Description
The project aims to improve the access to museum collections and facilitate work with archival resources. The project will establish a state-of-the-art digital center, consisting of two facilities which will be used for digitization of the cultural heritage of Plovdiv museums and libraries. The project will also target Roma inclusion by digitizing Roma cultural heritage, with the participation of the local Roma community. The project is in line with the EU strategy “Digital Agenda for Europe” aimed at the implementation of digital technologies for intelligent, sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU. Investing in digitization infrastructure and in human resources capacity will ensure a long-term program for digitization of cultural treasures in the city. The target is to digitize 50 000 cultural heritage objects; to develop two digital centers; to train 14 employees of Plovdiv’s cultural institutions in digitization; to digitize 5000 items of Roma cultural heritage; and to train two young members of the Roma population to acquire ICT-related qualifications. Targeted groups are researchers, students, museum workers and scholars; cultural and research institutions; young Roma's to be trained; and Plovdiv citizens.
Summary of project results
The main goal of the project is the digitization of the movable and immovable cultural and historical heritage from the funds of some of the most important cultural institutions on the territory of the Municipality of Plovdiv, namely the National Library Ivan Vazov, OI "Old Plovdiv", RAM, REM, and the City Art Gallery. One of the specific objectives of the project is the construction of an infrastructure for the digitization of cultural heritage. In this connection, two stationary digital centers and four mobile digitization stations was created under the project, which will guarantee the sustainability of the process of digitalization of the cultural heritage in the city of Plovdiv. The digital centers built under the project are in line with the EU's Digital Agenda for Europe, which aims to support economic development in the member states through the creation of sustainable business projects based on the implementation of digital technologies to achieve a smart , sustainable and inclusive growth within the EU. Digitized are 50 030 units of cultural heritage of Plovdiv Municipality, with 10% of the digitized content being related to the Roma cultural heritage. To achieve 10% of Roma cultural artifacts, a Roma ethnographic expedition took place within the project. The digitization of the Roma movable and immovable cultural and historical heritage took place for the first time in Plovdiv. This activity contributes uniquely to the preservation of the cultural traditions of the Roma population and to its better integration into the cultural life not only of Bulgaria but also of Europe.
Summary of bilateral results