EUreka3D-XR project at the Archaeology Village in Paris

On 13 and 14 June 2026, as part of the European Archaeology Days, the Bibracte team presented several activities and tools developed or promoted through the EUreka3D-XR project at the Archaeology Village in Paris. Over the two-day event, around 300 visitors (families, archaeology enthusiasts, students and professionals) visited the stand and took part in the activities.

The educational game “On the Shoulders of the Gauls” proved particularly popular with visitors of all ages. Participants also had the opportunity to test the AR Tour Experience geolocated augmented reality application through two tours: “The Medieval Walls of Paris”, which will remain permanently available, and “Beneath the Pavestones of the Bastille”, a temporary experience created specifically for the event. The demonstrations generated great enthusiasm, resulting in 21 app downloads on site. For several visitors, it was their first experience of augmented reality, and many were genuinely impressed by the technology.

The presentation of the AR Tour Builder, notably through a dedicated poster, also attracted the interest of heritage and education professionals. Discussions highlighted potential applications beyond the cultural heritage sector. An urban planning professional, for example, pointed out the value of these tools for helping residents visualise future developments in their neighbourhoods during public consultation meetings.

Following this successful event, the Bibracte team will continue showcasing the game and the application at public outreach and heritage events throughout the summer.

 


eu emblemEUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.


NOW LIVE on Europeana: EUreka3D-XR wrap-up post

As EUreka3D-XR approaches its final stage, we can start to draw conclusions from a fruitful 18 months and are delighted to share the project’s work, achievements and resources: “EUreka3D-XR: exploring cultural heritage through 3D digitisation and XR experiences” is now live on the Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage website.

The blogpost explores:

  • The three case scenarios
  • EUreka3D-XR project’s aim and scope, including the priority given to Data quality and authenticity
  • The open-source Toolbox
  • The infrastructures provided by the projects
  • The support from the EUreka3D initiative towards the TwinIt! Campaign
  • The booklet produced in the context of Eureka3D-XR

Read it and learn more at this link<<<<

The blog also features the video summary of the EUreka3D initiative that was showcased at the Final Event in Cyprus. Watch it below:


eu emblemEUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.


MetaHeritage Webinar #6: Heritage Innovation Meets Investment – Connecting Culture and Capital

Cultural heritage is increasingly recognized not only as a societal value but also as a driver of innovation, sustainable development, and economic opportunity. The upcoming MetaHeritage Webinar 6, titled “Heritage Innovation and Investment: Connecting Culture and Capital”, will explore exactly this intersection.

The webinar brings together experts from the fields of cultural heritage, innovation, finance, and digital transformation to discuss how heritage can be sustainably funded, scaled, and integrated into broader innovation ecosystems.

Why this webinar matters

As cultural institutions and heritage initiatives face growing demands for digital transformation, sustainability, and audience engagement, new financing models and investment strategies are becoming essential. This webinar will explore how culture and capital can work together to unlock long-term value.

Key themes include:

  • Innovative financing models for cultural heritage projects
  • The role of public and private investment in heritage innovation
  • Digital technologies enabling new cultural business models
  • Sustainable strategies for scaling heritage initiatives
  • Collaboration between cultural institutions, startups, and investors

Who should attend? This webinar is designed for:

  • Cultural heritage professionals and institutions
  • Policy makers and public sector stakeholders
  • Investors and innovation funders
  • Researchers and digital heritage practitioners
  • Startups working in cultural and creative industries

MetaHeritage continues to foster dialogue between culture, technology, and innovation. This webinar is an opportunity to explore how investment and heritage can come together to shape a more sustainable and innovative cultural future.

Register to the Webinar at this link<<<<


EUreka3D-XR at IIIF Conference 2026

From June 1st to the 4th, IIIF Conference held its 2026 edition: the event 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.

During the forth day of this year’s edition of the event, Professor Ronald S. Haynes (University of Cambridge, UK) showcased EUreka3D-XR initiative and the Cyprus pilot of the Saint Neophytos enkleistra during his presentation Prezi 4.0 – Working with 3D & new options.

