Yesterday, 7th April 2025, the American University of Beirut Mediterraneo hosted the International Conference on the Digitalization of Cultural Heritage in Paphos, Cyprus, bringing together regional leaders in technology, history, and cultural heritage to discuss how our shared past creates and shapes our identity in the modern age.
Invited as the opening keynote speaker Dr Marinos Ioannides UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage and director of the Digital Heritage Research Lab at Cyprus University of Technology presented a paper entitled Memory Twins in the 21st century: Risks and Challenges for Humanity outlining the Memory Twin concept, and the progress in developing this holistic approach to recording and preserving the past which was officially launched at EuroMed2024 last year.
Funded by DAAD German Academic Exchange Service and held in collaboration with Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences and UNESCO, this initiative brings together efforts to digitise and reconstruct endangered cultural sites across Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Sudan, Cyprus, the eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
Over 100 participants attended the one day conference hearing presentations from experts in the field of technology and cultural heritage and critically were able to directly engage with the new generation of digital cultural heritage professionals with 21 showcased 21 student-led digital heritage projects sparking meaningful dialogue on virtual storytelling, digital twins, and the future of cultural preservation.
