High-level event celebrates the achievements of Twin it! 3D for Europe’s Culture

Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture

Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture is a campaign run by the European Commission and Europeana Initiative to collect and showcase emblematic and high-quality samples of Europe’s cultural assets in 3D. Launched in June 2023 under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, it will culminate in June 2024 under the Belgian Presidency.

The campaign invited Ministries of Culture of EU Member States to liaise with their national cultural institutions to submit at least one 3D digitised heritage asset to the common European data space for cultural heritage. It also provided dedicated support, guidance and events to facilitate the process and build national capacity for 3D digitisation.

Following months of work from Member States, cultural heritage institutions, technological partners and colleagues across the Europeana ecosystem, we were delighted that every Member State in the EU was able to contribute to the campaign. The results were unveiled in the Twin it! high-level event under the Belgium Presidency on 14 May.

High-level political opening

The event was opened by European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton as proud co-host of the event. In his opening remarks, Commissioner Breton conveyed his enthusiasm and appreciation for the remarkable efforts by Member states, ‘in preserving important markers of our shared European identity,’ through the Twin it! campaign. He also emphasised the importance of investing in the availability of our cultural heritage in the digital age as a matter of technological sovereignty. 

Commissioner Breton’s address was followed by a speech from Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister of Culture, Jan Jambon, who, on behalf of the Belgian Presidency, presented the Belgium-Flanders submission to the Twin it! campaign, the Statue of Maria Lactans held by M Leuven Museum; see the 3D video below.

Mr Jambon emphasised the importance of digitisation and innovation to the cultural heritage sector, arguing that in regard to 3D technologies ‘the potential is limitless’ - a statement underlined by the event!

Ministers share their national assets

We were honoured that the high-level event brought together 10 EU Ministers of Culture and other high-level dignitaries, as well as policymakers at European and national levels, experts and innovators.

Bulgarian Minister of Culture Nayden Todorov, Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, Croatian Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen-Koržinek, Cypriot Deputy Minister Vasiliki Kassianidou, Latvian Minister of Culture Agnese Logina and Lithuania Minister of Culture Simonas Kairys shared moving and inspirational words about the objects which their countries had submitted. They spoke warmly of the efforts of the Twin it! campaign and the collaboration it facilitated.

In addition, the event was attended by the Italian Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, Spanish Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun and Luxembourgish Minister for Culture Eric Thill.

Launching the Twin it! pan-European collection

The collection of 3D models was unveiled by Rehana Schwinninger-Ladak, Head of the unit Interactive Technologies, Digital for Culture and Education at DG CNECT of the European Commission, and Harry Verwayen, General Director of the Europeana Foundation. In a virtual 3D museum tour, they explored the collection, which ranges from scientific and architectural heritage, to portable objects, statues and rock reliefs, and samples of classical architecture, fortresses and religious buildings.

The collection is available for all to explore online on Europeana.eu.

The Twin it! Call to action

Following the opening, the event moved to a discussion Forum which aimed to celebrate the achievements of the campaign and highlight learning points and development opportunities.

The Forum opened with Valentine Charles, Data Services Director, Europeana Foundation, presenting the Twin it! Call to action. The Call sets out seven key priorities to advance the European Commission Recommendation of 2021, which invites EU Member States to digitise in 3D all monuments and sites deemed at risk, and half of the most physically visited by 2030. It draws inspiration from the collective expertise of Twin it! partners, as well as the members of the Expert Group on a common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage (CEDCHE) and input from relevant projects taking place across the data space.

The finalised call reflects the discussions that followed its launch at the Forum, which considered national digital strategies, the role of aggregators, best practices and prioritisation in 3D digitisation. Experts and policy makers, including Lucia Bistarova, Anthony Cassar, Marjan Debaene, Julia Noordegraaf, Matevz Straus, Marilena Tsakoumak, Yvo Volman and Karol Zgódka shared their insights, expertise and opinions at the Forum.

Innovating in 3D

Many speakers at the conference noted that, in the words of Rehana Schwinninger-Ladak, ‘We must recognise the fundamental importance of 3D technology to access and reuse.’ This importance was reflected in the Fair which ended the Twin it! High level event.

The Fair showcased the potential of 3D tools and applications to enhance access, preservation and reuse of cultural heritage. It highlighted the achievements of partners with 3D expertise, including the EUreka3D and 5DCulture data space supporting projects, Giravolt (coordinated by the Catalan Department of Culture GENCAT), the Hunt Museum's ‘Seeing Without Sight: A Sensory Exploration’ exhibit, and the Twin it! virtual museum developed by Tijdlab.

To the future

The Twin it! High level event was an inspiring way to recognise the achievements of the campaign, but reflects a beginning, rather than an end. The campaign has built new capacity in Member States to digitise and aggregate 3D content, and we are excited to see more assets shared with the data space in the years to come, working towards the achievement of the European Commission Recommendation of 2021.

The Europeana Initiative will continue to support these efforts, and we invite you to follow the progress through our news and explore the Twin it! pan-European collection of heritage 3D models in all its glory!

You can also watch the video of the full Twin it! High-level event below.