RECERCAT, the electronic bulletin of scientific research and technological innovation published by the Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya, came into being in March 2005 and recently celebrated its third year of existence. To celebrate the fact, in February RECERCAT re-launched a new format, with new contents and new features covering science and technology

RECERCAT aims to place itself at the service of the spread of excellence in research and the work being carried out by universities, companies, centres, groups and individual researchers in Catalonia . RECERCAT is aimed at university teachers and students, secondary school teachers, individual researchers and all those interested in science, technology, development and knowledge in general.
Precisely because we are aware of the increasingly important development role of science for the educational community, we have decided to create a new section aimed at teachers, where you can find educational, pedagogical and informational resources useful for science teachers.
Currently the bulletin is divided into the following sections: Catalonia , The EU, Universities and Research Centres, Catalunya Innova, Science and Technology, Teacher Resources, Recommendations, Web Research News and an opinion section.
There are currently more than 1,900 subscribers. You can subscribe free of charge at
http://www.gencat.net/recerca/recercat
recercat.cur@gencat.net

In the same way as companies and universities are responding to technological innovations, museums are experiencing a growing need to introduce mediation programmes its public users can participate in over the Internet.

The final aim of these projects is the creation of a virtual community of users that, as has been demonstrated in many museums, enriches and intensifies their mission. The Social Web – also called Web 2.0 – is based on interaction and connectivity enabling its users to take part in the creation and sharing of contents. This environment of social participation is being looked at by museums as an alternative means for the public management of their collections and activities, as well as a way of meeting the new demands of communication and interaction coming from both their public users and museum professionals.
The use of Social Web platforms and applications specifically for museums (blogs, networking applications, wikis, podcasts and on-line communities) exponentially increases the understanding and reach of museum activities, in addition to complementing their educational and social aims.
For this reason it is essential that museum professionals get involved in the use of Web 2.0 applications in order to improve their professional life and to contribute effectively to the achievement of the museum's goals. And you, are you a Web 2.0 museum professional?