Powering 3D Digitisation of Europe's Heritage

Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025, 14.30 to 16.00 CET
Location: San Niccolò Palace, Room 2: Panel 269 Siena, Italy
Part of: Digital Heritage 2025 

Members of the 3D-4CH competence centre, including project partners and stakeholders, come together to reflect on the current state of 3D digitisation across Europe. The panel will explore real-world challenges, lessons learned, and opportunities for institutions and projects at the forefront of 3D heritage, showcasing practical experiences, emerging technologies, and strategies to strengthen Europe’s cultural data infrastructure. 

Speakers: 

• Kate Fernie (CARARE) 

• Albert Sierra Reguera (Agència Catalana del Patrimoni Cultural) 

• Rob Shaw (Discovery Programme) 

• Valentine Charles (Europeana) 

• Marco Medici (INCEPTION, coordinating 3D-4CH) 

Overview:
The session is aimed at policymakers, heritage professionals, and digital practitioners. Panelists will share insights on key challenges like data capture, infrastructure, standards, skills development, and reuse. Through practical examples and lessons learned, the discussion will highlight scalable, sustainable ways to advance 3D digitisation across Europe. 

Kate Fernie will introduce the panel and set the scene. 

Albert Sierra Reguera will share the experiences of the Catalan Ministry of Culture with the Giravolt project, highlighting the lessons learned both in digitising Catalonia’s cultural heritage and in building capacity within the cultural heritage sector. 

Rob Shaw will speak about the Discovery Programme’s experience of using 3D scanning and remote sensing to document heritage and making it accessible to new audiences. 

Valentine Charles will introduce the TwinIt campaign, which is mobilising Member States to digitise nationally significant heritage assets in 3D and to make the results available for re-use through the Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage. 

Marco Medici will present INCEPTION’s experience in digitising cultural heritage in 3D within a rapidly evolving technological environment, including the use of AI, discussing the challenges and opportunities in managing such data, as well as the need for an Online Competence Centre to empower cultural professionals with training, tools, and resources for 3D digitisation across education, tourism, and research. 

Workshop Format:
The two-hour workshop starts with a brief introduction from the moderator, followed by 15-minute presentations from each panelist on their experiences, challenges, and successes. A panel discussion and audience Q&A will explore the opportunities and hurdles cultural institutions face in meeting EC directives on 3D digitisation and sharing 3D assets in the European Data Space.