Digital meets Culture

a prestigious event on 14th May will present the results of TwinIt 3D digitisation campaign and the outcomes of the most prominent 3D projects that are ongoing in Europe

EUreka3D at the TwinIt! Fair in Brussels

The TwinIt! Campaign is an initiative of the European Commission, coordinated by Europeana, which invited all EU Ministries of Culture to liaise with their national cultural institutions to submit at least one 3D digitised heritage asset to the common European data space for cultural heritage. The campaign collected 3D digitized assets representing European cultural heritage at risk, including monuments, buildings, sites and various other types of heritage objects.

The results of the campaign will be celebrated in a final Twin it! event on 14th May, in the prestigious Berlaymont venue in Brussels. This event will have three main components: a high-level conference, expert panel discussion and a Twin it! interactive exploration Fair, which will present various stories from the most valuable projects supporting the data space and 3D digital heritage.

In the context of the fair, EUreka3D will present the efforts done by partner CUT Cyprus University of Technology, to digitally preserve the historical Lambousa boat in Limassol, which resulted in a top quality 3D model produced according to the VIGIE Study 2020/654 on quality in 3D digitisation of tangible cultural heritage.

The model is made available for any stakeholder via the EUreka3D Data Hub and on Europeana.

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

Discover what the data space has to offer through its new webpage

Europeana launches new webpage for the common European data space for cultural heritage

A glimpse of the new webpage of the common European data space for cultural heritage

The common European data space for cultural heritage comprises cutting-edge infrastructure, a vibrant community and a suite of products, frameworks and tools which facilitate the open and trustworthy sharing of heritage data across Europe.

We are excited about the launch of a webpage which offers a gateway into the common European data space for cultural heritage.

The data space works to increase participation in Europe’s cultural heritage and promotes digital culture as a public good. It offers access to high-quality data, with an emphasis on 3D, and encourages people to reuse it and find new value in it. Together with 13 other data spaces, it’s central in Europe’s ambition for a thriving, data-driven society. It offers enormous potential for the cultural heritage sector and Europe’s citizens. Communicating this potential is critical to ensure that the benefits are felt and opportunities seized. The data space webpage is a way to build understanding of the data space, its distinctive features, the partners that make it possible, the role the Europeana Initiative plays in it, as well as opportunities to contribute to and benefit from it.

The webpage offers an attractive overview of the activities taking place across the data space. Use it to discover the data space in numbers, the partners and organisations behind it, projects which support it and its principal products, developed by the Europeana Initiative. As the data space grows and evolves, the dedicated webpage will continue to be enriched – so stay tuned for fresh updates!

Discover what the data space has to offer through its new webpage.

Palermo, 29 April 2024

Greenway: the INCULTUM pilot of GAL Elimos

The development of the Greenway Kaggera-Vita-Salemi is part of the pilot coordinated by GAL Elimos in the frame of the INCULTUM project.

The encounter of 29/4/2024 hosted by the University of Palermo has been the occasion to present the results of the research and to review together the status of progress of the implementation of the project.

The report of the event is available in English (PDF) and Italian (PDF).

Below, you can look at some pictures of the event.

Banská Bystrica, 25 April 2024

Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia: successful INCULTUM pilot

An international conference dedicated to the Mining Cultural Heritage of Central Slovakia was held in the city of Banská Bystrica on April 25, 2025, as part of the international innovation project INCULTUM.

The goal of the conference was to present the mining heritage of central Slovakia, with a focus on the Barbora route, to exchange knowledge and experience from the development of mining cultural routes in Europe with members of Mines B. – European Mining Routes of Santa Barbara Federation and beyond, and to strengthen the creation of networks between various interested parties to support the use of the participatory platform Mining Treasures.

The conference was attended by international guests from six foreign countries, namely Italy, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, and Poland.

The report of the conference is available for download (PDF).

