Digital meets Culture

ARCH project workshop, València, 27 September 2021

ARCH thermal modelling workshop: future alternative land use scenarios for city of València

ARCH (Saving Cultural Heritage) is an EU-funded H2020 project focused on preserving areas of cultural heritage from the dangers and risks of climate change.
Cities always more frequently face extreme events that endanger cultural heritage and historic urban center, this project intends to develop a disaster risk management framework to assess and improve the resilience of historic areas to climate change and natural hazards.

The project will design methods, tools and models to support local authorities and practitioners, the urban population, and national and international expert communities in decision-making.
These tools and methodologies will be developed in a co-creative approach with the pilot cities of Bratislava, Camerino, Hamburg and València, involving local policy makers, practitioners and community members.

Last 27th September 2021, València ARCH project team organised the workshop: “Modelling of Thermal Regulation Ecosystem Services provided by the Huerta and Albufera in relation to the city of València.”

In the workshop, alternative land use scenarios were presented, which will be considered to assess the thermal influence of the periurban environment on València metropolitan area. The thermal modelling work carried out in ARCH was presented as well as the main results already obtained in relation to current land use in the metropolitan area.

A specific discussion concerned the description of two possible alternative land use scenarios:

one based on the protection and expansion of the peri-urban green and blue infrastructure, called “green” scenario, the best case.
the other, “grey” scenario, with an uncontrolled urban growth, the worst case.

Participants were involved in the discussion thanks to a specific web app designed to allow them to propose specific areas where potential land use changes could be considered under such what-if scenarios.

Further information about ARCH at savingculturalheritage.eu

a Lighting Talk in the programme of the Europeana main conference will present WEAVE approach to connecting communities

WEAVE at Europeana 2021: Recover, Rebuild, Grow

Europeana 2021 will explore how the cultural heritage sector can recover, rebuild and grow in a post-pandemic world. The rich programme of talks, panel discussions and presentations promises a great engagement with all the attendees.

70% of the programme for Europeana 2021 – over 30 sessions – was co-created with cultural heritage professionals across the sector who responded to a call for proposals. Among those, the WEAVE project community is happy to present the work that is ongoing for enabling engagement of various communities with their cultural heritage, also with an eye on discussing the mainstream representation of minority communities heritage, advocating for a more inclusive and balanced approach.

The talk about WEAVE, conducted by Antonella Fresa representing Photoconsortium, takes place on 11th November at 2 pm.

WEAVE will also be showcased in the virtual poster session that animates the conference virtual space.

Discover and register: https://pro.europeana.eu/post/announcing-our-programme-for-europeana-2021

18 November 2021, online event

The Annual Policy Conversation “A Cultural Deal for Europe”

The Cultural Deal for Europe is a call to acknowledge the central role of culture in shaping the future of Europe.

It was launched in November 2020 by Culture Action Europe (CAE), European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and Europa Nostra.

Its annual event will take place on 18 November 2021, bringing together the European cultural scene and European policy makers to engage in dialogue, share ideas and develop the way forward to place culture at the center of the European project.

The event aims to involve the wider European community of heritage stakeholders:
artists, creatives, cultural workers, heritage operators, volunteers and civil society organizations are invited to participate and discuss building a future more resilient and sustainable for Europe and its citizens.

The debate will focus on the role of cultural heritage and culture to Europe’s recovery and to its green, more sustainable and inclusive future through the European Green Deal, the Conference on the Future of Europe and the New European Bauhaus.

The edition will be held from 15:00 to 18:00 CET in a hybrid format: at Bozar, Brussels and virtually.

To follow the live online debate it is necessary to register by 15 November at this link.

To learn more about the Cultural Deal for Europe:

online, 10-12 November 2021

Europeana 2021: Recover, Rebuild, Grow

Europeana 2021 will explore how the cultural heritage sector can recover, rebuild and grow in a post-pandemic world. Each day will begin with an address from a leading keynote speaker to inspire and inform your experience. 70% of the programme for Europeana 2021 – over 30 sessions – was co-created with cultural heritage professionals across the sector who responded to our call for proposals. In the afternoon, you can explore the rich results and join a variety of interactive and engaging presentations, workshops and activities.

Discover and register: https://pro.europeana.eu/post/announcing-our-programme-for-europeana-2021

On Wednesday 10 November, the conference will explore putting values at the heart of Europe’s digital future. We are delighted to be joined by Yvo Volman, acting Director of the Data directorate in the Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission, and George Oates, CEO & Founder Museum in a Box, for keynote speeches, followed by a panel session and Q&A. Attendees will get a deeper understanding of the Commission’s vision for a digital Europe and its ambitions for Europeana at the heart of the data space for cultural heritage. You will be able to listen to and engage in debate around what constitutes a healthy digital public space, explore how a ‘single market for data’ relates to an open and trusted digital public space, and the unique contribution that the heritage sector can make to a values-led digital agenda.

