International Conference RISE IMET 2021

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF MUSEUMS AND HERITAGE SITES

CYENS Centre of Excellence organised the first RISE IMET International Conference on Emerging Technologies and the Digital Transformation of Museums and Heritage Sites. The conference was held virtually on 2-4^th June 2021 and was open to people wishing to attend the presentations and keynote speeches, upon registration. The conference was dedicated to the exploration of current practices in the use of emerging and interactive technologies such as augmented, mixed or virtual reality, holographic models, 3D models, artificial intelligence, sensors and gamification in museums and heritage sites. The aim of the conference was to promote critical and interdisciplinary approaches and conversations between participants from diverse fields and to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue between academics and professionals from various backgrounds on digital advances, innovation and their impact on the field of cultural heritage.

The conference, which was addressed to academics and professionals from the fields of museums, cultural heritage, tourism, computer science, heritage management, artificial intelligence, visual arts and cognitive science amongst others, received 119 submissions from more than 27 countries. The conference presenters came from universities, research centres, museums and heritage organizations, showcasing case studies and collaborative research amongst various actors and countries, presenting different interdisciplinary approaches and challenges found in different parts of the world.

A total of 42 presentations and a workshop were included in the program with a total of 107 attendees. A variety of sessions was offered in different areas such as emerging technologies and visitor experience and engagement, digital storytelling and curation, VR and AR applications and gamification, new technologies and art, immersion and authenticity, as well as topics on the digitization and 3D representation of archaeological sites and museum objects and virtual museums amongst many others.

The conference hosted five internationally distinguished academics as keynote speakers: Dr Sarah Kenderdine from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Dr Nancy Proctor, Director of The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, Dr Jenny Kidd, from Cardiff University, Dr Alan Chalmers from the University of Warwick and Dr Roberto Scopigno, Director of ISTI-CNR, Italy. The General Chairs of the conference were Dr Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert, Associate Professor at the Cyprus University of Technology and Leader of the CYENS Museum Lab and Dr Maria Shehade, Research Associate at the Museum Lab of the CYENS Centre of Excellence.

All keynote speeches as well as the opening and closing sessions of the conference were recorded and are available on the conference website, together with the official book of abstracts, which includes all relevant information and extra conference material:  https://cyprusconferences.org/riseimet2021/programme/

The conference proceedings will be published soon by Springer in their CCIS series.
For all information relating to the conference please visit https://cyprusconferences.org/riseimet2021/