The UNESCO Chair of Technology and Culture was set up on 1 September 1999 with the aims of promoting the study of the influence of technology on the phenomena and processes of the history of culture and disseminating awareness of the cultural importance of technology. The research carried out by the different teams will focus on areas such as the effect of technical progress on the history of culture, technology and the physical medium (nature, society and urban culture), the built environment (public works and architecture), habitable space (environment and objects of daily use), the arts (literature, fine arts, music, film and audiovisual art) and social and cultural habits (science fiction, popular imagination, communication, culture and ethics).