Digital meets Culture

New story on Europeana Pro

Beyond Borders Hackathon: showcasing cultural collections for sustainable tourism promotion

In the aftermath of the Beyond Borders Hackathon, jointly organized by Europeana, Photoconsortium, SECreTour project, 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 new story has been written for Europeana Pro.

In the piece, it is explored how the participants had the chance of experimenting with digital cultural heritage, listening to talks on digital transformation in cultural heritage and the use of 2D and 3D digital resources to promote tourism and engaging with Europeana’s open cultural datasets to create digital storytelling projects on Insubria’s geocultural heritage.

Read the story at this link.

A new story published on Europeana

The history of Saint Neophytos

Saint Neophytos the Recluse, also known as Saint Neophytos of Cyprus, lived as a hermit and left a vast theological and cultural imprint on the history of his homeland and the Orthodox world at large – his story is now live on Europeana, thanks to a blogpost produced and published in the context of EUreka3D-XR project. The project is in the process of recreating Saint Neophytos’ enkleistra as a virtual experience which will include the first-ever recording of the liturgy that is held on the Saint’s feast day and celebrated only twice a year.

Discover the story of Saint Neophytos<<<<

A new gallery on Europeana

Saint Neophytos’ enkleistra’s frescoes

Discover the frescoes of Saint Neophytos’ enkleistra through a new gallery published on Europeana in the context of Eureka3D-XR project.

The gallery was published with the occasion of the publication of a story on Saint Neophytos of Cyprus.

View the gallery at this link.

Enter theircreative writing competition

Europeana Creative Climate Action Award

The first Europeana Creative Climate Action Award invites audience to write an original short story or poem inspired by cultural heritage content on the theme of climate action and one or more of the images in the Europeana Creative Climate Action Award gallery, which has been curated by the Europeana Climate Action Community.

To be submitted before 11 January 2026, the entries will be judged by a Committee within Europeana, and can anyone can participate – both native and non-native English speakers. Winners will be published and will receive prizes.

How to submit your entry:

Check out the Europeana gallery and choose one or more images that inspire you. Your writing doesn’t have to reference the image specifically, but it should be evident that the theme, symbols or atmosphere of your story or poem is reflected somehow in the image you’ve chosen.
Write your story or poem in English, with a maximum of 500 words.
Check out the terms and conditions below.
Complete the submission form by the closing date of 11 January 2026 at 23:59.

Learn more on Europeana’s dedicated blogpost.

Due by January 23rd, 2026

Call for Proposals open for 2026 IIIF Annual Conference and Showcase

For the 2026 IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework) Annual Conference and Showcase, that will be held in the Netherlands June 1–4, 2026, The IIIF Conference Program Committee invites proposals through Call for Proposals has been made available.

Proposals for presentation are to be presented in the following formats:

5-minute lightning talks
15-minute presentations (plus 5 minutes for Q&A)
Posters (plus a 1-minute introduction)
Workshops (1–3 hours)
Birds of a Feather sessions

Some of the themes the Committee is encouraging are sustainability in IIIF contexts, implementations outside of cultural heritage, innovative implementations (3D, A/V, maps, RTI), AI implementation in IIIF and accessibility. View here all the themes.

All submitted proposals will be peer-reviewed and will be considered for inclusion in the conference schedule by a volunteer program committee; proposals should be a lenght of 300–500 words for the presentation and should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 200 words. The works are to be submitteed on January 23, 2026 through Conftool.

Read the entirety of the Call for Proposals at this link.

Limassol (Cyprus), 26 May 2026

SAVE THE DATE: Digital Cultural Heritage in the Era of AI and Extended Reality

Digital Cultural Heritage in the Era of AI and Extended Reality

26 May 2026

All-day event.

Onsite at the auspices of our Partner UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage at the Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol, Cyprus

During the Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council of the European Union and in the framework of the EuroMed2026 Digital Heritage Summit (25th to 30th of May 2026), the EUreka3D-XR project will organize its final conference. The event will showcase the project’s key outcomes and achievements through public presentations delivered by project partners and invited experts in the field.

