Digital meets Culture

Report from the Mission to CIPA2025 International Conference – Seoul, Korea

From August 25–29, 2025, Seoul hosted the 30th CIPA Heritage Documentation International Symposium under the theme “Heritage Conservation from Bits: From Digital Documentation to Data‑driven Heritage Conservation.” Organized by CIPA—a longstanding international committee established in 1968 by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) and ISPRS (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing)—this biennial event is a cornerstone gathering for professionals in cultural heritage documentation.

We are proud that EUreka3D-XR was prominently represented at this prestigious symposium through e insightful presentation delivered by M. Ioannides from the UNESCO Chair on the CUT partner organization, highlighting the project’s interdisciplinary and innovative strengths.

Prof. Marinos Ioannides (Research Center on Digital Cultural Heritage MNEMOSYNE / UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage) emphasized the urgent need for quality certification in heritage data acquisition. He argued that without adherence to certified standards, digital heritage risks losing its long-term value. His presentation also underscored the importance of paradata recording—transparent documentation of data capture processes and long-term preservation —to foster trust and accountability. His case study focused in all the three case studies of our projects.

Beyond the formal presentations, EUreka3D-XR project representative actively participated in numerous related sessions, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities throughout the week. These engagements allowed us to share the # EUreka3D-Hub & #MemoryTwin approach with a broader professional audience, fostering new collaborations and reinforcing the cooperation with other EU projects such as HE-HERITALISE in shaping the future of digital heritage documentation in Europe and beyond.

A particularly meaningful moment came on Friday, August 29, when Prof. Ioannides and Anthony Cassar visited the conservation laboratories at the National University of Cultural Heritage (한국전통문화대학교). There, they witnessed the dedication of scholars and students practicing traditional arts and techniques—from textile and painting conservation to loom weaving and architectural heritage painting. This visit underscored a profound truth: preserving cultural heritage is not only about safeguarding physical artifacts, but also about sustaining the intangible knowledge, skills, and traditions that give them life—the very layers of meaning that form their Memory Twin.

Photo gallery:

16th of September 2025, 15-16:00 CET

Europeana Copyright Office Hours

Copyright and policy office hours are informal online sessions that seek to bring cultural heritage professionals together in discussing and addressing common challenges. On September 16th, 15-16:00 CET, professionals will talk about various examples of cultural heritage organisations measuring risk, and some tools available.

As cultural heritage institutions need to comply with copyright law, among other areas, they are faced with a lot of legal uncertainty. Just like any other area of law, some specific situations are not foreseen and therefore have no clear legal answer. Faced with these grey areas, some argue that cultural heritage professionals have a duty to bear some risk in order to fulfill the public interset mission that they are publicly funded to deliver. How can risk be measured, and when is it too much?

To the extent possible, Europeana encourages the participant to share their thoughts, examples and questions in advance through the mandatory registration form.

If you're a CH professional and want to upskill yourself on digital transformation, this online programme is for you. Apply now! Organized by EUreka3D-XR in collaboration with ICA International Council on Archives

Applications open for the EUreka3D-XR online training programme

Wednesdays: 19 November, 26 November, 03 December 2025 at 3-5pm CET

The programme includes 3 online sessions of 2 hours each, dedicated to build capacity and expand knowledge in cultural heritage professionals involved in digitisation of cultural collections and processes. Spanning from EU policies, strategies, resources and funding opportunities, to case studies about innovation and presentations of state-of-the-art technologies and accessible tools to foster reuse of collections, the three sessions will showcase the panorama of challenges and solutions for the digital transformation in cultural heritage.

Each session is focused on a specific theme and is opened with a keynote talk from different domain experts: Dr. Antonella Fresa (Photoconsortium); prof. Fred Truyen (KU Leuven) and Dr. David Iglésias Franch (CRDI – Ajuntament de Girona); prof. Frederik Temmermans (VUB – imec) and prof. Eirini Kaldeli (National Technical University of Athens).

While the keynote talks are open to a wide group of participants, interactive working sessions will be offered to a selected group of 30 learners, who will have the opportunity to discuss, engage and share experiences, moderated by a facilitator. The three interactive working sessions will be facilitated by prof. Peter Fornaro (Head Research Projects at the Digital Humanities Lab – University of Basel). The selected learners will receive a certificate of participation.

