Since its foundation in 1996, C³ has focused its energies on fostering the integration of new technologies in the social and cultural tradition. In order that the new technologies be socially accepted, appropriated and largely employed, familiarity with models furnished by creative science as well as experimental avant-garde art and the creation of a novel, inspirational content are essential. C³ provides an ideal framework for all of this as a space for innovative experiments and initiatives, a site for free research and communication, active exchange of information, creative and educational work, and applied artistic imagination.

Within its activities aimed at the introduction and expansion of those scientific-technological innovations in Hungary, C³ – with the support of the Soros Foundation Hungary and MATÁV – provided several thousand NGO's and individuals with Internet access; organized free Internet courses; operated a public, free Internet "café"; and developed the web-based Freemail service, as well as the prototype of the public WebTerminal, its first copies of which were placed in public locations.
See: C³ PROJECTS »»

Between 1996 and 1999 the Soros Foundation Hungary launched a Dial-Up E-mail and Internet Access Grant Program for civil service organizations. Webpages of the grantees (as well as e-mailboxes) – some one thousand non-profit organizations, several hundred school libraries, some one hundred schools participating in a self-development programme, 20 pedagogical institutes, 26 service points of the National Pedagogical Institute, community schools and municipal libraries – can be visited via the link collection of C³. While the grants expired at the end of 1999, the mailboxes and homepages created via C³ may remain on the C³ servers. C³ continues to provide connectivity for the various programmes of the Soros Foundation Hungary, as well as diverse self-financed users (e.g., the Central European University [CEU] and Open Society Institute [OSI]).

The new autonomous C³ Foundation, as a member of the Council of Hungarian Internet Providers, launched an online domain registration and name server service in August 2000. C³ is an active creative force behind the introduction of new technologies, and an initiator of Hungarian and international projects launched with that aim (ATM, ADSL, streaming media, video on demand, etc.). The new high-bandwidth Internet project of C³, in collaboration with other partner institutions (Loránd Eötvös University of Sciences [ELTE], Computer and Automation Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences [MTA SZTAKI], Matáv), and supported by the IKTA programme (the informatics and communications technologies and applications development programme of the National Technical Development Council), is also an example of this.

Artistic production, i.e., artistic works created at C³, occasionally exclusively by the C³ staff, as well as events organised, is a determinant element of C³, in its role as a new type of media center. The fruits of this artistic production are regularly invited for international presentation and exhibition, and further stimulate the initiation of new collaborative projects together with other partner institutions. They are preserved on the C³ website and may be located in the Collection, in the most suitable presentational form for web-based works.

Alongside the traditional library activity (printed publications, CD and video media library, art database), the C³ Archive also signifies net-based on-line publication: in 2000, C³'s endeavour to preserve and render accessible the significant harvest of Hungarian video art was initiated, and this implies continuous serious work for some time to come. The archive treated up to this point may be explored on the web: http://www.c3.hu/collection/videomuveszet/indexen.html.

The organisation of public events proceeding from the character of C³ offer novelty to small groups and professional, specialised communities, while exhibitions and large-scale events are organised in suitable external locations, cooperatively organised with partner institutions. C³ continues its media theory and critical lecture series and workshop meetings, regularly holds its annual Open Day, and presents partner institutions operating in the region. In proceeding with its large-scale exhibition and event series, within the framework of a cooperative contract with the Mûcsarnok / Kunsthalle Budapest, C³ has realised the exhibition entitled Perspective in 1999 and Media Model in 2000, both together with a rich accompanying events programme.

An important element of the operations of C³ is the preparation of publications, in the sense of both printed and electronic published materials. C³'s art journal was launched on the web in 2000 under the title Exindex (http://exindex.c3.hu/), in which up-to-the-minute information is provided on the Hungarian art scene, with a gallery listing, interviews, complete artists portfolios, and also guidelines and calls for Hungarian and international art-related grant opportunities. The renovation of the SCCA (Soros Center for Contemporary Arts – Budapest) database and its expansion to include an online version accessible via the Internet mean continuous work and maintenance. The entire C³ website may be viewed as a continually-flowing publication with constantly renewed content, rendering the investigative results of media historians and media theoreticians accessible; with the expansion of the pages of SCRIPTA, a growing wealth of texts from various literary and scientific periodicals is placed online; the cultural periodicals which are recipients of the Soros Foundation Hungary Periodicals on the Internet grant receive continuous support towards their net presence.

In the domain of evolving international relations, C³ has made significant steps since its inception. It is an active founding member of the ENCART (European Network of Cyber Art) network, and also takes part in the commonly coordinated activities of the ECB (European Cultural Backbone), in which some twenty member organisations and institutions aim for initiation into the cultural and community spheres, rendering recognisable the benefits and advantages of network communication. During the course of four years, C³ participated in the EMARE (European Media Artists in Residency Exchange) programme. It is also a member of the ResArtis international artistic residency centers network, as well as playing an active role in the work of the ICAN (International Contemporary Art Network) association (with its current President of the Board of Directors and Coordinator residing at C³), the legal successor to the Soros Centers for Contemporary Arts (SCCA) network.

C³ is an institution concerned with prevailing innovation, and supports and develops projects that do not serve direct commercial interests, often precisely because their uncommon, novel comprehension does not necessarily allow for hopes of market support. It is with this end in view that C³ is a public institution, its focuses pointing beyond daily topicality and the profit-oriented sphere, and rather toward intellectual capital and sensual values. The goal of the C³ Foundation is, in preserving the framework of successful operation, and undertaking the assets accumulated until now, to respond appropriately to new challenges, and to offer a suitable answer to the questions of the transformation of global communications.