To learn more about the IIIF initiative follow this link<<<<


eu emblemEUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.


EUreka3D-XR: more dissemination taking place at the Enkleistra of Saint Neophytos

On June 4th 2026, under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council and within the Digital Cultural Heritage Summit 2026, EUreka3D-XR held an additional event that addressed the full pipelines for the use and re-use of 3D content, with the aim of further pursuing the topics discussed within the roundtables held on May 26th, Twin it! Policy Roundtable: 3D and AI for Europe’s culture and heritage and Why we Digitise Cultural Heritage, its Use & ReUse; Persistent Virtual Worlds and AI, held during the EUreka3D-XR Final Event in Limassol.

During this follow-up event, members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus with their teams accompanied by representatives from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, the  Pilgrimage Tours Office of the Church of Cyprus, the Paphos Development Organisation and the Cyprus University of Technology visited the Monastery of Saint Neophytos in Tala (Paphos) and had the opportunity to explore advanced tech tools involving AI, XR and Metaverse with the support of specialists in the field from the UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage at the Cyprus University of Technology and the Digital Heritage Research Lab: this experience was followed by fruitful discussions around the topic of digitisation of endangered digital cultural heritage and the EUreka3D-XR pursuit of the Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021 on the common European data space for cultural heritage.

Additionally, following the coverage of the first outreach event in the context of EUreka3D-XR organised in Paphos in May 24th, the pan-European television news network Euronews aired an excellent TV report: the coverage brought valuable visibility in Europe and beyond, to the collaborative efforts of researchers, cultural institutions, technology experts and heritage professionals working together to shape the future of digital heritage.

A news article was also published, and at the moment is available in four languages (FR, RU, PL, PT).


eu emblemEUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.


EUreka3D-XR’s Virtual Humans presented at CASAXR 26

During CASAXR 26 – International Conference on Computer Animation, Social Agents, and Extended Reality, Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, Nedjma Cadi-Yazli and Thiago Freitas, from MIRALab with Drew Baker, Maria Paphiti and Marinos Ioannidesfrom from Cyprus University of Technology presented their work within EUreka3D-XR with a presentation titled From Frescoes to XR: A Digital Human Pipeline for Saint Neophytos.

The presentation took place in the morning session about Virtual Humans, chaired by Despina Michael-Grigoriou from Cyprus University of Technology.

Read more about the conference and take a look at the programme.


“They believed I was imitating God”

World-renowned professor at the University of Geneva, pioneer in socially interactive robots and founder of MIRALab, Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, spoke to Cypriot Journal “Φ” philenews on the occasion of the 3D visualization of the Enclave of Saint Neophytos in the context of EUreka3D-XR project, about a future where humans will live together with humanoid systems.

Through 15 question covering Nadia Thalmann’s entire brillian career with a focus on her work precedent to, within and future from EUreka3D-XR project, the article provides valuable insights from an expert in the fields of 3D modeling, virtual humans, their place in cultural heritage and more.

Read the article (EL) at this link<<<<

 


EUreka3D-XR at 2and3D Photography

On May 21st, on the second day of the 2and3D Photography conference held at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, David Iglésias Franch (CRDI/Photoconsortium) and Axelle Vanmaele (meemoo) had the opportunity to deliver a presentation in the context of EUreka3D-XR project titled Challenges in 3D digitization: experience and resources among prestigious colleagues.

Their presentation, highlighted practical lessons and methodologies developed within the EUreka3D ecosystem. The talk presented concrete experiences in 3D digitisation, drawing from the digitisation of daguerreotypes from the Girona City Council audiovisual archive (CRDI), where the reflective and delicate nature of the objects required experimentation, technical adaptations and iterative testing to achieve high-quality 3D outputs.

Beyond the case study, the presentation showcased how EUreka3D contributes to supporting cultural heritage institutions in addressing technical and operational challenges related to 3D digitisation, access and reuse. By sharing resources, workflows and accumulated expertise, the project promotes more accessible and sustainable approaches to creating and managing 3D cultural heritage content.

