Digital meets Culture

online, 29 September 2023

DOORS – Digital Incubator for Museum: presentation of the pilots and final outcomes

DOORS – Digital Incubator for Museum aims to set up a framework for sustainable digital transformations in the cultural sector. The project kicked off in October 2021 and run until September 2023 conducting a two-stage incubation programme for museums including a comprehensive research plan with public outputs. The initiators of DOORS – Digital Incubator for Museums are Ars Electronica, MUSEUM BOOSTER and Ecsite – European network of science centres and museums.

The stories of the incubated projects and a wrap up of the initiative and its outcomes will be presented in a final event online on 29 September 2023 h. 10-12.30

The successful conclusion of DOORS – Digital Incubator for Museums is celebrated with a final e-publication in which the great, the difficult, and rewarding moments of the project are narrated to contribute to the collective knowledge of the museum sector. This final publication, Breaking the Digital Ceiling – Key Insights from DOORS – Digital Incubator for Museums addresses facilitators, museums, and policymakers alike with findings that can help small museums break the digital ceiling and stay relevant in their communities in the future.

Another key outcome of the project is a Self reflection tool that invites museum practitioners and teams to a playful and collaborative self-reflection exercise in which they look at the digital maturity levels of their museum and collectively formulate visions for the future. The tool is designed as a printable card deck with instructions on running the exercise with a team.

A full list of the pilot projects and their descriptions can be found at: https://ars.electronica.art/doors/en/stage2/

Memorandum Signed in Banská Bystrica for the Barborská Cesta (Brabora Route) Project

INCULTUM Strengthening Cultural Heritage Collaboration

Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica marked a significant moment on Thursday, September 7th, 2023, as a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed for the implementation of the Barborská Cesta project.

This crucial partnership was established between Matej Bel University and the Terra Montanae civic association. The signing ceremony was a testament to the commitment of both parties to preserve and promote cultural and historical heritage, with a special focus on mining, a crucial facet of Central Slovakia’s history and identity.

The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by the Rector of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Doc. Ing. Vladimír Hiadlovský, PhD., and Roman Neradný, Chairman of the Terra Montanae civic association. The primary objective of this collaboration is to intensify joint efforts in the Barborská Cesta project, as well as in international scientific and research projects funded by the European Union, i.e. INCULTUM and SECreTour, in which Matej Bel University is actively involved.

One of the central areas of this partnership is the preservation and utilization of the rich cultural and historical heritage found in the mining traditions of Central Slovakia. By combining the academic expertise of Matej Bel University with the dedication of the Terra Montanae civic association, the memorandum aims to protect, revitalize, and leverage this cultural and historical potential for the region’s development. Additionally, the collaboration seeks to create innovative tourism products that can showcase the region’s unique heritage.

The signing of this memorandum also has broader implications. According to Roman Neradný, Chairman of the Banský Region – Terra Montanae, this collaboration is a significant step not only for the Barborská Cesta project but also for the entire Central Slovakia region. It plays a crucial role in the registration of the Barborská Cesta as one of the European cultural routes. This recognition holds immense potential for tourism and cultural exchange in the region.

You can download here the Information sheet.

(Re)discover regional gastronomy during a tasting picnic in the countryside and in a heritage site

“The Fantastic Picnic” at the top of mont Beuvray

Pictures @Bibracte/ Patricia Lepaul– 2023

“Fantastic Picnics” have been organised over the last ten years in September in more than fifty venues in Burgundy including Bibracte. These events allow participants to (re)discover regional gastronomy during a tasting picnic in the countryside or in a heritage site.

Fantastic Picnic isn’t just about sharing a picnic: above all, it’s about creating an atmosphere that’s unique to each venue: a music concert, a hike, a visit to an emblematic (or more discreet) site… And it’s also a time to meet and chat with regional producers, craftsmen and heritage enthusiasts.

This year, Bibracte organized its Fantastic Picnic as part of the INCULTUM pilot, on Sunday 10^th September at the top of mont Beuvray. The event gathered more than 150 participants, mainly inhabitants of the territory.

The programme included 2 guided “gourmet walks” to discover the unique landscapes of Mont Beuvray and a farmers’ market where participants could buy local products and listen to local bands.

