Advances in technology and digitisation are dissolving boundaries and posing new challenges for Europe’s cultural and scientific institutions. The coronavirus pandemic has had an accelerating effect on this development. Libraries, archives and museums are growing ever closer and availing themselves of the same tools. Working collaboratively and in dialogue with science, they are developing solutions to new demands.

Session 1 of the virtual conference “Rethinking Culture and Science – Opportunities, Risks and Developments of the Digital Revolution in Europe” held on 7 October 2020 highlighted the opportunities and risks of digitalisation and the role that copyright plays in this process. Session 2 presented remarkable case studies, including how artificial intelligence can be used to catalogue digitalised natural-history collections, and the ways in which virtual reality can serve as a tool for cultural education, allowing users to view up close exhibits such as the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. The importance of crowd-sourcing and web archiving was also illuminated. The programme, which was delivered by renowned experts from eight different member states of the European Union, was rounded off with a discussion of the effects of Covid-19 on the digital transformation of the cultural-heritage sector.

Minna Karvonen (Finland) and Professor Sören Auer (Germany) gave keynote speeches and were questioned live in a discussion chaired by Prasanna Oommen (Germany). The other speakers explored the issues surrounding the respective session as part of virtual live panel discussions, and were joined in these by Frank Scholze, Director General of the German National Library.

The conference was funded by the Minister of State for Culture and the Media.

Below you will find the recordings of both sessions and the individual clips, each with German, English and French subtitles and information about the speakers.

Session recordings

Session: Opportunities and challenges

Session: Developments

About the speakers