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Call for Proposals

The workshop focuses on the application of digital cultural heritage, which has significant potential to contribute to the sustainable renewal of society. Reinterpreting cultural heritage needs to be addressed from social, digital, and green transition perspectives (Caro-Gonzalez, 2023). The UNESCO and FARO conventions prioritize human-centered heritage management and equal access to heritage, indicating that the value of heritage can be measured by what it adds to people’s lives. Digitization of heritage is seen as an important tool for overcoming the dilemma between preservation and usage (Parry 2010, Cameron 2021), but today the focus is often on creating digital repositories and less on how different societal groups could use digital heritage for societal development.
Although museums are recognized as an important sector contributing significantly to economic growth, fostering innovation, and spreading knowledge, their potential societal benefit has not been fully understood or thoroughly researched (Falk 2021, 2022, Social… 2011, Carmen 2010, Packer 2010). Research has shown that cultural heritage plays a crucial role in supporting people’s ability to respond to societal changes and contribute both personal and social well-being (Crossick 2016, Carnwath 2014, Falk 2022, Brown and Novak 2013; Brown and Ratzkin 2011; Walmsley and Franks 2011), as well as the local institutional ecosystem (Hudson 2015, Caro-Gonzales 2020). Here, co-creation of experiences between stakeholders (Minkiewitz 2014) has potential (Jaakkola 2015, Chaney 2012). Digital cultural heritage is an important resource for museums that should be used much more today in data-driven decisions (Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, 2022), co-creation initiatives, citizen science, and the education sector more broadly.

We invite proposals for presentations that facilitate discussions on the applications of digital technology within the GLAM sector, seeking to showcase and analyse innovative approaches to preserving, communicating, and interpreting cultural heritage. We are especially interested in cases that leverage digital cultural heritage for co-creation activities, audience participation, and other user engagement initiatives, which would support utilizing the potential of digital cultural heritage across cultural, educational, economic, and other fields.
We welcome contributions that highlight developments enabled by digital technologies that enhance accessibility and engagement to heritage institutions, creating opportunities for new audiences and new partnerships.
By introducing practical use cases, as well as presenting critical studies about the challenges and opportunities brought by the digital turn in the heritage sector, we aim to bring together practitioners and scholars. Our goal is to foster discussions and enhance understanding of the profound and transformative impact that digital innovation can have on cultural heritage. Proposals should aim to contribute to a better understanding of how technology can not only preserve and interpret cultural heritage but also serve as a bridge to new forms of interaction and collaboration.

The workshop targets

• Researchers and practitioners in the GLAM sector who are exploring or implementing digitalized collections, tools, and strategies to enhance their work. This includes those integrating new digital innovations into long-term institutional strategies and focusing on co-creation, accessibility, and user engagement within cultural institutions.
• Researchers who have been using digital humanities methods in heritage research and analysis.
• Developers, designers, and technology providers working on digital solutions for cultural heritage applications.

The workshop aims

• to discuss new ways to interpret and utilize digital cultural heritage;
• to explore topics such as accessibility, sustainability, and audience diversity in digital cultural heritage projects;
• to provide participants with an opportunity to share innovative ideas on how to integrate digital technologies into GLAM institutions, focusing on user engagement, relevance, and collaboration.

The proposals must be submitted at DHNB2025 ConfTool as:
Abstract of 300–400 words (excluding references) that outlines the objectives, methods, and anticipated outcomes of your presentation, which may be in the form of academic paper, demonstration of work process/code/tool, or hands-on mini-tutorial. The expected timeframe for each presentation is 20 min.

https://www.conftool.org/dhnb2025/

Keywords: digital cultural heritage, innovations, co-creation, audience engagement, new forms of interaction

Topics: co-creation and audience participation in digital heritage, user engagement in cultural heritage projects, digital humanities and museum collections, new forms of interaction with digital content

Chair contact: Pille Runnel pille.runnel@erm.ee

Organizers:

Pille Runnel is a research director and deputy director of the Estonian National Museum, specialized in media studies, digital culture, youth culture, participatory practices, museology and audience studies. She is leading museum development and management initiatives. Currently she is directing experimental research projects on digital cultural heritage and digital tools for the museum audiences.
Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt is a professor of media and communication studies at the University of Malmö. Her work focuses on creative and collaborative methods, academic knowledge in media, museums, impact and critical data studies, and supporting the academic dissemination of project outcomes. She has participated in research and development projects and published more than one hundred articles.
Agnes Aljas is the research secretary at the Estonian National Museum. Her research focuses on audience studies, museum participation from the perspective of the participants and to museum’s social impact.