Digital Innovation for Cultural Heritage: Lessons from the European Year of Cultural Heritage

Abstract

The European Year of Cultural Heritage (EYCH) was a significant step towards public participation and a dialogue among experts and non-experts on what cultural heritage is and what it will be. Digital Innovation for Cultural Heritage (CH) was an important element of EYCH, as it offers the tools to view and activate culture not as a snapshot of the past, but as an everevolving element of societal growth and prosperity shared by all. During the EYCH, we interacted with a variety of European projects, research groups, and stakeholders on the topic of Digital Innovation for CH and specifically on how cultural heritage can be coupled with cutting-edge technology to allow future innovation. In this paper, we summarize lessons learnt through these interactions, as well as through reviewing meeting reports and relevant research literature, across three main dimensions: Digital CH innovation facilitators, Evaluation and Intellectual Property Rights issue.