Digital meets Culture

On 4 March 2025, the Bibracte team held its first workshop as part of the EUreka3D-XR project.

Capacity Building Workshop introducing EUreka3D-XR at Bibracte

With the scope of updating CH staff from Bibracte team, this workshop held in French brought together professionals who had contributed to previous project EUreka3D (scientific data enhancement, conservation, research, digital mediation, and IT) along with new participants (educational mediation, communication, and tourism), fostering a multidisciplinary approach to the project.

This workshop aimed to:
• Present the results of Eureka3D, with a focus on metadata, which is essential for documenting online resources.
• Share the objectives of EUreka3D-XR (following a focus on Extended Reality): the development of five tools and their usage scenarios, which will later benefit CHIs.
• Define Bibracte’s commitment: to support, through an archaeological site visit scenario, the design of a geolocated tour editor and its mobile application, will allow users to view 3D resources in augmented reality, developed by partner NTUA.

Bibracte will build on its experience in this field, having participated in the design of La Boussole de Bibracte, a geolocated tour tool for the archaeological site, for which it manages the content.

Drawing on this expertise, the team initiated a first reflection on the visit scenario, focusing on key questions: How should points of interest (POIs) be selected? How should 3D resources and related content be chosen? How can the user experience be enhanced? These reflections shape the upcoming work for the definition of requirements and iterative evaluation and development of the Bibracte XR pilot experience.

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

The SECreTour team met with local communities on 21-22 March 2025

The SECreTour pilot about cultural tourism at the Roma community of Tomor (Hungary)

On 21st and 22nd March representatives of partners of the SECreTour project met in Tomor, at the premises of ROMAMA, the social cooperative that participates in the SECreTour pilot about Roma minority heritage.

Tomor is located in the North-East part of Hungary, hosting a large Roma population. Despite its valuable natural and cultural evidence, the area is suffering of its remote position in the country and a high uneployment rate.

The social activity experimented in the SECreTour pilot represents a very valuable opportunity of development for the local citizens, who are engaged in participatory and co-creation activities within the collaboration with ELTE University that is the pilot leader in the SECreTour project.

The team of Promoter srl and ELTE University met with a nice representation of youngsters from Tomor and the surrounding villages. It was a pleasant time, where each participant had the oppotunity to tell about him/her interests and expectations for the future. After having lunch together, a small and informal concert was also the occasion to enjoy Roma music played by local young artists.

Here below we provide a selection of the pictures taken during the enconters.

Social activity at ROMAMA, in Tomor

Playing Roma music at Romama, in Tomor

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

Collaboration agreement has started between the SECreTour project and the Europeana Foundation, in March 2025

New collaborations of SECreTour with Europeana

The SECreTour Network is growing!

Europeana empowers the cultural heritage sector in its digital transformation. It develops expertise, tools and policies to embrace digital change and encourage partnerships that foster innovation. It makes it easier for people to use cultural heritage for education, research, creation and recreation. Its work contributes to an open, knowledgeable and creative society.

Europeana is steward of the Data space for cultural heritage. Together with other data spaces Europeana strives to provide free access to open cultural heritage data for anyone who would like to access or use it. There are many opportunities connection to this data space provides.

Europeana focuses on the tourism audience as an important connection to provide opportunities to battle overtourism, create innovative new tourism experiences, highlight underrepresented destinations, etc.

Furthermore, Europeana is partner in the Deploytour project, which is setting up the Data Space for Tourism, ensuring that there is a robust connection between the Data Space for Cultural Heritage and the Data space for tourism.

You can find out more about Europeana on: https://www.europeana.eu

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

The SECreTour team met with local communities on 10-11 March 2025

Monte San Giorgio – a magic place on the border between Switzerland and Italy

From right to left: Prof. Lorenzo Cantoni, Antonio Lenzo from the team at Università della Svizzera Italiana, Antonella Fresa Networking Manager of SECreTour, Adine Gavazzi leader of Monte San Giorgio pilot

On 10th and 11th March representatives of partners of the SECreTour project met in Lugano to visit the places of the pilot about Monte San Giorgio.

