::Subsidies granted by Vienna City Council enable Public Netbase to close 2000 free of debt – Public Netbase’s future still not secured

On April 3, 2001, Vienna City Council approved a subvention of 5,975 mio schillings for Public Netbase which made possible the survival of the Vienna based net culture institute after the painstaking year of 2000. The sum now granted is, however, not an increase in municipal subsidies for 2001, but quite simply an amount that had already been promised to Public Netbase in May 2000. This compensation became necessary after the federal government had withdrawn subsidies that had already been granted, thus putting at risk the institute’s international contracts and cooperations or even requiring EU funds to be returned. Therefore there is still great need for action to ensure Public Netbase’s future.

After its victory in Vienna’s city council elections on March 25, the Social Democrat Party (SPÖ) needs to position itself in regard to Public Netbase. On April 8, Austrian news magazine profil writes about the new Culture Councillor’s upcoming "homework": "Public Netbase: The city council finally has to take a definite stand in the debates surrounding the internet platform Public Netbase. Does Vienna want an internationally renowned Institute for new media? If she does, she has to pay accordingly." There are first signs that this is actually going to be the case since the SPÖ envisages Vienna as a future "center for net culture" in its programmatic statement of principles, "Visions 2010". Public Netbase has indeed laid the foundations for a development in these terms – now it will be crucial to establish a means of reliable financial support for an institutionalization of these endeavors.