Call for participation and detailed programme here: https://eureka3d.eu/online_training_programme2025/
Application form: https://www.photoconsortium.net/eureka3d-xr/driving-digital-transformation/

Deadline for applications: 5 October 2025

SUMMARY OF THE PROGRAMME:

Wednesday 19 November 2025
Heritage Policies and strategies for the digital transformation of practices
Keynote speech by Dr. Antonella Fresa (Photoconsortium)

Wednesday 26 November 2025
The impact and transformative power of Digital Cultural Heritage
Keynote speech by prof. Fred Truyen (KU Leuven) and Dr. David Iglésias Franch (CRDI – Ajuntament de Girona)

Wednesday 3 December 2025
Good practices and experiences for creation, access and re-use
Keynote speech by prof. Frederik Temmermans (VUB – imec) and prof. Eirini Kaldeli (National Technical University of Athens)

For more information, please contact info@eureka3d.eu.

EUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.

25-29 August, Seul (Korea)

EUreka3D-XR to be presented at CIPA 2025

To the 30th CIPA International Symposium, UNESCO Chair for Digital Cultural Heritage, Heritage Malta and Fundación Tekniker will join as a team to present EUreka3D-XR project along with Heritalise EU Project.

The theme of the 30th CIPA 2025 Symposium is “Heritage Conservation from Bits: From Digital Documentation to Data-driven Heritage Conservation,” which focuses on the increasingly important role that data will play in the conservation of cultural heritage in the age of artificial intelligence and explores the trend towards data-driven heritage conservation through the creation and analysis of heritage data, and application of new technologies in the context of artifacts, archaeological sites, historic buildings, landscapes, museums, and more.

Through three presentations, a groundbreaking framework that goes beyond traditional 3D documentation, will be introduced. The Memory Twin concept integrates:

Tangible heritage – accurate digital replicas of monuments, objects, and sites.
Intangible heritage – stories, traditions, and cultural practices.
Contextual data – metadata, paradata, and usage history woven into the digital record.

Additionally, during the presentation a special focus will be reserved to quality certification during 3D data acquisition, paradata, metadata, transparency, credibility, future-proofing, and more.

Find the provisional programme and attitional information here.

You can register at this link.

a visit of the develper team on location allowed to source additional materials and plan for the next steps in the reconstruction of lost walls of Girona city and their AR experience

EUreka3D-XR pilot scenario in Girona moving forward into production

EUreka3D-XR partner Swing:IT Software Engineering Italia S.r.l. team met CRDI Ajuntament de Girona for two fruitful days of work, planning and progressing on the virtual visualisation of the Girona historical walls, one of the three XR scenarios developed in the project.

The pilot is about using archival materials to reconstruct in 3D the medieval walls of the city of Girona (Catalonia, Spain); and to reuse such reconstruction for an AR walking tour using a mobile device. The walls were partly demolished at the beginning of the 20th century because of the new urban setting of the city, and so archaeological restoration was not possible anymore.

[Show as slideshow]

In the EUreka3D-XR project, 3D modelling and XR allow to go back to history and recover what was destroyed at that time. Based on cartography, engravings, photography, films and textual records, we will be able to visualise the walls again with a very realistic approach. Using the AI 3D Builder tool that partner project Swing:It is developing, an advanced AI-powered software pipeline to generate 3D models from 2D image collections, it will be possible to recreate very realistic 3D models of the demolished walls. To enable users and tourists to access this reconstruction, the 3D XR Studio, a web-based editor complemented with a mobile application, will allow to create an XR experience aceesible on site.

In the team meeting in July 2025, much work was done including capturing images with a drone as a source for the reconstruction, visiting the location where the virtual reconstruction of the wall will be placed, visiting the City History Museum to get more historical context, all complemented with enriching meetings and discussions about the evaluation and iterative development of the tools and the final outcomes.

In November 2025 the first prototype of the tools is expected to be released, and the Girona walls scenario will be presented in its first version during a demo event set in Girona at the end of January 2026.

Read more about the Pilot on project website: www.eureka3d-xr.eu

Cost-benefit Analysis for the Transition to Circular Tourism: the VERNE methodology

Sustainable Tourism and Green Transition

The VERNE project that participates in the SECreTour Network of Common Interest, has published an interesting news about Cost-benefit Analysis for the Transition to Circular Tourism.

“Yes, sustainability sounds nice, but what will it cost me?” This question stops many tourism businesses from embracing circular practices. The VERNE project aims to provide clear, trustworthy answers through a specialized cost-benefit analysis methodology designed specifically for tourism’s unique challenges.

