[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6807\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EDigital innovation can enhance cultural heritage, hears conference\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Innovation and Cultural Heritage conference, held in Brussels on 20 March 2018, brought together a diverse range of researchers from the fields of science, technology, archaeology, social sciences and humanities, where they showcased their interdisciplinary work in this arena.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking at the conference, Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, said: \u0027Europe is blessed with an immense cultural heritage which can provide us with a sense of a shared identity and inspire us,\u0027 adding that, \u0027digital transformation may play an essential role in protecting this heritage\u0027.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, experts also sounded a note of caution, warning that digitalisation should not replace real-life experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECarlos Moedas, EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, spoke about the importance of cultural heritage for urban regeneration and the need to innovate for the future by learning from the past, but added: \u0027You cannot digitise experiences. You can digitise the artefacts, the paintings, but you cannot digitise humanity.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;If Europe doesn\u2019t build a positive cultural identity, others will.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. G\u00e1bor Sonkoly, E\u00f6tv\u00f6s Lor\u00e1nd University of Budapest, Hungary\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor G\u00e1bor Sonkoly of the E\u00f6tv\u00f6s Lor\u00e1nd University in Budapest, Hungary, encouraged attendees to \u0027engage in a physical context with our heritage.\u0027 He urged researchers to handle digital technology critically, as he said it could lead to extreme individualisation, the \u0027opposite of community-building\u0027.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDigital curators\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Sofia Pescarin, a researcher at the Italian National Council of Researches (CNR), in the Institute of Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage in Rome, said that museums need to attract more visitors without losing credibility, and that there are a lot of ways to ensure that digitalisation doesn\u0027t lead to excessive individualisation. She pointed to the EU-funded GIFT project, which is developing digital experiences where people engage physically with each other to share playlists of their favourite museum exhibits. GIFT is also enabling visitors to enjoy technologies that measure emotional responses to artwork, and share their experiences with other users. She spoke about how virtual reality can be developed to enhance museum exhibitions and add a more interactive storytelling element. \u0027There is a need for digital curators within our museums,\u0027 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Pier Luigi Sacco of the International University of Languages and Media in Milan, Italy, and special advisor to the European Commission, gave a second example, the \u0027Father and Son\u0027 game developed by the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Highly rated, this popular game is available as an app for Android and iPhone devices, and tells the story of a son who follows in the footsteps of his archaeologist father, whom he has never met. Going through several stages, to unlock the final level of the game, you must visit the museum.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDigital conservation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDigital technology is not just a new tool to visualise, explore or consume cultural heritage \u2013 it can also assist with conservation efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Antonia Moropoulou of the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, spoke in detail about the restoration of the Holy Aedicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel. She worked with digital specialists to develop a high-resolution 3D model of the Holy Aedicule, which allowed her team to devise the optimal way to restore it. The model allowed them to identify damage that had been done by previous conservation efforts, and to assess how the monument might react to seismic activity in the area, and plan its rehabilitation accordingly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInnovation and digitalisation are not synonymous, however. Other new initiatives in cultural heritage preservation and promotion included using neutron beams to identify biological remains within fossils, nanotechnology in gels to restore paintings, and leveraging cultural heritage as a catalyst for urban regeneration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEuropean identity \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe theme of cultural heritage as an antidote to the rising tide of extremist and populist anti-European political movements arose several times throughout the conference. Professor Efrem Yildiz of the University of Salamanca, Spain, said that a good investment in cultural heritage could be used to \u2018discover a fundamental way to counterbalance this growing and terrifying narrative.\u0027 Christian Ehler, member of the European Parliament, warned about how populist parties can use cultural heritage to manipulate the public, while Prof. Sonkoly said, \u0027If Europe doesn\u2019t build a positive cultural identity, others will.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe European Heritage Label and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/programmes\/creative-europe\/actions\/capitals-culture_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEuropean Capital of Culture\u003C\/a\u003E were highlighted as initiatives that not only supported cultural heritage, but also brought the idea of a shared European identity to the citizen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsis, said that Europe needs to actively innovate with cultural heritage to engage communities. \u0027We have to use cultural heritage as a source of energy for future projects, for innovation. These times, when the very future of the community at European level has been put into question, and there are diverging views about the future prospects of the EU, we have to take cultural heritage out of the museums, put them back into everyday life and investigate how we can use the experiences and achievements of past generations.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EEuropean Heritage Labels\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/programmes\/creative-europe\/actions\/heritage-label_en\u0022\u003EEuropean Heritage Labels\u003C\/a\u003E are awarded to sites of important significance to European history, with a focus on promotion and facilitating access to cultural sites. They have a symbolic value \u2013 they have played an important role in European history and the activities that they offer bring the European Union and its citizens closer together. The initiative differs from the UNESCO World Heritage List because of the focus on the European narrative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECities throughout the EU compete annually for the prestigious annual title of European Capital of Culture. Two cities are awarded each year, and the winners engage in a year-long cultural programme of activities.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EEditor\u0027s note: This article was updated on 22\/3\/2018 to clarify the affiliation of researcher Sofia Pescarin.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 alt width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-yyl8rpwac7zqasjfi7ebv5zqvwvbc7it2xsvfmecm7o\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-YYl8rpWAC7ZQaSjfI7EbV5ZqvwVBc7It2XSVfMEcM7o\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]