PROCULTHER-NET provided a formidable space for capturing a multi-disciplinary perspective about the possibilities offered by the extended reality technologies to ensure a people-centred design of specific and effective technical systems in support of the shared purpose of disaster and risk management of cultural heritage.
The article “Resorting to virtual reality for cultural heritage purposes: findings from the EU-funded PROCULTHER-NET project” recently published in the third PROCULTHER-NET Technical Bulletin addresses the issue of better integration of cultural heritage in virtual reality tools and their application in sectors such as documentation, planning, training and restoration, based from the findings of the report Feasibility Study for the conception of CH focused virtual reality and learning tools to be integrated into the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network elaborated by PROCULTHER-NET in 2023.
This contribution summarises the elements provided by this study in bridging the gap that currently exists in virtual capacity building processes where cultural heritage protection is not yet completely addressed.
The study derived from the principles and elements gathered to elaborate two other important documents on which the PROCULTHER initiatives are based: the PROCULTHER-NET Ex-Ante Feasibility Study on the Establishment of a Thematic Community (2022) that provided for context, needs and capacities available at the European level in the specific field of cultural heritage protection as well as the Key Elements of a European Methodology to Address the Protection of Cultural Heritage during Emergencies (2020), the PROCULTHER document sharing a set of elements for the inclusion of the protection of cultural heritage at risk in all disaster risk management processes.
For the elaboration of this feasibility study on virtual reality of 2023, the project carried out an analysis of the existing knowledge and available technological developments in the field, particularly the work done by the Training Centre Network on 3D and the VR- TRACENET project that clarified the current status of virtual reality tools within the UCPM framework.
Although with its current limitations and challenges for its sustainability, virtual reality can be useful to create immersive simulations of cultural heritage sites, with multiple purposes both for tangible and intangible heritage, in peace time and emergencies: from the documentation in support of disaster planning, restoration, and education, to the elaboration of safeguarding plans for cultural heritage, from the evaluation of the actions to be tested during field exercises with cultural heritage scenarios, to the safety of cultural heritage experts and emergency responders during trainings and real interventions.
Recognising the great potential of new technologies and virtual reality in safeguarding cultural heritage, there is an increasing urgency to strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation and invest resources in this field, which can find in PROCULTHER-NET a space for discussion and in the UCPKN a useful platform for sharing tools and solutions to improve interoperability between the different actors engaged, in peacetime or in emergencies, in the protection of heritage at risk.
To learn more about the results of the study, interested experts can read the article published in the 3rd issue of the PROCULTHER-NET Technical Bulletin or download the full report.