Digital meets Culture

Collaboration agreement has started between SECreTour and GAL Elimos in October 2025

New collaborations of SECreTour with GAL Elimos

The SECreTour Network is growing!

GAL Elimos (Gruppo di Azione Locale Elimos) is a Local Action Group based in Calatafimi Segesta, in the Trapani area (Sicily).

Its mission is to foster local development and innovation through EU-funded rural development programs, supporting entrepreneurship, sustainable tourism, agri-food value chains, cultural heritage, and social inclusion projects.

The GAL Elimos actively promotes networking and partnerships at local, national, and international levels to enhance rural and coastal territories.

GAL Elimos has been partner of the INCULTUM project funded by the EU under the Horizon 2020 Programme. As a concrete outcome of the pilot that GAL Elimos run in INCULTUM, the Green Way has become a reality.

The Gren Way poster with the Castle of Calatafimi on the background

We look forward to share in the SECreTOUR Network more good news from GAL Elimos.

Website: www.galelimos.it
Social media / hashtag:
• Instagram: @gal_elimos Instagram
• Facebook: Gal Elimos

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

Upcoming appointment: October 8th, Museo della Grafica (Pisa) at 4PM

UNFRAMED exhibition: a successful and still on-going series of cultural and artistic events

On the 19th of September, the UNFRAMED – Towards a New Reality exhibition was successfully opened at the Palazzo del Parlascio in Pisa, with the capability of uniting culture, research, and tourism. The vernissage was followed on the 24th by a conference titled “Art, Technology and New Perceptions”: the summit showed how different disciplines can converge in a neohumanist vision capable of placing humanity, its perceptions, and its needs back at the center, where a world enriched by synthetic algorithms is not necessarily colder or duller: on the contrary, it opens up new possibilities in the technical and artistic fields.

Alongside the exhibition, an international debate on digital art will be hosted by Museo della Grafica in Pisa on the 8th of October: after a meeting with Pisan schools in the morning, at 4PM the Museum it will be possible to participate to the conference “Dialogue on Digital Art: Around the Unframed Exhibition” led by Professor Alessandro Tosi, director of the Museum. The debate will offer a food for thought on the evolution of digital art, examining the role of institutions, the impact on tourism and the economy, and the connections between research, academies, and the local Pisan area. Expert speakers and artists both from Italy and China will attend, highlighting the involvement of both local and international institutions.

Read the press release (IT) at this link.

January 27-29, online

2026 International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) Online Meeting

The Online Meeting is intended for a wide range of participants and interested parties, including digital image repository managers, content curators, software developers, scholars, and administrators at libraries, museums, cultural heritage institutions, software firms, and other organizations working with digital images and audio/visual materials.

As a counterpart to the IIIF in-person Annual Conference, this event is meant both to introduce newcomers to IIIF and to provide a forum for discussion and dissemination for those with experience implementing and working with IIIF in a variety of contexts.

Call for proposals is open until November 3: more information can be found on the call for Proposals page. Registrations are open until November 25.

More at this link.

all projects funded to support the common European data space for cultural heritage gathered in Brussels for a day of presentations, discussions and synergies

EUreka3D initiative at European Commission cluster event on the data space for cultural heritage

EUreka3D-XR was invited at the cluster event organized by HaDEA the European Health and Digital Executive Agency in Brussels on 24 September 2025. The meeting was organized as a working session to present the project and its progress in support to the cultural heritage sector, with a specific focus on collaboration and synergies with the Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage and its supporting projects.

The event was also a fruitful session to engage with other projects supporting the Data Space and to share perspectives on 3D and XR solutions for Cultural Heritage Institutions. With colleagues from Europeana Foundation, XRculture, 3DBigDataSpace, RCtoDC, AIforCulture, DEBIAS and LIP3D, project coordinator Antonella Fresa presented the EUreka3D initiative and the work ongoing in the EUreka3D-XR project, also engaging in a panel discussion focused on themes of 3D, AI, XR, reuse and sustainability.

As part of the event, EUreka3D-XR hosted a desk where the EUreka3D Data Hub for 3D collections storage, management and sharing was presented and demonstrated.

CUT uses the Avatar Builder by MIRALab, to produce the creation of a new life of Saint Neophytos Englystra in Cyprus in virtual space.

EUreka3D-XR pilot scenario in Cyprus documents holistically a heritage site

The EUreka3D-XR project seeks to transform digital cultural heritage resources into dynamic digital assets that can support engaging narratives and extended reality (XR) experiences. By doing so, it aims to inspire audiences, deepen connections with shared knowledge, histories, and enhance the valorisation of cultural heritage. In this light, one of the pilots of the project is set in Paphos and led by partner CUT Cyprus University of Technology. The pilot named “The creation of a new life of Saint Neophytos Englystra in Cyprus in the virtual space” is about visiting a monastery in a cave and being able to virtually meet avatars of the monks who lived there, ask them predefined questions and hear their stories, with headset.

