translation and localisation, and better digital skills and tools for creators and cultural organisations.

The study also recommends making discoverability a shared policy objective at European and national levels. Better data and regular monitoring would help policymakers and cultural stakeholders understand which works are being surfaced, where visibility gaps remain and how audiences discover cultural content.

The Forum was also an opportunity to learn more about innovative projects supported by the French Ministry of Culture that are already addressing discoverability challenges across the cultural and creative sectors.

Panteia would like to thank the organisers for the invitation and all participants for their valuable contributions. The presentation formed part of the wider conversation on how Europe can ensure that its diverse cultural works remain visible, accessible and trusted in an increasingly platform- and AI-driven digital environment.

Read the full study here: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/34da2669-32b4-11f1-be39-01aa75ed71a1/language-en