Milan Malpensa International Airport, until June 26, 2024

Graphiae: a new art installation by Gianluca Cingolani

Graphiae Installation at Milan Malpensa International Airport
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Graphiae, the digital artist Gianluca Cingolani’s new project, was unveiled at Porta di Milano, Terminal 1 of Milan Malpensa International Airport.

Graphiae takes us back to thousands of years ago, when one of the greatest inventions was made. It was when human beings began to shape their imagination, inventing symbols, words, ideas and creating writing. In Graphiae, digital art explores the gesture of an original writing, the Chinese one, that still maintains a very strong connection with images.

The installation is part of an artistic project that Gianluca Cingolani has developed in recent years together with the G_B collective, aiming at exploring the processes of invention and the role that imagination plays in these processes. The artist investigates this invention through the artistic technique of digital compositing, staging a multimedia polyptych that animates the signs of an ancient Chinese writing.

Graphiae Installation
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Symbols are isolated within boxes that go to form an ever-changing graphemic matrix, where the focus goes to the unexpected relationships of meaning suggested by their morphologies: the artist explores their ideographic structure to reflect on the reversibility of the symbol into icon, to remind us that writing is a purely conventional system ready to become an image or to return to physical trace.

“Cingolani’s animated writing takes the form of a renewed game of surrealist ascendancy based on the free relations of meaning that arise from the complicit and sinuous tensions dictated by these threadlike entities, these signs so foreign and familiar that they seem to have belonged to us forever.”

(Pasquale Fameli, curator of the Graphiae installation)

Graphiae will remain on display in the Milan Gate space until June 26, 2024.

You can find the Executive Summary and the full report on Europeana Pro

Spanish Presidency Europeana Conference report available

EUreka3D project was presented at the Spanish Presidency Europeana Conference back in October the 17th 2023, by project coordinator Antonella Fresa. The conference fostered a multidisciplinary dialogue on 3D capacity building for the cultural heritage sector, in order to promote collaboration and networking among key memebers and stakeholders.

The event highlighted some of the best practices for utilising 3D technologies to advance preservation, access and reuse of cultural heritage, and provided a forum for exchanging knowledge, experiences, and opportunities.

The report from the event has been published, sharing insights, learnings and resources around 3D and digital cultural heritage. It includes an overview of tools and services available to the Member States for 3D processes, a step-by-step process to digitise a cultural heritage asset in 3D, an overview of rights issues surrounding 3D digitisation and more.

Read the Executive Summary and download the full report on Europeana Pro.

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

Girona, from November 20th to 23rd, 2024

18th Image and Research Conference

Image and Research Conference 2024

The new edition of the Image and Research Conference (18th Antoni Varés Conference) will be held in Girona from November 20th to 23rd, 2024. The event is organized by one of the founding members of PHOTOCONSORTIUM, Ajuntament de Girona, which has been dedicated to protecting, promoting, and disseminating Girona’s photographic heritage since 1997.

The Conference is a biennial event to reflect on and share knowledge about the management of photographic and audiovisual heritage. The presentations will take place at the Palau de Congressos on November 21 and 22 and the workshops will be held at the Municipal Archive of Girona on the 20 and 23.

You can now register for the presentations sessions and workshops.

This year the Conference presents a format change: it will be distributed in four thematic blocks through the morning and afternoon time slots, with the purpose of providing a broad response to the following questions:

How do we use technology?
How do we engage people?
What are the business strategies?
What is the state of the issue regarding conservation and historical research?

Each block includes two keynote speakers and various communications on related topics. Block 3 offers a round table related to the topic of the presentation.

Call for papers

Papers will be included in each of the thematic blocks: for each block, there will be two keynote speeches and 10-minute papers on related topics.

The form and submission conditions are now available.

Deadlines:

Submission of a proposal of 140 words: 30th June 2024
Submission of the final text: 31st July 2024

Program

Block 1: TECHNOLOGY. November 21 (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Emanuele Frontoni. A Picture of the Future: Generative AI’s impact on photography, archives and authenticity.
Hrvoje Stancic. Incorporating AI in the Digitization Process.
Communications linked to the topics: artificial intelligence, semantic web, management software, speech recognition and transcription, digital preservation, metadata, 3D technology, etc.