On Thursday 11 November, the focus will turn to ensuring sustainable digital transformation. As challenges from climate change through to the COVID-19 pandemic drive us to look again at the lasting impact of our action, the conference will explore how policy agendas and initiatives such as the Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus provide us with opportunities to collaborate across sectors. This can help us to share knowledge, create new experiences and use our digital transformation to contribute to a sustainable future for Europe. The day’s keynote address will be given by Secretary General of Europa Nostra, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, who will be joined afterwards by thought-leaders in the sector for a panel and Q&A discussion.

Finally, on Friday 12 November, the conference will expand on using technology to drive social change. Together, we will explore how technology can help our sector understand and improve its offer to the people we serve, provide access to previously inaccessible information, democratise knowledge, connect with audiences and give voice to marginalised groups. Pier Luigi Sacco, Professor of Cultural Economics, IULM University Milan, will give the final keynote address of the conference and then explore the topic further in a panel session and Q&A following his speech.

online, 17th November 2021

WEAVE LabDay: Poetry and Photography

In preparing the content materials for the aggregation to Europeana, partner TopFoto referenced its inaugural writer-in-residence, Rommi Smith and her residency-collaboration with musician and composer, Christella Litras. This residency, TopFoto’s expertise and its collaboration with artist-researcher, Rommi Smith, has led to the planning of a WEAVE LabDay that is geared towards artists, researchers, archivists, CHIs and other key stakeholders that engage with photographic content. This LabDay also features contributions including from John Balean, Operations Manager at TopFoto.

This exclusive, critical-creative, practice-based event takes place before a brand-new exhibition, curated by Smith, of residency-related photographs at the North Wall Gallery, Oxford, 10-29 January 2022.

The TopFoto Poetry and Photography LabDay will comprise two parts:

Part 1: A critical-creative talk led by Rommi Smith. This LabDay will incorporate moments of practice-related insights from artists Rommi Smith and Christella Litras. Litras, a musician within the residency, will be playing her keyboard. This first section will also incorporate: the remote performance of extracts of creative work from the TopFoto residency; a three-way, interdisciplinary conversation between Smith, Litras and WEAVE convenor, Rosa Cisneros – concluding with a Q&A where audience questions are welcomed.

Part 2: A generative workshop utilising a selection of photos from the TopFoto archive as a starting point for short poems, monologues and short stories. Participants will discover and utilise some of the methods Smith utilises in her own creative process as the inaugural writer-in-residence for TopFoto. Litras will support the workshop, performing improvised music which will inspire the flow of words and narratives. The workshop space is open to everyone, regardless of prior creative writing experience.

More info and registration: https://weave-culture.eu/2021/10/19/poetry-photography/

organized by Project Coordinator the University of Granada, a virtual meeting was held among partners with participation of the PO

INCULTUM project meeting showed first progress

On 28th October, at M6 of the INCULTUM project, a virtual gathering saw all the project’s partners meet and discuss the progress of the various activities, at project level and also at the level of Pilots’ individual work.

The most visible outcome of the project in this initial stage is the launch of the project’s website as the main communication channel in the project, curated by partner Promoter. Embedded in the website, a first version of INCULTUM’s Training Portal is also published now that showcases the various sections where training materials and resources will be integrated as long as they are produced by the project under the coordination of partner University of Pisa.

Also the work for data gathering and for stakeholders mapping, as activities to support INCULTUM research, are currently in progress respectively at SDU University of Southern Denmark and at Copenhagen Business School. Work is also ongoing for other important project areas suchs as the Policy Recommendation by UMB Matej Bel University, and the data management and initial sustainability planning coordinated by the University of Granada.

Possibly, the most lively and creative part of the event was the update by each Pilot Coordinator. A lot of work is already in place at each Pilot’s site, for develping a more modern and sustainable approach to local tourism and community engagements. Seminars and public events were organized, research and training actions were initiated, digital tools requirements were set, and connections with local stakeholders, students, citizens and policy makers were brought forward. examples of such activities are the Pilot 5’s launch event in Tuscany; a stakeholders seminar in Portugal; the presentation of the Irish Pilot in an important conference on Archaeology; and the development of an interactive map of the Greek Aoos Valley.

