HERITΛGE is happy to announce its participation in a major new Research and Innovation Action (RIA) that held its kick off meeting on 18 and 19 October.

SHIFT: MetamorphoSis of cultural Heritage Into augmented hypermedia assets For enhanced accessibiliTy and inclusion supports the adoption of digital transformation strategies and the uptake of tools within the creative and cultural industries (CCI), where progress has been lagging.

The SHIFT consortium brings together 13 world-leading research, industrial and SME organisations, coordinated by SIMAVI (Romania), with the vision to strengthen the impact of cultural heritage assets. It will increase the appeal of historical artefacts, improving their accessibility and usability for everyone through better content representation, enriched user experiences, inclusive design, training and more engaging business models

The project is strategically conceived to deliver, by advancing beyond the state-of-the-art, a set of loosely coupled technological tools that offers cultural heritage institutions (CHI) the impetus to stimulate growth and communicate new experiences to all citizens (including people with disabilities) by embracing the latest technological innovations in

• artificial intelligence
• machine learning
• multi-modal data processing
• digital content transformation methodologies
• semantic representation
• linguistic analysis of historical records
• the use of haptics interfaces

 

Among its other key results will be: tools and algorithms to revitalize historical and cultural high-value content; enhanced preservation of historical archives using contemporary language models; contribution to international standards to exchange metadata models with cultural institutions and copyright protection of content ownership

SHIFT outcomes will target B2B user groups including CHI (archives, libraries, museums), digital content creators, entertainment and the haptics Industry, as well as end users such as museum visitors, web communities and vulnerable groups.

AGILE project planning will adopt a cyclic approach to engage with stakeholder communities and establish a continuous evaluation methodology, while developing several use cases and demonstrations. SHIFT’s dissemination and communication strategies will promote wide-scale adoption of its results across the cultural and creative industries. Plans for future exploitation will focus on making use of contemporary business model approaches for SHIFT and its components.

The full list of partners is:
– Software Imagination & Vision (SIMAVI) – Romania
– Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH) – Greece
– Massive Dynamic –Sweden
– Audeering – Germany
– University of Augsburg – Germany
– Queen Mary University of London – UK
– Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum – Semmelweis Orvostörténeti Múzeum – Hungary
– The National Association of Public Librarians and Libraries in Romania (ANBPR)
– Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz – Germany
– The Balkan Museum Network – Bosnia and Herzegovina
– The Heritage Management Organization (HERITAGE) – Greece
– Eticas Research and Consulting – Spain
– German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted – Germany

HERITΛGE will be focusing on communicating the project, spreading knowledge, strengthening cross-project collaborations, producing targeted communications materials all the while specifically targeting stakeholder markets.

SHIFT is funded under work programme HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-04 (RIA): Preserving and enhancing cultural heritage with advanced digital technologies.

For more information please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

27 Heritage Managers take part in a 3-day Project Management Workshop in Benin

Heritage managers from Cotonou, Porto Novo, Abomey-Calavi, Parakou, Ouake, and beyond, took part in the Heritage Management Organization’s (HERITΛGE) first in-person workshop in Benin. The “Project Management for Heritage Managers” workshop took place at the École du Patrimoine Africain (EPA) in Porto Novo on 24-26 October under instructor Dr. Matina Magkou.

The workshop was attended by heritage managers from a variety of stakeholders, including the Ministry of Tourism, Cultura and the Arts, the Ministry for Quality of Life and Sustainable Development, the Ministry for the Environment, the University of Abomey-Calavim, the Universite of Lomé, the School of African Heritage, de la culture et des arts, the Ministère du Cadre de Vie et du Développement Durable, the Ministère de l’Environnement,, the Université d Abomey Calavi, the Université de Lomé, the École du Patrimoine Africain, the Diocesan Cell of Religious Heritage in Porto Novo, the Institute of Cultural Affairs of Benin (ICA BENIN), the NGO Young Rural People of Benin, Émergence Consulting Plus, and the Architectural Firm K2ai.

Dr. Emery Patrick Effiboley, Head of the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Abomey-Calavi addressed the workshop attendees on the first day.

“It is an honor to have so many Beninese heritage managers here. We have noted that Benin and you are working hard and effectively to make this country a beacon for the region when it comes to heritage issues, and we hope that with this workshop we will give you more tools to succeed,” HERITΛGE’s Maria Kagkelidou told attendees.

The “Project Management for Heritage Managers” workshop was delivered in cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the kind assistance of EPA.

About HerMaP Benin: The program is delivered in cooperation with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and aims to develop the business skills of heritage managers in order to enable them to better support the heritage and cultural sectors to further promote economic growth in Benin. The heritage sector can enhance community solidarity and provide high-quality employment opportunities for Benin’s workforce.

