The project’s goal is to create a visually attractive presentation through immersive technologies, which will increase interest in the cultural heritage of the Western Balkans and three archaeological sites from the Roman period in particular: Stobi in North Macedonia, Viminacium in Serbia and Emona in Slovenia. In a series of meetings and workshops spaced throughout the period 2021 – 2022 the participants will share their knowledge and experience and develop an innovative technological product to bring the stories of the past to life for the visitor.
The project partners are representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations from North Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, Serbia and Bulgaria with experience in immersive technologies, management of cultural heritage and education related to it.
In 2021 two meetings are planned for all partners – one in North Macedonia and one in Slovenia. During the meetings they will discuss the potential of cultural institutions in the Western Balkans to use digital technologies, as well as identify the most suitable methods and technologies for creating a product recreating a virtual reality in archaeological reservation Stobi (North Macedonia), Viminacium (Serbia) and Emona (Slovenia).
During a third meeting organized by the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki for 7 days, a methodology will be developed for creating immersive stories related to cultural heritage for the aforementioned archaeological sites – Stobi, Viminacium and Emona. Three from the proposed projects will be awarded prizes and will be developed as final products for the project in collaboration with Association center for social innovations BLINK 42-21 and Navipro d. o. o.
In 2022 the Balkan Heritage Foundation in partnership with Aristotle University will organize three week long workshops in Stobi, Viminacium and Emona for young students the Western Balkans and the European Union during which the created immersive storytelling products will be presented: immersive apps (VR, MAR apps and 360° videos) for individual visits (tours) of archaeological sites. In each workshop will participate up to 15 students, which will be taught how to create immersive tours of archaeological sites.
The created immersive products will be available for free for the institutions managing Stobi, Viminacium and Emona, as well as advertising materials translated in the corresponding language of the country in which the archaeological site is located. Three presentations of the products are planned for the local governments and other interested parties.
“Cultural heritage represents an incredible meeting point for collaboration of the cultural and creative sectors. Its value lays in the storytelling potential it offers. Visitors often lack engagement, learning opportunity, as well as shearing the relevant information in a creative and concise manner. General information sharing is problematic on cultural heritage sites in the Western Balkans, since they lack good visual presentation and audience engagement. The needs, as well as the attention span of the audiences are drastically changing so the aforementioned institutions must adapt to the new environment and the contemporary digital shift.
The specific needs of these sites, due to their more conservative, historically preconditioned concept of presentation, provide a bigger challenge for innovation and joint collaboration with creative industries. The highly competitive market for attracting audience demands from them to develop new strategies and foster progressive collaboration that allows them to stand out and succeed. This requires creation of an innovative dissemination cooperation, based on the use of advanced technologies and the enhancement of user experience.
These challenges are not unique to cultural heritage institutions of a particular country but rather distinctive to the whole Western Balkans. Therefore, a new Storytelling Driven Cooperation designed with the intention to build up capacities of the aforementioned institutions with a final goal to develop more immersive storytelling experiences for the visitors of cultural heritage sites is essential. This project will further extend the cooperation between the project partners and provide a base for development of the capacities of cultural institutions to explore the capabilities of immersive storytelling in creating narratives and experiences that will attract new audiences and disseminate the values of cultural heritage further.”