Discover all the INCULTUM Pilots: https://incultum.eu/pilots/

PRESENTATIONS

WP2 Communication and dissemination (PDF) – Antonella Fresa, Promoter Srl
WP3 Data Analysis and statistics (PDF) – Karol Borowiecki, Sara Mitchell, SDU University of Southern Denmark
WP4 Policies and participatory models (PDF) – Alexandra Bitušíková, Kamila Borseková, Matej Bel University

a nice seminar was organized in Faro on 11 May 2021 by Pilot Coordinator the University of Algarve

INCULTUM in Portugal: launching the Pilot to promote Campina de Faro area

The University of Algarve’s research team started the INCULTUM Pilot in south Portugal by holding, in Faro on 11th May 2021, a Seminar on “Cultural Landscape, Hydraulic Heritage and Sustainable Development”.

Aimed at engaging the academic community, other stakeholders, and the population in general, INCULTUM project and the Portuguese Pilot in particular were presented since the beginning of the Seminar.

Discover More about the Pilot 2 Agrarian coastal plain: Campina de Faro.

View the event’s poster (PDF)

The Seminar included talks by various participating speakers, namely researchers, senior technicians from the municipal and regional public administrations and, also, directors of tourist companies, about the following topics, all relating to the promotion actions to be deployes for supporting tourism in the area:

Proximity Heritage in the context of sustainable goals
The Hydraulic Heritage in the Algarvean Landscape: Research and inventory
Campina de Faro (the area of our pilot): Perspective from the Inventory of Faro’s Charter of Heritage
Historical irrigation systems of the agrarian coastal plain
Paths of Knowledge and Leisure: Building a Pathway

The Seminar served as a space for reflection and debate on the landscape and water heritage in the area covered by the Pilot case, and the role and importance that they may have in the context of a proposal for cultural routes associated with cultural tourism.

Discover all the INCULTUM Pilots: https://incultum.eu/pilots/

UNESCO call for projects: Technical Assistance for the protection and the promotion of the status of artists and cultural professionals

This call for application is promoted in the framework of the Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals and is part of the several responses undertaken by UNESCO in order to contrast the crisis that affected the artistic and cultural sector after the Covid 19 outbreak. The initiative has the goal to provide a mechanism of technical and financial assistance to Member States interested in designing, revising or implementing inclusive policy reforms for the protection and promotion of the economic, social and cultural rights of the artists and cultural professionals. In particular, the reforms should face the issues of social security, decent jobs and income generation, copyrights protection, credit conditions, tax exemptions, mobility, freedom of artistic expression, trade unions and professional organizations, unemployment benefits, sick leaves or health insurance from which professionals in other sectors already benefit.

The Aschberg programme supports artistic creativity through the implementation of UNESCO’s two normative instruments: the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist.
It’s main goal is to facilitate a balanced flow of cultural goods and services, increase the mobility of artists and cultural professionals, and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. In line with the 2030 Agenda, the programme’s ambition is to contribute to promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and reducing inequality among countries.

The call provides detailed guidelines that clarify the eligibility criteria, assistance and funding modalities.
Submissions deadline: 3 December 2021
Applications are to be submitted by emails to: aschberg@unesco.org.
Contact for additional information: aschberg@unesco.org.
UNESCO Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals webpage.
Download the call for projects

online event 26-27 October 2021

WEAVE presented at Europeana Aggregators Forum

The Europeana Aggregators Forum is the network of national, thematic and domain aggregators: organizations which enable cultural heritage institutions to share their content with Europeana and open it up to new audiences. Twice a year all of them meet to exchange experience, present projects and align coordination, in sight of maintaining an effective aggregation ecosystem to support the development of Europeana.

WEAVE project was presented on day 1 the 26th October with a nice live presentation from the coordinator Alex Stan (IN-2), in collaboration with partner PHOTOCONSORTIUM which operates for the aggregation of the WEAVE content.

Europa Nostra calls to action “For a New European Renaissance”

On 21^st-24^th September the city of Venice hosted the 2021 edition of the European Cultural Heritage Summit. The Venice Summit offered a platform to celebrate excellence in cultural heritage skills and to discuss Europe’s recovery and its future. It was organised by Europa Nostra – the European Voice of Civil Society Committed to Cultural Heritage – during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, with the support of the European Union and the patronage of the European Parliament, through the Creative Europe and Horizon 2020 programmes, as well as in collaboration with other European and Italian partners. The event was run in a hybrid format, with a limited number of stakeholders on-site and a wider audience connected virtually. The main outcome is represented by the Venice Call to Action: “For a New European Renaissance”, a document that puts forward 12 concrete and actionable proposals with the aim of including the potential of cultural heritage in the key priorities of the European Union and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Read & share the Venice Call to Action: “For a New European Renaissance”
Read more…