About HERITΛGE: The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) was established in 2008 to enable key heritage managers to independently transform heritage assets into dynamic sources of learning, community, identity, and economic development through targeted training. We train professionals in the management of heritage sites, independently of project specifics. HERITΛGE has trained hundreds of individuals and organizations in over 90 countries and is on course to impact a quarter of global heritage hotspots by the year 2025.

More information: please contact [email protected]

HERITΛGE teams continued delivering online and in person workshops, training heritage professionals around the world, as well as contributing to the global heritage debates. 

HERITΛGE work in Africa and beyond was featured in Athens Voice, Greece’s premier free press weekly. AV spoke to HERITΛGE director, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis. Read the interview [in greek].

Finally, HERITΛGE director, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis, spoke to Greece’s public broadcaster ERT and its 2nd Program radio station during the annual European Heritage Days celebratory weekend. Speaking to journalist Ioanna Niaoti and #namaste, Kyriakidis explored themes such as why cultural heritage is important, the threats it faces and paradigms from around the continent.

Listen to the program here.

 

 

HERITΛGE is happy to announce three upcoming training workshops for Heritage Professionals.

At HERITΛGE we train professionals in the management of heritage sites, independently of project specifics. We have trained more than 1000 individuals and organizations in over 77 countries and are now on course to impact a quarter of global heritage hotspots by 2025. 

Our upcoming opportunities include:

Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage – Online and In-Person

This course draws from our long experience with community engagement through heritage and will discuss several examples from our own and others’ work. At HERITΛGE aim to develop a distinct approach to community engagement, based on social (and art) research with community-led initiative.

Introduction to Heritage Interpretation for Site Managers – Online

Heritage Interpretation is a structured approach to non-formal learning, specialized in making visitors’ experience meaningful and unforgettable. In this 3-day course, participants will familiarize themselves with the principles of quality heritage interpretation and will practice how to use interpretation on their own sites.

Interpretive Writing for Natural and Cultural Heritage – Online

The key to effective word-based Heritage Interpretation is written text that grabs and holds the reader’s attention. During a 3-day online course, participants will discover and practice a wide range of techniques to engage visitors and master the techniques of interpretive writing.

 

*There is funding available through the Benefactor Scholarships of the Heritage Management Organizations. The scholarships are available for qualified candidates and cover a large part of the cost, excluding travel and hotel expenses for in-person training.

DEADLINE EXTENDED – Apply by August 20! 

Developing and Organising Temporary Exhibitions and Touring Strategies Workshop 

Heritage is happy to invite applications for the Developing and Organising Temporary Exhibitions from your Collections and Touring Strategies training program which will take place online 23rd-25th September 2022. 

This workshop focuses on how temporary exhibitions can enhance and promote the mission of a cultural organization, create new audiences, build partnerships and potentially generate revenue. 

Starting with building an organizational strategy for exhibition making and partnership building, participants will explore the process behind making temporary exhibitions for display at home and for the tour.  This includes identifying exhibition objectives, shaping the narrative and content to create a compelling visitor experience, as well as strategies for touring exhibitions nationally and internationally.`

Only scholarship holders are accepted to this workshop. 

Scholarships available normally cover up to 90% of tuition fees.  In exceptional cases, Heritage may cover the full fees.

More details in the Official Announcement. To submit your application, please fill out the application form.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 20TH AUGUST  2022

Testimonials from previous workshop participants

The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) is pleased to announce the successful completion of the Emerging Trends and Technologies in Cultural Organizations: Management Innovation and Network Collaboration one-day conference that took place in Thessaloniki on July 14th realized with the support of the American Farm School and the International Hellenic University.

The conference was the culmination of the TEACH FOR FUTURE international program, which was realized by HERITΛGE in cooperation with the Romanian National Association of Librarians and Public Libraries (ANBPR) and Global Libraries – Bulgarian Foundation.

Conference speakers included Dr. Jeffrey Lansdale, President of the American Farm School, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis, HERITAGE Founder and Director, and Dr. Emmanuel Garoufallou, Head of the Department of Library Science, Archives and Information Systems, School of Social Sciences, International Hellenic University and coordinator of the TEACH FOR FUTURE program. 

“Teach for Future and this conference aim to contribute to improving and extending adult high-quality learning opportunities on innovative educational topics, with potential for economic growth, acquiring and recognising new skills, knowledge and behaviors in line with the demands of the labor market,”  Dr. Garoufallou.

The conference’s keynote presentation “Copyright and online learning in a time of transition: games, creativity and learning” was  given by Dr. Jane Secker of the University of London and Chris Morrison of the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford. 

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 MORE ABOUT TEACH FOR FUTURE

TEACH FOR FUTURE was co-funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus + initiative to train more than 300 people in three countries, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. The aim of the program is for graduates to transfer specialized knowledge in the fields of Information Technology, Innovation Management and Network Collaboration, as well as Entrepreneurship and Leadership to diverse communities of adult learners from the three participating countries and the wider region and act as multipliers for the acquisition of skills.