Block 2: CITIZENSHIP. November 21 (from 3 to 6 p.m.)
John Balean. Story-seeing: methods of creating Visual Impact when promoting Photographic Collections.
Bernardo Riego. A new look at the History of Photography in times of Artificial Intelligence and postmodern culture.
Communications linked to the topics: creation of narratives, dissemination of funds and collections, archives and creativity, exhibitions, citizen participation, image ethics, etc.

Block 3: HERITAGE AND BUSINESS MODELS. November 22 (from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
Rita Scartoni. Enhancing the Alinari Archives: a business strategy for accessible and sustainable public heritage management.
Round table: Photographic archives as a business source. Rita Scartoni (Alinari Foundation), John Balean (TopFoto), Sergi Griñó (Album). Moderator: Fina Navarrete (CRDI).
Communications linked to the topics: business models, image banks, intellectual property, image rights, economic sustainability in management, collecting, etc.

Block 4: CONSERVATION – ÁNGEL FUENTES MEMORIAL. November 22 (from 3 to 6 p.m.)
Claudio Ogass. Towards sustainable preservation. Changes in the approach and criteria for preventive conservation.
Communications linked to the topics: climate change, sustainable conservation, state of the art in conservation, preventive conservation criteria, restoration of photographs and films, history of photography, digitization, etc.
Closing conference: Valentín Vallhonrat: The role of photography in the construction of our visual culture.

WORKSHOP 1. November 20 (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m.)
Automating Description of Image Collections Using AI.
Trainers: Hrvoje Stancic
Language: English.

WORKSHOP 2. November 23 (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
The description of the photographic and audiovisual image.
Trainers: Fina Navarrete, Cristina Feixas, Pau Saavedra.
Language: Catalan.

online, 17th May 2024 h. 14 CET

part II – Paradata, Metadata & Data in 2D/3D Digital Heritage Documentation

This webinar in two parts will bring together professionals from the spectrum of Digital Cultural Heritage practice to share their experiences of using and working with paradata seeking to lay down a common understanding of paradata as a first step towards a community-built set of standards and expectations for its application to 3D documentation and the creation of knowledge.

Part 1 was held on 8/4/2024 => RECORDING HERE
Part 2 is held on 17/5/2024 => REGISTRATION HERE (NB if you registered for the first webinar, you do not need to register again!)

Organized by UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage at Cyprus University of Technology in collaboration with EUreka3D, this webinar discusses the most advanced requirements and cases of the use of Paradata and Metadata in the digital documentation of the Past in 3D, for enriching 3D assets, creating knowledge and promoting reusability.

The webinar is addressed to the Digital Cultural Heritage community to establish a definitive description and differentiation of what paradata and metadata are, and the benefits they are bringing to the stakeholders, owners, multidisciplinary community and digital scholarship, as well as to the European Commission.