This is a very special place, full of cultural heritage, environamental and historic excellence, positioned on the border betwenn Cantone Ticino in Swizeland and Regione Lombardia in Italy.

The SECreTour pilot is connecting with local communities that are working on valuting the extremely valuable place and to transfor tourists into real travellers, eager to discover the wonders of the territory.

The team of Promoter srl and of Univerità della Svizzera Italiana were able to experience the mountain track that brings to the Hermitage of Beato Manfredo, to enjoy the ancient Babtistere of Riva San Vitale, to meet with Jurg Schewwerzmann, Cultural Councillor at the Municipality of the precious village of Morcote, and to discuss and plan the next workshop on cross-border and multiregional strategies to be held in fall 2025 in Lugano.

The meetings were very interesting and profitable.

Here below we provide a selection of the pictures taken during the enconters.

In front of the Cathedral of Morcote

Along the track to the Hermitage of Beato Manfredo

In the Baptistere of Riva San Vitale

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

Grand Hotel Minerva, Florence (Italy), 26 May 2025

EVA Florence 2025

EVA FLORENCE, the annual event in Florence of the EVA series.
Electronic Imaging and the Visual Arts Conference, Training and Workshops.
Only in-presence, Grand Hotel Minerva, Florence (Italy)

Main topics:

Artificial Intelligence for Cultural Heritage, Creative Enterprises, SME and Industries, Society, Public Administration
Artificial Intelligence Perspectives and Evolution
European Commission Projects and Plans regarding Innovation Technologies,
Artificial Intelligence and Cultural Heritage
Management of Cultural Institutions and Museum
Digital Art, Music, Theatre
Copyright Protection and Cybersecurity
Climate Change, Environmental Protection
Human-Computer Interaction
Cultural Tourism and Travel Applications

Who should attend:

The Cultural Sector
The Government Sector
Media & Related Sectors
The ICT Industry, especially multimedia SME’s
Tourism & Travel Sector
Technology & Visual Arts Research Organisations
Trade Culture Activities

Offers of Papers are to be sent (2 pages Summary) to the Organizer Vito Cappellini (vito.cappellini@unifi.it) by 25 March 2025, acceptance of the Papers will be sent by 10 April to prepare the final Paper by 25 April.

Download the Announcement here<<<<

The event could be followed both online and in Pisa

EUreka3D-XR first public workshop successfully took place in Museo della Grafica

EUreka3D-XR – European Union’s REKonstructed content in 3D to produce XR experiences is the continuation project of EUreka3D, funded by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union, to develop innovative re-use scenarios and tools that enable the creation of extended reality (XR) applications, through expanding the features and services already developed and tested in the EUreka3D project.

The event counted more than 60 participants, both online and on site, who had the chance to get to know the three use cases of the project after a welcome message by Alessandro Tosi, Director of Museo della Grafica and a presentation of the scope of Project coordinator Antonella Fresa.

The main research area of the new action in EUreka3D-XR is focused on transforming cultural contents such 2D, 3D, video, texts, maps, stories into compelling narratives and extended reality scenarios, and to deliver said scenarios to the common European data space for cultural heritage, to enrich the corpus of open access digital cultural contents online and to inspire others in experimenting new technologies.

Find the presentations here<<<<.

Hybrid event, April 9-10

Europeana Aggregators Forum 2025

The Europeana Aggregators Forum is the gathering where twice a year the community of Europeana most trusted partners meets to review strategies and collaborations, and make plans for the future. All the aggregators work with cultural heritage institutions to gather authentic, trustworthy and robust cultural data and make it accessible through Europeana. Through the Europeana Aggregators Forum, aggregators work to exchange the knowledge and best practice that support the digital transformation of cultural heritage institutions.

This year the Forum will take place both online and onsite on the 9th and 10th of April.

PhD course 15-17 September 2025, Bornholm, Denmark

TOURISM IMPACTS: TRANSFORMATIVE POWERS AND POTENTIAL

On 17th – 19th September 2025 the Centre for Regional and Tourism Research (CRT) on the island of Bornholm will host the Nordic Symposium 2025 under the theme “The transformative power and potential of tourism”.