The conference will focus on how 3D digitisation in AI and Extended Reality (XR) technologies enable innovative re-use of cultural heritage, supporting the transformation of digital assets into compelling narratives and immersive experiences for diverse audiences. In this context, the innovative and breakthrough results of the project will be presented for the first time, illustrating the combined outcomes of the EUreka3D and EUreka3D-XR projects by bringing monuments and heritage sites to life and allowing them to “speak” through digital storytelling and immersive technologies.

The event will also showcase the project’s use-case scenarios developed in Girona (Spain), Bibracte (France), and Saint Neophytos Monastery, Paphos (Cyprus), as well as the five project tools, demonstrated in real operational contexts and made available to Cultural Heritage Institutions. In addition, project partners will present the long-term vision of the EUreka3D Initiative, building on the project’s results and evolving towards the establishment of a European Competence Centre for 3D digitisation and XR in digital cultural heritage.

A roundtable discussion will actively engage key professionals and leading experts in the domain through live, in-person presentations and dialogue, fostering critical reflection, strategic alignment, and knowledge exchange.

This full-day event will culminate in the delivery of a position paper addressed to the Cyprus EU Council Presidency, as well as the preparation of a unique Springer Nature book publication, capturing the strategic insights, research challenges, -contributions, and future directions emerging from the multidisciplinary experts and conference.

The EUreka3D-XR Final Event will take place within a high-level European context, coinciding with the final events of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union, EuroMed 2026 – the 11th International Summit on Digital Heritage, held in Limassol from 24 to 30 May 2026 under the theme “Monuments, Memory and Identity”, and the Europeana Hackathon, taking place in Limassol on 27–28 May 2026

In parallel, a Pan-European Hackathon will be organised in cooperation with Europeana and the European Commission (DG CONNECT), taking place at the same venue and during the same period in Limassol on 27–28 May 2026, further strengthening cross-European collaboration and innovation around the use and re-use of high-quality 3D content in cultural heritage.

Further details and registration information will be published during the first weeks of January 2026.

Developed by the UrbanHistory4D project

New 4D Browser course launched on Europeana Academy

Developed by the UrbanHistory4D project and hosted Europeana Academy, the 4D Browser course is designed to introduce new users to the 4D Browser – an innovative tool that lets user explore historically reconstructed 3D cityscapes across time.

The course can be taken by history enthusiast, cultural heritage professionals, educators and researchers, urban planners and whoever might be curious to explore the transformation of a city through time.

By the end of the course, users will have acquired key skills such as:

Understanding the core features and functions of the 4D Browser;
Navigating and interacting with 3D city models;
Accessing and analysing georeferenced historical photos;
Using the time slider feature to explore urban transformation.

Participants, aftermath, resources

Great success for “Driving Digital Transformation in Cultural Heritage Institutions” Online Training Programme

After three appointments, open keynote speeches and interactive working sessions where 30 learners were selected to join the full programme, the 2025 Online Training Programme “Driving Digital Transformation in Cultural Heritage Institutions” (organized by EUreka3D‑XR Project in collaboration with the International Council on Archives (ICA) and Photoconsortium), came to an end.

The event was a great success, with over 80 participants in every session and plenty of views on the Youtube livestreams, that are still available (links below) for those who want to dive back into the or fully immerse themselves for the first time to further inspire and support continued learning and reflection around the topic. Moreover, the participants to the interactive part hosted by Peter Fornaro (University of Basel) had a productive and fruitful session, and will receive a certificate for their activity.

