European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel has made official a €110 million budget (until 2025) for the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage initiative.
The project was first announced in June of 2022, and is aimed at providing, “cutting-edge technologies for digitising artefacts, researching artworks, and documenting data, all of which will significantly advance and add a new digital dimension to cultural heritage preservation, conservation, and restoration.”
In order to accomplish such a mammoth task, part of the project will involve providing small and remote cultural institutions with technical access to broadband networks, high-capacity connections, and crucially, funding opportunities.
“Digital transition brings challenges to cultural heritage institutions, but it can also bring countless opportunities. We have secured €110 million under Horizon Europe until 2025, to help small and remote institutions to grasp those opportunities and ensure the protection and preservation of cultural heritage for future generations,” said the Commissioner.
According to the Commission, only 30% to 50% of the cultural collections in Europe have been digitised, with numbers dropping even lower for three-dimensional representations of large cultural heritage structures and landscapes. However, of those that have been digitally preserved for future generations, most standards in use are not uniform, traceable, or secure.
In order to shore up this somewhat fast and loose system, the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage project will be in line with EU rules, particularly in regard to intellectual property rights.
“We encourage EU countries to digitise all monuments and sites at risk of degradation by 2030,” concluded Gabriel.
Lead image: Claudio Hirschberger
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