Agenda – Please note times are in CET

13:30-14:00 Join the session using your MS Teams Link
14:00-14:10 Robert Davies Chairman, Europeana Network Association, NL Opening remarks
14:10-14:20 Marinos Ioannides, et al UNESCO Chair on DCH, CUT, CY Paradata, Metadata & Data for a Digital #MemoryTwin
14:20-14:35 Marc Grellert, et al TU Darmstadt, DE The DFG-Project IDOVIR – Infrastructure To Document Paradata Of Virtual Reconstructions
14:35-14:50 Elisabetta C. Giovannini, et al POLITO, IT Extending the Extended Matrix With CIDOC-CRM. Paradata for Virtual Reconstruction Processes & Beyond
14:50-15:05 Chiara Parisi , et al UNIFE, IT Paradata as a Strategy for a Systematic Digitization of Museum Objects
15:05-15:20 Matthieu Quantin, et al University of Nantes, FR Publishing & Long-Term Archiving 3D Data in Humanities – French 3D Consortium Proposal
15:20-15:35 Marion Depraetere Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, DE Virtual Access to Fossil & Archival Material From the German Tendaguru Expedition (1909-1913)
15.35-15:50 Yashaswini Jayadevaiah Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, IN ‘Translation’ as a Practice-Ontology to Script All Data: A Case Discussion
15:50-16:05 Morris Murphy TU Dublin, IE A Paradata Framework for HBIM
16:20-16:35 Sonia Giovinazzi National Agency for New Technologies, Energy R Sustainable Economic Development, IT Integrated Paradata-Metadata-3D Models for Enhancing the Resilience of Cultural Heritage Buildings to Climate Changes & Other Natural Hazards
16:35-16:50 Wanda Listiani Institut Seni Budaya Indonesia Bandung, ID Photogrammetry Paradata in the Three-Dimensional Documentation of Pawon Ancient Humans in Indonesia
16:50-17:05 Carlos H. Marcondes Federal University of Minas Gerais, BR Heritage Objects & Patrimonialization: Documentation of a Curatorial Process
17:05-17:20 Pedro Luengo et al Universidad de Sevilla, ES Toward a Trustable Digitisation of Built Heritage: The Role of Paradata
17:20-17:35 Antonio Suazo Navia Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, CL Virtual Urban Reconstruction Based on Photographic Sources: Knowledge Management and Paradata as a “Chain of Visual Evidence”
17:35-18:00 Igor Bajena Hochschule Mainz University of Applied Sciences, DE European CoVHer Project in the Context of Developed Methods for the Documentation of Hypothetical Digital Reconstructions of Lost Architectural Heritage in Higher Education
17.50 – 18.20 Discussion Session & Closing Remarks

>>> AGENDA IN PDF (300 KB)

Barcelona, 15th May 2024

New heritages, new feudalisms: the servitudes of digital documentation

The Conference, which is structured around three lines of debate, aims to reflect on the future of digital heritage and the dependencies and cooperations that germinate in the liquid age from a scientific, social and humanistic perspective, while transiting between theoretical reflection and analysis of practice: 

[DIGITAL ASSETS] What do we guard? This line reflects on the object itself (concept of digital heritage) and the archival challenges we face. (axis 1) 
[PROCESSES, TECHNOLOGY] How and where do we guard it? This line aims to reflect on the different technological models and the custody of digital heritage, as well as the technological challenges that arise from them. (axis 2) 
[PEOPLE] Who guards? This line revolves around the aspects linked to the Catalan digital heritage strategy, such as the organizational structure, competences and the democratization of access. (axis 3)

The Conference wants to echo the theoretical concerns, and practical and political concerns, and give answers – or at least reflect – on the questions raised, and it is conceived as a space for debate between areas of knowledge as diverse as archival and document management, economics, communication or law. Only a multidisciplinary conversation and reflection can help us understand the transformations and the social and political dynamics that are generated and the effects that these dynamics can have on the future of digital heritage.  

The conference is organized by the Professional Association of Archives and Document Management of Catalonia.

Website: https://arxivers.com/congressos-i-jornades/jornades-destudi-i-debat/xiv-jornada-2022-2/

Speakers

Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod
Rocío Campaña Mora
Pilar Campos Martínez
Rubén Cortés Domingo
Jordi Ferrer Guillén
Antonella Fresa
Olga Giralt
Oscar González Aguilar
Jaume Sardà Font
Sonia Torreblanca Valverde
Jordi Vilamala Salvans

Thinking Faro Forum, 19 April 2024

The European INCULTUM project and the Portuguese pilot. Challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of Campina de Faro

Thinking Faro Forum is organised by the municipality of Faro in Algarve, and is attended by various stakeholders, university students and citizens.

The representative of the INCULTUM pilot on the Campina de Faro will present the results of the activity and the challenges and opportunities emerged during the 3 years of work.

The full programme of the event is available for download (PDF).