The conference proved to be a successful opportunity for exchange and networking, generating significant interest among participants in the resources and expertise offered by EUreka3D. Attendees showed particular enthusiasm not only for the project’s approaches to 3D digitisation, but especially for its solutions supporting the management, preservation and accessibility of 3D content through a dedicated repository.

Download the PowerPoint of the presentation at this link<<<<

 


eu emblemEUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.


EUreka3D-XR Final Event held successfully in Cyprus

image courtesy: Cyprus University of Technology (Pambos Charalambous)

The EUreka3D-XR project is reaching its conclusion, and has wrapped up its public event in Cyprus with a rich programme that included demonstrations, roundtables, keynote talks, exhibition spaces and more.

The Digital Cultural Heritage in the Era of AI and Extended Reality event showcased the project’s key outcomes and achievements through public presentations delivered by project partners and invited experts in the field. Additionally, a posters exhibition and demonstration booths were available for exploration at the same venue.

The event was held in the context of the Digital Heritage Summit 2026 in Cyprus and was accompanied by additional events:

  • 24 May: on-site milestone demonstration of the EUreka3D-XR’s pilot of Saint Neophytos and the Enkleistra’s Memory Twin and XR experience for participants.
  • 25 May: Internal project meetings and discussions held with EUreka3D-XR partners and Advisory Board members; participation to the Europeana Network Association event in the afternoon.
  • 26 May: EUreka3D-XR final conference and two roundtables in the afternoon.

You can find the recording of the Conference, more pictures and information on the project’s website – follow this link<<<<

Enjoy some pictures of the event (all photos courtesy of EUreka3D-XR consortium and CUT – Pambos Charalambous)

The Digital Heritage Summit 2026 is continuing with more interesting activities this week, including the HackIt!4EU Hackathon (May 27-28).

 


eu emblemEUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.


Navigating AI, Authenticity and Ethical Challenges in Heritage Collections

Nice success for the EUreka3D-XR hybrid capacity building event in Brussels on 26 June 2026, with ca. 60 participants online and 20 onsite:

Navigating AI, Authenticity and Ethical Challenges in Heritage Collections

This interdisciplinary conference explored the intersection of AI, authenticity, and ethics in heritage collections. Experts from museums, tech sectors, and academia shared case studies highlighting responsible innovation with the use of advanced technologies.

>>>>READ AND DOWNLOAD THE IMPACT REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE<<<<

Programme:

  • 10.00h Introduction to the event: the EUreka3D-XR project and what’s next for AI/3D/XR, by Antonella Fresa (EUreka3D-XR project coordinator)
  • 10.10h The Power of Change: knowledge exchange and collaboration for innovative solutions in AI‑driven 3D & Image Analysis, by Ines Vodopivec (AI4LAM, National Library of Norway, Stanford)
  • 10.20h Authenticy and AI in cultural collections, Keynote talk by Frederik Temmermans (imec/VUB)
  • 10.45h Managing the intellectual property of digital collections in the AI era, by Philippe Rixhon (Valunode OÜ)
  • 11.00h Case studies and experiences (15 minutes each)
    • AI for metadata enrichment of heritage collections at scale, by Axelle Vanmaele (meemoo, Flemish institute for archives)
    • Gaussian splatting, by Saeed Mahmoudpour (imec)
    • AI in the service of CH, by Ismo Malinen (Museovirasto, Finnish Heritage Agency)
    • AI-powered Knowledge Discovery in Digital Collections, by Nicolas Nadisic (KIK-IRPA and Ghent University)
    • Crystal clear? Challenges of accuracy and transparency in AI-assisted metadata workflows, by Eva Andersen, Annamaria Van Ingelgem (Ghent University Library – Boekentoren)
  • 12.20h Q&A and Conclusions of the hybrid conference
  • 12.30h Onsite – Demonstrating technological innovation in image display at imec
  • 13.00h Conclusions

eu emblemEUreka3D-XR project is co-financed by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union.