The VERNE’s cost-benefit analysis methodology will translate sustainability from a vague ideal into concrete financial terms that business leaders can use for decision-making. It will analyse three critical layers:

The Business Model Layer: Examining how circular practices affect core operations, revenue streams, and customer relationships
The Competitive Environment Layer: Assessing how sustainability initiatives impact market positioning, brand value, and customer loyalty
The General Environment Layer: Evaluating broader benefits like regulatory compliance, community relations, and resilience against future disruptions

Stay connected with VERNE to access these valuable tools as they become available.

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.

19 September 2025 - 9 October 2025, Pisa

UN/FRAMED digital exhibition

Organized by EstOvestEst-APS, the social promotion association in Pisa, the new modern digital art exhibition UN/FRAMED, curated by digital art expert Claudio Francesconi, will officially open at 7:00 PM on September 19, 2025, at the Bastione del Parlascio, in the heart of Pisa, and will run for one month.

An international summit forum on the ethics of artificial intelligence and digital art will also be held at the Museo della Grafica in Pisa, directed by Professor Alessandro Tosi, Professor of Art History at the University of Pisa.

Read more about UN/FRAMED at this link.

The project UNCODED, in the context of which the exhibition is being held, is actively preparing to relocate a future exhibition to China, to deepen cooperation between China and Italy in the fields of art and technology.

In July 2025, associated to the project plenary, the experts that support the progress of EUreka3D-XR project met with the consortium for discusssion and insights.

EUreka3D-XR Advisory Board meets online

EUreka3D-XR engages with renowned international experts on 3D, cultural heritage documentation, storytelling and visitor experience in AR and XR. This Advisory Board is regularly consulted on project progress, and during the plenary meeting held online on 7-8 July 2025 a dedicated session was organized, to present the early achievements of the pilot scenarios and XR tools that the project is developing.

After an opening overview by project coordinator Antonella Fresa (Photoconsortium), joint presentations were delivered by the pilot participants: about the virtual visualization of the Girona walls, by partners CRDI and Swing.it; about the AR tour of Bibracte archaeological site, by partners Bibracte and NTUA; and about the virtual reconstruction of life in the Saint Neophytos Englystra in Paphos, by partners CUT and Miralab.

Following the presentations, a feedback collection session led by John Balean (Photoconsortium) engaged the experts in a fruitiful discussion on key aspects relating to user engagement, openly accessible tools for 3D and XR creation and management, on the sustainability on the long term, given the rapidly changing pace of the technology and the cultural heritage sector, and finally the challenges on costs and budget constraints that cultural heritage institutions face nowadays.

The slides of the presentation can be accessed from HERE

EU webinar on 10/09/2025

“Better cross-border travel: Europe’s external borders and freedom of movement”

As global mobility rebounds and digital innovation reshapes travel, the EU is taking steps to modernize and streamline cross-border travel.

An exclusive webinar is taking place on 10/09/2025 exploring the future of travel in Europe — from digitalisation of Schengen visa procedures to smart travel documents and faster border processes.

Industry experts from aviation, rail, road and cruise sectors will share practical insights, while European Commission representatives will provide updates on the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). The session will also reflect on digital health certificates during the COVID-19 pandemic and their lasting impact on international mobility.

#EUTravel #SchengenVisa #DigitalMobility #ETIAS #EES #FutureOfTravel #seamlessTravel #CrossborderTravel

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.

A comprehesive assessment Framework for Circular Tourism from the VERNE project

Beyond Visitors Numbers

The VERNE project that participates in the SECreTour Network of Common Interest,has published an interesting news about sustainability measurement methodologies across tourism certification schemes and academic research models.

Traditional tourism metrics prioritize visitor volume and economic output while overlooking environmental degradation and social impacts on local communities.

The VERNE project addresses this analytical gap through the development of a 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 that integrates environmental, social, and economic factors into a comprehensive evaluation systems.

This evidence-based framework represents a very interesting shift from linear measurement approaches to holistic assessment methodologies, designed for practical implementation by tourism businesses, destination management organizations, and public authorities.

The framework recognizes that sustainable tourism transformation requires balanced consideration of all the sustainability dimensions rather than isolated economic optimization. Supported by a comprehensive review, the VERNE project identifies strengths and limitations of current approaches, enabling integration of most effective elements into a unified assessment system.

The proposed tools will enable stakeholders to quantify transition investments and expected returns across different implementation timescales, providing evidence-based decision support for circular tourism adoption.

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.