The walks were organised on the new 7kms cultural route that Bibracte plans to open in 2024 on this part of the massif, which is less known by the public. This new pilot itinerary was officially open to the public during an event on September 1^st 2023.

Around 20 local producers and craftsmen from the Grand Site de France showcased their products on the famers’ market. This market was a good opportunity to promote the new producers’ association created by the pilot’s agriculture working group which is in the process of being approved as an Economic and Environmental Interest Group, a French Ministry of Agriculture label designed to promote the organisation of agricultural actors around collective sustainable projects.

The initiative is part of the INCULTUM project funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Union.

You can download here the Information sheet.

Hagen (Germany), 23 – 24 November 2023

Digital Hermeneutics II: Sources, Analysis, Interpretation, Annotation, and Curation

Digitization has reached almost all areas of science and scholarship. And even in the cultural sciences and humanities, computers, databases and digital tools are increasingly important. Last year‘s annual conference „Digital Hermeneutics: Machines, Procedures, Meaning“ of the research cluster digital_culture dealt with the theoretical and conceptual challenges inherent in hermeneutic methods, tools, and applications. The results of the conference supported understanding and meaning, when algorithms, programs, machines, and other technical procedures contribute to it.

Following up on these initial theoretical and conceptual results, we now want to address more technical aspects of methods, technologies, tools, and applications supporting Digital Hermeneutics under the title „Digital Hermeneutics II: Sources, Analysis, Interpretation, Annotation, Curation“ and take a look at digitally supported hermeneutic research processes and anticipate the future of digitized working practices in the cultural sciences and humanities.

Without such digital support systems, it will no longer be possible to index, find, annotate, and curate the ever-growing number of digitally available resources for research data. Digital systems are also already in use for analyzing, indexing, enriching, and annotating multimedia data. But what about systems that support the analysis, annotation, and interpretation of digital research data – thus: representation of hermeneutic methods – and their results as well as supporting machine learning, reasoning, and finally automating the documentation of annotation, interpretation, and understanding?

TOPICS OF INTEREST
In an exchange between humanities scholars and computer scientists, we want to explore the possibilities and limits of the vision of digitally supported hermeneutics. The following questions should be understood as suggestions for contributions:

Digitization processes bear the risk of information loss or structural shifts and biases. How can these risks be dealt with?
The transformation of sources to data involves coding and enables the enrichment with information. How does one deal with the loss of the original source characteristics? Do standardizations promote a focus on unifying features of different sources or can nuances and deviations also be mapped?
Do the questions and epistemological interests of humanities, cultural studies, and social sciences change the availability, quality, and quantity of sources in the form of data?
How can algorithms and tools support, possibly even expand, research questions and epistemological interests in the humanities, cultural studies, and social sciences?
Can computer science also benefit from the discussion of methods in the humanities, social sciences, and cultural studies?

Download the Call for Papers and Workshop details (PDF, 250 Kb)

Discover the Bibracte archaeological site and meet archaeologists from all over Europe

“landscape and heritage” summer workcamp at Bibracte

Pictures @Bibracte/Flore Coppin – 2023

Participants in the “landscape and heritage” work camp have successfully completed the restoration of the ancient path of the Place aux Laides on Mont Beuvray.

From 20 August to 2 September 2023, young volunteers of Rempart, an NGO working to safeguard and restore exceptional or vernacular heritage, have participated for the second year in a “landscape and heritage“ summer workcamp at the Grand Site de France Bibracte – Morvan des Sommets.

This “landscape and heritage” work camp is part of the pilot-project led by Bibracte in the frame of INCULTUM to enhance the more than 1,100 km of rural paths that criss-cross the territory of the Grand Site (400 km²). Carried out in collaboration with the partners of the Grand Site de France label, it aims to develop and promote an innovative tourist offer in the area, combining outdoor activities, discovery of the heritage and cultural activities.

The objective of this programme was to restore a section of about 600 meters of low dry-stone walls bordering an old trail on the southern flank of Mont Beuvray in the sector known as “Place aux Laides”.

You can download here the Information sheet.

Maribur, Slovenia, 23 October 2023

CaTH Conference: Call for posters deadline extended

The CaTCH Conference is organised by the VAST project in Maribor, Slovenia on 23 October 2023.