Programme and livestreams

Wednesday, 19 Nov 2025 h. 15:00–17:00 CET
“Heritage Policies and Strategies for the Digital Transformation of Practices”
Keynote by Antonella Fresa – The session will explore European policies, strategic visions and infrastructures underlying digital cultural heritage
Live streaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_f3GCcFGKI

Wednesday, 26 Nov 2025 h. 15:00–17:00 CET
“The Impact and Transformative Power of Digital Cultural Heritage”
Keynotes by Fred Truyen (KU Leuven) & David Iglésias Franch (CRDI – Ajuntament de Girona) – Focus on case-studies and the practical and societal implications of digital heritage innovation
Live streaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhqL4n2GvJ0

Wednesday, 3 Dec 2025 h. 15:00–17:00 CET
“Good Practices and Experiences for Creation, Access and Re-use”
Keynotes by Frederik Temmermans (VUB – imec) & Eirini Kaldeli (NTUA) – A co-creation interactive session based on use-case scenarios for creation, access and re-use of cultural assets
Live streaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObuhHUDxzVk

About the Programme

The 2025 Online Training Programme builds on the previous webinar series organised in 2023–2024 and seeks to provide cultural heritage professionals with advanced knowledge and applied methodologies in digital transformation.

Through this initiative ICA, EUreka3D-XR and Photoconsortium aim to support heritage institutions in addressing policy implications, strategic frameworks, practice-based innovation and reuse of digital cultural heritage.

Valmiera (Latvia), 11-13 May 2026

IN SITU Project final conference

IN SITU: Place-based innovation of cultural and creative industries in non-urban areas Project organises a Final conference (Valmiera, 11-13 May 2026), “Culture Matters Here. Cultivating Creative Place-based Innovation in Non-urban Communities”

Co-organised by the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra in cooperation with the European Network of Cultural Centres, Culture Action Europe and all the IN SITU project partners, and in conjunction with our local associates, Valmiera County Municipality and Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. This event will be a catalyst for networking, exchange, and knowledge-building among participants, furthering understanding of the issues and opportunities for rural creative work, and contributing to a more supportive environment for cultural and creative actors in non-urban areas.

For the upcoming Final Conference IN SITU Project invites scholars, researchers, artists, cultural practitioners, activists, policymakers, and decision-makers from across the world and a wide variety of disciplines to submit proposals for presentations of papers and projects. We welcome participation by the large community of the European Rural Pact, including the Community Group on Culture and Creativity in Rural Areas. A special geographical focus will be placed on innovative and sustainable cultural and creative practices in remote areas and peripheral corners of Europe.

All submissions should offer an original contribution to the vital topic of place-based innovation and the transformative power of the creative and cultural sector in forging more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable communities in rural and non-urban areas. We will also share key insights from our research, highlight project results, and look ahead to future plans.

Additionally, the event will host the premiere of the IN SITU documentary, offering an inside look at our Labs and case studies.

Call for Proposals

Website: https://insituculture.eu/culture-matters-here-cultivating-creative-place-based-innovation-in-non-urban-communities/

Collaboration agreement has started between SECreTour and R.Map project in December 2025

New collaborations of SECreTour with R.MAP project

The SECreTour Network is growing!

R-MAP is the acronym of the project titled Mapping, understanding, assessing and predicting the effects of remote working arrangements in urban and rural areas.

R-Map is a three-year project funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Programme, started on 2024. It brings together 12 dedicated partners from across Europe. Its mission is to study comprehesively the urban-rural gap and to address how it is influenced by remote work.

R-Map’s approach includes cross-regional dialogues and policy roundtables to ensure that the findings and recommendations are applicable across diverse regions in Europe and beyond. By understanding and shaping the trends related to remote work, R-Map aims to create environments suitable for both urban and rural settings.

By using state-of-the-art research methods and working closely with stakeholders, the project’s mission is to provide data-driven solutions and tackle the ongoing challenge of bridging the urban-rural gap, recognizing the influence of remote work on social, spatial, economic and environmental aspects.

The public deliverables of R.MAP, including its first Policy Brief can be accessed at the following link: https://r-map.eu/deliverables/

We look forward to share in the SECreTOUR Network further news from R.MAP.

R.Map Website: https://r-map.eu/

R.MAP Social Media Channels:
LinkedIn
Facebook
YouTube
BlueSky
Twitter

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