ICCROM Ctrl+S Culture: AI and Heritage in a Digital World
Ctrl+S Culture is more than a conference—it is a collective call to protect, activate, and reimagine cultural heritage in the age of artificial intelligence. We invite researchers, practitioners, and professionals to submit abstracts for the international online workshop “AI and Cultural Heritage”, which will take place on the 20 and 21 November 2025.
Digital is a continent—vast, evolving, and accessible to anyone, anywhere. In a world where digital is the new domain—expansive, ever-shifting, and accessible to all—our cultural heritage faces unprecedented opportunities and urgent challenges. It is a realm where heritage is not only preserved but continuously created and reimagined. In this dynamic space, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerges as a powerful tool that can transform how we safeguard, interpret, and share our cultural heritage.
Conceived by ICCROM’s Sustaining Digital Heritage (SDH) initiative, this two-day online event is organized in close collaboration with the First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (FAR) and Youth.Heritage.Africa (YHA) programmes. It is held in partnership with VAIA – the Flanders AI Academy – and CIFAL York, part of UNITAR’s global network of training centres. Ctrl+S Culture brings together visionary thinkers, creators, and practitioners working at the intersection of AI, culture, and heritage protection.
This conference will explore the opportunities, challenges, and ethical implications of applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in the field of cultural heritage. It aims to stimulate critical reflection and cross-disciplinary exchange among those engaged in the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of cultural heritage through digital means.
Conference Themes
- AI-driven heritage documentation and data analysis
- Machine learning and pattern recognition for cultural content
- AI in conservation, restoration, or site management
- AI in assessing conflict, climate and disaster risks to heritage
- AI in assisting in emergency response, first aid and post-crisis recovery for heritage
- AI in storytelling and creative reuse of heritage
- Generative AI and creative heritage applications
- Ethical and philosophical implications of AI in heritage
- Case studies, pilot projects, and experimental approaches
- AI, accessibility, and community engagement for heritage conservation and management
- Addressing bias, fairness, and transparency in heritage AI tools
- Legal, social, or policy perspectives on AI use in heritage
Essential Information
- What: ICCROM International Virtual Conference: Ctrl+S Culture: AI and Heritage in a Digital World
- When: 20 and 21 November 2025
- Where: Online (See conference website HERE)
- How: Online registration to be announced
Updates
27 May 2025: Call For Papers Open – See the online call HERE