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