ICARUS 2023 conference: New opportunities of digital transformation – 22–24 March 2023, Šibenik (HR)

The 8th ICARUS international conference was held in the historic Croatian city of Šibenik, where once again more than twenty countries were represented.

At the event, which ran from 22 to 24 March, experts working on cultural heritage and its protection and digitisation gathered to share the results of their research with one another. The event focused on the digital preservation of cultural heritage, and participants discussed new methods of using digital technologies to preserve our cultural heritage and make it accessible. Tripont’s specialists took part in the event both as exhibitors and as speakers.

The conference theme is especially timely at a time when cultural heritage in many countries of the world is being severely damaged by war, natural disasters and human activity. Digitisation offers an opportunity for parts of cultural heritage to survive in digital form, thus preserving them and making them accessible to future generations.

Over three professionally rich days, participants discussed the current projects and activities of the archival and heritage community, in workshops and presentations, at the Public Library “Juraj Šižgorić” Šibenik and the Civitas Sacra – Interpretation Centre of St James’ Cathedral, Šibenik.

Conference participants also discussed how digital technology enables the storage and preservation of cultural heritage by making it possible to store information and documentation digitally. Online archiving makes it possible for information, documents and photographs belonging to cultural heritage to be available over the internet, so that they can become accessible to anyone.

However, the importance of digitisation is not limited to the preservation of cultural heritage. Conference participants also discussed how digital technology can contribute to education or to other forms of social return.

It is no coincidence that the gathering was organised within the framework of the Creative Europe E-Routes project, a European Union initiative that aims to combine cultural tourism and e-tourism. The project essentially strives to make the sites and values of European cultural heritage accessible online as well, thereby promoting the development of the European tourism industry and the preservation of cultural diversity.

The E-Routes project is supported by the Creative Europe programme, a cultural programme established by the European Commission that focuses on supporting and developing the European cultural and creative industries. The aim of the Creative Europe programme is to preserve European cultural heritage and creativity and to foster dialogue between European cultures.

Among the partners taking part in the E-Routes project are numerous tourism and cultural institutions across Europe, including museums, cultural centres, festivals and tourism organisations. The aim of the E-Routes project is to make the sites and values of European cultural heritage accessible online as well. However, the E-Routes project does not focus solely on creating online content, but also extends to many other areas of e-tourism, such as the creation of routes and tourism services related to cultural heritage.

The next ICARUS conference will be held in the Netherlands, on 3–5 May 2023. At the event in Maastricht, our digitisation specialist Dániel Bedő will give a presentation on the digitisation success stories of Tripont Cultural Heritage Solutions.