The vision of the pilot is to produce a faithful digital representation of the Englystra based on previous and ongoing research to allow the primary stakeholder, the Monastery of Saint Neophytos, to tell the story of the Saint’s life and times through a digital ‘avatar’ of the saint who will appear in 3D and explains his story to the visitor. Two versions of the scenario are envisioned, one a Mixed Reality (MR) version on site and the other a purely virtual experience able to be distributed to schools. Partner MIRALab has already released a first prototype of the avatar, which was recently shown via headset during the capacity building event “Reimagining cultural heritage in 3D and XR” held in Brussels and online on 26/9/2025.

As part of the documentation of the cultural heritage site the pilot is set in, the CUT team in collaboration with the Saint Neophytos Monastery carried out an audiovisual documentation of the liturgy held on the Saint’s feast day. This unique liturgy was recorded for the very first time and its celebrated only twice a year: on 28 September, commemorating the discovery of the saint’s relics in the Englystra, and on 24 January. This recording will form an integral part of the holistic documentation of the monastery, enriching the preservation of its intangible cultural heritage. Selected excerpts will also be incorporated into the XR experience of the Englystra, currently under development within the EUreka3D-XR project.

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

Lugano, 23-24-25 October 2025 (also available online access)

SECreTOUR Beyond Borders

Beyond Borders is an initiative of the SECreTOUR project, made of three appointments on 23-24-25 October 2025, aiming to explore opportunities, initatives and experiences about sustainable cultural tourism, in the light of challenges and opportunities posed by cross-border actions.

On Thrusday 23/10/2025: Public workshop on Cross-Border Collaboration and Macro-Regions for Cultural Tourism

The workshop gathers representatives of the SECreTour consortium, as well as international invitees from organizations in the fields of heritage and tourism, whose contributions will be guided by the following goals:

Understanding the concerned public activities, challenges and dynamics faced by EU projects on cross-border tourism;
Defining guidelines and operational models for cooperation in the tourism and heritage field;
Reinforcing cross-border collaborations in the context of the SECreTour pilots;
Developing synergies between SECreTour and other similar EU projects.

Online participation will be available, too.

On Friday 24/10/2024: Visit of the sites of the Monte San Giorgio SECreTOUR pilot following the Miraculous Catch itinerary

Monte San Giorgio is pole of knowledge for territorial sustainable development.

Situated between Italy and Tessin, inside the heart of Europe, it is nowadays a UNESCO natural site, very rich in cultural heritage.

The Miraculous Catch itinerary will develop through the sites of the SECreTOUR pilot, namely: Riva San Vitale – Meride – Serpiano – Brusino Arsizio – Morcote

On Saturday 25/10/2025: Beyond Borders Hackathon

The event is organised in collaboration with Europeana, Photoconsortium International Association, the UNESCO Chair of the Università della Svizzera Italiana in ICT to develop and promote sustainable tourism in World Heritage Sites and the UNESCO Chair of the University of Genoa in Anthropology of Health, Biosphere and Healing Systems.

The hackathon is focused on reusing open access cultural collections for promoting cultural tourism.

Young creatives and students are invited to deliver creative proposals using the vast collections available on the Europeana website, inspired by SECreTOUR’s mission to promote sustainable, engaging and creative tourism as a driver for a better future in rural and remote areas.

Full agenda and registration to the Hackathon is available online.

The three appointments are hosted by Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI), a partner of the SECreTOUR consortium.

SECreTOUR is a research and innovation action funded under the Horizon Europe Programme of the EU.

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

The new campaign led by Europeana aims at supporting EU Member States in 3D digitisation, preservation and reuse

‘Twin it! Part II’ campaign for 3D cultural heritage

Building on the momentum of Twin it! 3D for Europe’s Culture (June 2023 – June 2024), the Europeana Initiative and the European Commission launched Twin it! Part II campaign to run during the Polish, Danish and Cypriot Rotating Presidencies of the Council of the EU.

The Twin it! campaign mobilised each of the 27 EU Ministries in charge of culture to submit one 3D digitised heritage asset to the common European data space for cultural heritage, deployed by the Europeana Initiative, resulting in a collection of 37 high-quality 3D models representing buildings, sites and objects from all over Europe.

The Part II is a next chapter that aims to further support EU Member States in their 3D digitisation and preservation efforts — now with a sharper focus on how the digitised assets will be used, to further unlock the power of 3D digitisation by driving meaningful reuse across sectors to expand the reach and impact of cultural data, and boost innovation and competitiveness across the cultural heritage ecosystem.

