Themes & Sessions – Digital Ecosystems for Heritage 4.0

Scientific Themes & Sessions

For Authors

Information on paper preparation, presentation and publication is available in the “Instructions for Authors”.

Special Issues

Authors of selected works will be invited to submit an extended version of their papers to Special Issues of Ananke and Virtual Archaeology Review.

Symposium Tracks

AI, Governance and Critical Futures of Cultural Heritage: Trust, Bias and Accountability

Heritage 4.0: Can We Trust Artificial Intelligence?

A track exploring how AI intersects with ethics, policies and the governance of digital ecosystems.

Topics include but are not limited to:

International standards, regulations and policies for digital heritage;
Data governance, responsibility and digital rights;
Ontologies, knowledge graphs and semantic models as the backbone of Heritage 4.0;
AI for segmentation, classification and decay prediction: opportunities vs. risks;
Generative AI for virtual reconstructions: how far can we go?
Automation, transparency, and accountability in heritage processes.

Digital Twins and Computational Realities: Beyond 3D Modelling

Digital Twins: New Frontier or New Constraint for Cultural Heritage?

A track focused on Digital Twins as dynamic, critical tools for the lifecycle of heritage.

Topics include but are not limited to:

Digital workflows for heritage conservation;
From integrated surveying to living, interoperable Digital Twins;
Digital Twins for management, monitoring and decision-making;
Data traceability, versioning and reuse in 3D ecosystems;
AI-enhanced modelling, sensor integration and predictive platforms;
Costs, limitations and sustainability of Digital Twins in heritage.

Heritage Under Pressure: Risk, Monitoring and Resilience Strategies

Resilience 4.0: Are We Ready to Protect Heritage in a Changing World?

This track explores how digital tools, analytical models and data-driven approaches can support the understanding, prediction and mitigation of risks affecting cultural heritage, across scales and typologies.

Topics include but are not limited to:

Digital diagnostics and multi-scale monitoring;
Suitable patterns for describing hazard and vulnerabilities;
Predictive modelling and early warning systems;
Digital tools and contents for the definition of natural and anthropic risks;
Digital strategies for emergency preparedness and mitigation.

Museums After Digital: Accessibility, Hybrid Experiences and New Audiences

How will Museums of the Future Rethink Access, Experience and Mediation?

A forward-looking track addressing what museums will become in the next decade.

Topics include but are not limited to:

Immersive XR and hybrid physical–digital environments;
New forms of accessibility: sensory, cognitive, remote and social inclusion;
Computational storytelling and multisensory narratives;
Ethical issues in digital museums: privacy and digital visitor rights;
Participatory and community-driven digital engagement.

Skills for Heritage 4.0: Training, New Professions and Knowledge Transmission

Who Will Safeguard the Digital Heritage? Educating Tomorrow’s Professionals?

A track examining the transformation of competencies and learning models in the digital heritage sector.

Topics include but are not limited to:

Emerging professional profiles and evolving skillsets;
Interdisciplinary training: combining humanities, engineering and data science;
Experiential and lab-based education, simulations and hands-on learning;
Institutional strategies for capacity building and continuous training;
Skill gaps between research, practice and public administration.

SPECIAL SESSION

The Arno River and the 60^thAnniversary of the 1966 Flood

Memories, Digital Documentation and Risk Awareness

Sixty years after the devastating 1966 flood, the Arno river remains both a symbol of vulnerability and a laboratory for innovation in risk monitoring, documentation and landscape management. This special session invites contributions that reflect on the historical event while exploring new digital strategies for understanding river dynamics, modelling flood scenarios and preserving related cultural heritage.

A guiding question frames the session: how can digital ecosystems help transform the memory of the Arno flood into a proactive framework for awareness, preparedness and long-term resilience?

Topics

Digital reconstructions of the 1966 flood;
Archival sources, visual memories and immersive storytelling;
River monitoring, hydrological modelling and predictive tools;
Landscape-scale vulnerability analysis;
Community engagement and cultural memory preservation;
Policies and digital frameworks for river-related heritage risks.

PANELS

PANEL I

ARTEMIS Project

Reactive Heritage Digital Twins integrate semantic knowledge, AI, real-time data, and interoperable services to support intelligent cultural heritage monitoring, management, and conservation.

PANEL II

CHEDAR Project

From Dubai to the World: Heritage, Knowledge and New International Partnerships

Exploring concrete international cooperation in heritage, education, digital technologies, and cultural resilience.

PANEL III

Heritage Is Not Engineering

Rethinking What Makes a Digital Twin Work. Exploring how Digital Twins can move beyond digital models to address the technological, semantic, and human complexities of cultural heritage.