VAST is the acronym of Values Across Space and Time. It is a project funded under Horizon 2020 that participates in the UNCHARTED Network. As part of the collaboration between the two projects, VAST presented its poster in the poster session organised by UNCHARTED at its Central Event in London in January 2023.

UNCHARTED is willing to disseminate the announcement of the CaTH Conference organised by the VAST project in Maribur, Slovenia on 23 October 2023.

The conference will discuss the theme of capturing the intangible of cultural heritage.

We read on the conference website: “Cultural Heritage, whether tangible or intangible, along with contemporary creation, is the unifying thread of the past, the present and the future of our societies. Besides offering knowledge about the past, our interaction with Cultural Heritage comes in the form of experiences that: raise awareness about ideas and values, instigate emotions, as well as foster reflection and communication.”

The call for posters has been extended until 29 September 2023.

Call for posters and registration are accessible on the conference website.

The project will be introduced during Part III of the event

EUreka3D project will be presented at Spanish Presidency Europeana conference

EUreka3D project will be presented at the Spanish Presidency Europeana conference, that will take place on 17 October 2023 (9h – 15h CET). The conference will foster a multidisciplinary dialogue on 3D capacity building for the cultural heritage sector, showcase a number of best practice examples and case studies, and promote collaboration and networking among key actors and stakeholders.

EUreka3D project will be part of this major event, and will be displayed during Part III of the event ― 3D Data Governance & Access, with the participation of project coordinator Antonella Fresa. The discussion will focus on the challenges around the governance and status of copyright for 3D content, engaging the audience, that will learn how to approach these challenges. The session will be supported by a few practical use cases.

To register and to get updated on the event, follow this link.

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

Pamplona and online, 17 October 2023

Accelerating 3D in the common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage

The Europeana conference organized on the occasion of the Soanish EU Presidency will take place on 17 October 2023 (9h – 15h CET), in a hybrid format in Pamplona and online. The conference is titled ’Accelerating 3D in the common European data space for cultural heritage: Building capacity for 3D‘ and will be hosted in Palacio de Congresos Y Auditorio De Navarra, BALUARTE in Pamplona. The event is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport.

The conference will contribute directly to the ‘Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture’ campaign. As such, the conference will foster a multidisciplinary dialogue on 3D capacity building for the cultural heritage sector, showcase a number of best practice examples and case studies, and promote collaboration and networking among key actors and stakeholders.

The primary audience at this event will consist largely of members of the European Commission’s Expert Group on a common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage, Member States’ contact points for Twin it! and Spanish and European cultural heritage institutions and professionals. Others in attendance online will include the wider Europeana Network and digital cultural heritage professionals engaged in the common European data space for cultural heritage, and/or 3D in culture.

To participate online registration is mandatory. The complete programme of the conference will be published as soon as it will be confirmed.

PwC Campus Bruxelles, 22 September 2023

Unleashing the power of data-driven tourism

On Friday 22 September, 2023, PwC will organise an event, “Unleashing the power of data-driven tourism“, featuring Amazon Web Services (AWS), to inspire and create synergies between different stakeholders to unleash the power of data and accelerate data pooling and data sharing in the tourism sector.

The goals of the event is to highlight the benefits of a tourism data space, present the technologies that can enable secure and trustworthy exchanges of data in the tourism sector, and bring relevant actors together to discuss and operationalise concrete use cases through engaging collaborations that are expected to emerge from this event.

It is expected to be of interest to those working at the intersection of cultural heritage and tourism.

To attend the event, registration is mandatory.
To read more about the event and to register, follow this link.

online, 29th September 2023 h. 17.00

Dreaming of AI: Perspectives on AI Use in Cultural Heritage

image from BPOC website.

The Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) hosted a new episode of its free ‘Dreaming of’ webinar series, Dreaming of AI: Perspectives on AI Use in Cultural Heritage, on September 29th at 5PM CEST/8 AM PT/11 AM ET

Attendees joined Nik Honeysett, Jack Ludden, and Alexandra Kron-Daleo from the BPOC Team with Jeff Steward from Harvard Art Museums in a friendly discussion on and off camera to talk about our experiences with AI.

Along with this webinar, BPOC is surveying AI use in cultural heritage.
We would love to hear from you whether you currently use AI tools or not. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey: https://forms.gle/JiDKNa1xDs9CFtGF9