In the context of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, the Commission is today organising a High-Level Horizon 2020 Conference on Innovation and Cultural Heritage to present some of the most promising innovations to preserve and treasure Europe's cultural heritage for the next generations.

Research and innovation can nurture smart and technologically advanced solutions to the challenges Europe is facing in trying to protect and benefit from its cultural heritage. Among the topics to be discussed today are the actions taken by the European Commission in order to contribute to long-term synergies between science, research, innovation and culture for the benefit of cultural heritage. These include providing digital access to physically inaccessible sites, helping preserve priceless artefacts, and exploring new ways of valuing cultural heritage for creative industries.

The Commission will also present its policy review 'Innovation in Cultural Heritage Research', which assesses EU-funded research on cultural heritage and proposes improvements to the European Research Framework after 2020. Between 2014 and 2020, the EU is expected to invest €500 million in research and innovation on cultural heritage. The policy review is one element of the so-called innovation pillar of the European Year of Cultural Heritage. The innovation pillar consists of three projects – run by the Commission with EU Member States, the Council of Europe and European universities – to improve Europeans' skills on cultural heritage, involve citizens better in making decisions about cultural heritage, and promote the role of science and technologies in cultural heritage.

European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018

Horizon 2020 High-Level Conference on Innovation and Cultural Heritage

Video: Europe's Cultural Heritage

Infographic: Science, innovation and cultural heritage