CHARME

Europe currently gives access to 52 million Cultural Heritage assets, 45% of which can be reused in various sectors. The European Commission recommends that Member States accelerate the digitisation of all cultural heritage to preserve it for future generations, safeguard assets at risk, and promote reuse in education, sustainable tourism, and the cultural and creative industries (Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1970).

Can digitisation transform how cultural institutions and entreprises manage heritage assets?
Can it boost citizen engagement, youth participation and accessibility for people with disabilities?

The CHARME project addresses the digitisation of Cultural Heritage as a cornerstone for building a shared European identity and fostering innovation, creativity, and economic development.

Digitising cultural heritage opens up new opportunities for reuse, supporting the development of innovative services and creative products across multiple fields. These include restoration and preservation, planned conservation, climate resilience, and civic engagement - particularly among youth - and cultural inclusion, especiallu for people with disabilities.

Partners from 6 European countries are working together to explore the potential of digital technologies in the field of cultural heritage.

Activities are based on a shared learning process, actively involving all partners and stakeholders. They include:

• Study visits on good practices, including tools like 3D models, mobile apps, VR tools, video games, and interactive GPS maps, offering concrete examples to explore the topic;
• Thematic seminars and workshops, to enhance knowledge, understanding, and skills;
• Critical reviews of regional policies and legislation, to assess current approaches to the digitisation of cultural heritage;
• The development of shared guidelines, as an effective tool for integrating digitisation into regional cultural policies.

The project's overall objective is to embed cultural heritage digitisation into regional strategies by improving 5 policy instruments identified by the partners.

The partnership includes:

• 5 medium-sized cities with significant historical and artistic heritage, collaborating for over two years on cultural heritage-related initiatives: Municipality of Pavia (IT, Lead Partner), Municipality of Coimbra (PT), Municipality of Iaşi (RO), the Grand Poitiers Urban Community (FR), Municipality of Turku (FI)
• 1 discovery partner: Lviv Municipal Company “Lviv Bureau of European Integration” (UA), participating to build capacity on the issue and interregional cooperation project management;
• 1 advisory partner: University of Pavia – Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (IT), which leads the learning process and supports project objectives.