Invitation for Contributions: AI for 3D Digital Twins in Cultural Heritage – Second Stakeholder Forum under the ApplyAI Strategy

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27. 10. 2026
Trajan’s Column, Rome. Every appearance of the emperor along the frieze, found and segmented by AI. Photo © INCEPTION

Second Stakeholder Forum under the ApplyAI Strategy

Following the first Stakeholder Forum held online on 23 March 2026, the European Commission (DG CONNECT) and the 3D-4CH Online Competence Centre invite European projects and initiatives, including EU-, national- or regional-funded ones, to submit short contributions for the second edition of the Stakeholder Forum on AI for 3D Digital Twins in Cultural Heritage, taking place online on 9 December 2026.

 

The event is organised in the framework of the ApplyAI Strategy, supporting the uptake and scaling of AI technologies for highly realistic and accurate 3D digitisation of cultural sites and artefacts.

 

 

To watch the full recording of the first Stakeholder Forum, please click here.

 

Call for Invitations

 

We are seeking 9 presentations of 10 minutes each, each followed by 5 minutes of Q&A, showcasing and discussing relevant results under one of the following suggested thematic areas:

 

  1. AI to support 3D digitisation: from advanced 3D capturing to generative models


    AI techniques that accelerate or improve 3D surveying and data processing, enhance legacy models or scale up digitisation pipelines. This includes neural rendering methods such as Gaussian Splatting, generative AI approaches working from one or more images, and AI-driven completion of missing or damaged parts. We especially welcome experiences that compare these methods with traditional 3D documentation in terms of accuracy, reliability and transparency, and show where they can complement conventional surveys.

  2. From geometry to meaning: AI for enriching and understanding 3D heritage


    AI methods that complement 3D geometries with structured, searchable knowledge: 3D segmentation and classification of elements and materials, damage and condition mapping, automatic generation of metadata and paradata, and links between 3D models, ontologies and knowledge graphs, making enriched 3D data findable and reusable in the common European data space for cultural heritage. This includes supervised and unsupervised methods, multimodal and vision-language models to describe or query 3D assets, annotated training datasets and expert-in-the-loop validation.

  3. AI for data visualisation, interpretation, narrative creation and reuse


    AI approaches that analyse, visualise or interpret cultural heritage data and scenes, support decision-making in conservation and management, and enable reuse and new narratives in education, tourism and the creative industries (for example conversational guides, generative storytelling, immersive and XR experiences, predictive models for monitoring), while keeping AI-generated interpretation distinguishable from documented evidence.

 

Additional AI-related topics relevant to 3D cultural heritage are also welcome, even if they do not fully align with the three suggested themes.

 

 

New voices and new results

 

This second edition aims to widen the range of projects and speakers represented. Priority will be given to projects, initiatives and speakers that did not present at the March 2026 forum. Those who presented in March are welcome to apply again if they can report significant new results obtained since then, and should describe them briefly in their submission.

 

 

Submission Format (max 1 page)

 

Please include:

  1. Project / initiative name

  2. Funding programme (DEP, HE, … or “other / self-funded”)

  3. Proposed presentation title

  4. Selected thematic area (1, 2, 3 or other)

  5. Short abstract (150–200 words)

  6. Stage of development (e.g. research prototype, pilot, in operational use)

  7. Previous participation: did the project or the speaker present at the March 2026 forum? If yes, what is new since then (max 50 words)

  8. Speaker name, affiliation, email, short bio

  9. Optional links to outputs (publications, datasets, code, demos)

 

Submissione deadline: 13 November 2026

 

 

 

“We must accelerate the 3D digitisation of our cultural heritage, and a  fair and trustworthy use of AI is essential to achieve it.”
(Rehana Schwinninger Ladak, Head of Unit, DG CNECT Unit G2 – Interactive Technologies, Digital for Culture and Education/Image credit: private)

 

APPLY HERE

 

Alternatively, you may also submit your application to: info[at]3d4ch-competencecnetre.eu 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selection

 

DG CONNECT and 3D-4CH will jointly select some 9 presentations, aiming at three per thematic area where the quality of submissions allows.
Selected speakers will be notified by 20 November 2026.

 

Selection criteria:

  1. Impact of results on 3D cultural heritage and alignment with the Apply AI Strategy

  2. Quality of the submission, including maturity and clarity of the work, as well as innovation and technical added value

  3. Novelty for the forum: new projects and speakers, or significant new results since the March 2026 forum

  4. Diversity of approaches, asset types, countries and speaker profiles

 

Image credits: Trajan’s Column, Rome. Every appearance of the emperor along the frieze, found and segmented by AI. Photo © INCEPTION.