In Twin it! Part II, Ministries of Culture of the European Union Member States are invited to collaborate with their national cultural institutions to submit at least one high-quality 3D-digitised heritage asset to the data space indicating clearly the proposed reuse intent, along with additional data, paradata and metadata.

A variety of initiatives are currently being deployed by Europeana and its partner organizations, to support the CH sector in joining the effort, such as awareness campaigns, guidelines, online training, informative cafes, capacity building events and other satellite actions.

Twin it! Part II will culminate in a high-level final event in Cyprus, where Ministers will showcase their submitted 3D assets and share their vision for reuse. It will also engage creators, developers, and cultural heritage enthusiasts to explore innovative ways to reuse the collected 3D models.

Application for the Hackathon, taking place in Lugano (Switzerland) on 25th October 2025, are open to students and digital creators

Beyond Borders Hackathon – reusing open access cultural collections for sustainable tourism

As part of a cooperation agreement, EUreka3D initiative is collaborating with SECreTour project to explore how digital cultural heritage can support local promotion and tourism, particularly by reusing open cultural collections to create engaging materials and storytelling about places and communities.

Project SECreTour is organizing, together with Photoconsortium, Europeana, UNESCO Chair of the Università della Svizzera Italiana in ICT to develop and promote sustainable tourism in world heritage sites and UNESCO Chair of the Università di Genova in Anthropology of Health, Biosphere and Healing Systems, a Hackathon in Lugano, addressing young creatives and students to deliver a creative proposal using the vast collections available on the Europeana website, inspired by SECreTour’s mission to promote sustainable, engaging and creative tourism as a driver for a better future in rural and remote areas.

EUreka3D-XR resources and tools will be presented to participants, along with the capacity building resources and activities organized by the project that could be of interest for current and prospect cultural heritage professionals.

Read more and apply: https://www.photoconsortium.net/beyond-borders-hackathon/

The Processions of Mendrisio, by Heinz Plenge, CC BY-SA.

at arebyte's Digital Art Centre (London), 12th September - 21st December 2025

Prophecy – by Auriea Harvey

photo credit: Devika Bilimoria

(THIS ROOM IS A SCULPTURE CALLED) PROPHECY is a body of newly commissioned work by pioneering multi-media artist Auriea Harvey. Curated by Pita Arreola, PROPHECY is an allegorical rendering of a spiritual journey, charting a course to reclaim grace and unity amid a landscape of disconnection and collective suffering. At its core lies a deep yearning for empathy amongst fractured societies.

These themes resonate with the concerns of British mystic, artist, and poet William Blake (1757–1827), who more than two hundred years ago created a series of engraved prophetic books that in their own interdisciplinary capacity combined poetry and vivid imagery. Rooted in his exposure to London’s rapid and exploitative urbanisation and his visionary experiences, Blake came to view himself as a prophet, using his art to critique the moral, political, and spiritual conditions of his time.

photo credit: Devika Bilimoria

Imbued with the same radical charge, PROPHECY carves its own mystical immersive system through a pollination of figures from Catholic faith with epic tales drawn from Greek mythos. The resulting exhibition is constructed as a mythic technological infrastructure made up of individual and interconnected digital artworks that are suggestive of religious architecture. This spatial arrangement, along with the presence of saintly figures in the galleries, seeks to evoke a moment of introspective reflection in the audience. Through this composition, Harvey presents the virtues and flaws that characterise a society ruled by technological frameworks, and invites us to explore the potential of spirituality and collective human action to emancipate oneself from algorithmic control.

Bringing together motion capture, holograms, AI-generated choreography and 3D printing within an interactive installation spanning three immersive chambers, PROPHECY is a counterstrategy to the pacifying impacts that contemporary technologies that AI and social media have on our perception of reality, calling for a rediscovery of spirituality and the empowerment of collective action. Harvey offers a poetic resistance to digital opacity, proposing that prophecy in the 21st century might not be about prediction, but about feeling, embodiment, and transforming the tools that govern us.

photo credit: Devika Bilimoria

Learn more: https://www.arebyte.com/auriea-harvey

Promote your organisation’s skills and heritage on the EU MetaHeritage Map!

Time Machine Organization is delighted to invite organisations to join MetaHeritage, a pioneering European initiative committed to promoting sustainable heritage development through digital innovation and cross-regional collaboration. Participation in the MetaHeritage network is completely free of charge.

By joining, organisations can:

Gain visibility and recognition on the interactive project map
Build networks and collaborations with experts and institutions across Europe
Access innovation, tools, and best practices for heritage projects
Contribute to shaping the future of cultural heritage policies and practices

How to join?
Fill in the questionnaire (available in multiple languages) here: https://metaheritage.eu/eu-survey/
Register for free to access the community platform here: https://metaheritage.eu/register/

Please note: The survey was translated using AI tools, so some phrasing may appear abstract but remains understandable. Feedback can be shared via the contact details on the website.