MULTIMODAL MUSEUMS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS IN GREECE, SPAIN AND CYPRUS
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-01-18

Full title: MULTIMODAL MUSEUMS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF POLICIES AND EXEMPLARY CASES IN GREECE, SPAIN AND CYPRUS

The EU-funded project Virtual Multimodal Museum (http://www.vi-mm.eu/) aims at understanding and promoting the needs and motivations of stakeholders in the field of Digital Cultural Heritage. We understand “Virtual Multimodal Museum”as an organizational structure that manages and presents curated collections by means of digital technologies alone or combined with physical objects and archaeological sites. Within this framework, we have undertaken a mapping of the institutional, social, and economic environment of ViMMs in three different countries: Spain-Catalonia, Greece-Northern Macedonia, and Cyprus. These regions have very important cultural assets and significant tourism flows, but also diverse policies for Cultural Heritage appreciation, community objectives, and methods of citizen engagement.
In our speech, we will present the main conclusions of a comparative study. The investigation considered two levels: the “macro” level, which corresponds to community policies, priorities, objectives, incentives, and resources; and the “micro” level, in which we chose several representative digital cultural heritage projects and analyzed the design process, objectives, stakeholders, community engagement, and effectiveness. At EAA, we will focus on three main aspects. Firstly, the characterisation of the overall objectives of the stakeholders and policy makers as reflected in the official plans for local development through digital strategies. We will pay special attention to the relationship with the tourism industry, identity, and branding. Secondly, the identification of obstacles and the specific strategies adopted to overcome them. The strong points in the stakeholder policies will be established as benchmarks. Thirdly, the definition of priorities and synergies that by means of an effective standardization of the decision-making process in digital projects would help reduce costs, obtain higher returns on investment (public and private), and implement sustainable business plans. Our final aim is to propose guidelines for archaeologists and Cultural Heritage professionals who wish to engage in the design and implementation of a Virtual Multimodal Museum


Giannoulis Giannoulopoulos, Georgios (Universidad Pompeu Fabra; Foundation of the Hellenic World) - Pujol, Laia - Collins, Ricardo (Universidad Pompeu Fabra)