In conjunction with the Symposium, Aalborg University organises a PhD course whose aim is to strengthen the participants’ knowledge about key perspectives and theories about the transformative potentials of tourism as a social activity, and the methods through which the impact of touristic practices can be illuminated.

The impact of tourism has been central for public debates about overtourism and sustainability in recent years, and these concerns are also increasingly reflected in scholarly efforts, including many PhD projects. Research into the negative and positive impacts of tourism as a social activity is being conducted under numerous headings –e.g. regenerative tourism, mindful tourism, etc. – and this course will tap into this field of academic endeavor.

The course focuses on the keywords ‘impacts’ and ‘transformation’ in two, often connected, ways:

in relation to regeneration of places that frame and contain touristic activities and experiences, with a focus on how tourism can push development in new and strategic directions that correspond with and support local development visions and ambitions
as a process of personal learning and development when traveling and experiencing places as a tourist, with a focus on co-creating engaging, memorable and eye-opening experiences that potentially can change mindsets and behavior

The theme is important both in tourism research and, indeed, for local communities and tourist destinations, where tourism is often used as a means to work towards sustainable goals and outcomes by regenerating, revitalizing, and re-strategizing the communities. To succeed with this, rethinking of actions and practices in all sectors and industries in society, including tourism, is required in order to ensure that outcomes are not only sustainable in the broadest sense of the word, but also are experienced as desirable and beneficial from the perspective of both visitors and local citizens.

The course begins Monday 15 September 9:00 and ends Wednesday 17 September at noon, after which participants are encouraged to join the 33rdSymposium in order to continue discussions about tourism, societal impact and transformative potentials.

Aalborg University is the coordinator of CROCUS project funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe programme, which participates in the Network of Common Interest of the SECreTour projects.

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

In collaboration with Q42, Fabrique design agency and consultancy collective Eidra

Rijksmuseum launches Collectie Online – the new online collections platform

img. courtesy of Rijksmuseum’s website

After four years of planning, considering, building, refining, testing, releasing, reconsidering, fretting, cropping, finetuning and re-cropping, Rijksmuseum launched Collectie Online—the successor to the Rijksmuseum’s ground-breaking Rijksstudio collections platform.

Here are some of the possibilities the platform offers:

Allow the viewer to look at zoomable high versions of all the objects the museum’s allowed to publish
Download all the images in high resolution for free
Allow the viewer to make collection of their favourite objects
Search through all the artworks, publications and user sets simoltaneously
Intant access to museum stories, catalogues and recommended works for further exploration
Linked data to build up fine-tuned search queries to get at just the objects needed
Browse through the collection with thousands of pages highlighting objects fitting that category
Carefully curated pages to help the viewer find their way in the collection
Offer questions to the viewer and suggest them artworks that match your mood, vibe, or style
The viewer can decide what works should hang in the Gallery of Honour
Comparative study of the works in the collection

Visit and start browsing at: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection

14 May 2025, online and in Brussels

Preserving Digital Foundations with eArchiving – shaping Europe’s digital future

Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licenses bysolotravel_photalkgraphy on Unsplash

Organized by eArchiving Initiative funded under DIGITAL, this year’s event will focus on two main topics, namely database preservation and the EUDI electronic archiving trust service.

The morning session of this event will consider the state of the art in database preservation. Database preservation involves a series of practices and strategies to ensure that data remains usable and intact over time despite technological changes and potential data degradation. There will be presentations to explore this topic from members of the DILCIS Board who maintain SIARD specification (Software Independent Archiving of Relational Databases) and from members of the Database Archiving Working Group. These will be complemented by presentations of use cases.

The afternoon session will focus on the new trust service in the EUDI based on the eIDAS: the electronic archiving trust service. The EUDI Regulation aims to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and the provision of trust services used across the European Union. Different stakeholders will present their views on the impact of this new trust service. The event will conclude with a reflection on how the eArchiving Initiative has incorporated the outcomes of the 2024 Brussels event and the plans for the coming year.

The event is open to anyone and is free of charge. Register and get more info at this link.