ECHOES
By participating in ECHOES, Sound & Vision is contributing to the development of the Cultural Heritage Cloud (CHC). Through this platform, ECHOES fosters collaboration between researchers and heritage institutions across Europe and stimulates the digitization of cultural heritage. Sound & Vision leads the Cascading Grants Program within the project and is also contributing to the development of applications that support data exchange and to the development of capacity-building resources.
By participating in ECHOES, Sound & Vision is contributing to the development of the Cultural Heritage Cloud (CHC). Through this platform, ECHOES fosters collaboration between researchers and heritage institutions across Europe and stimulates the digitization of cultural heritage. Sound & Vision leads the Cascading Grants Program within the project and is also contributing to the development of applications that support data exchange and to the development of capacity-building resources.
Digitization of Heritage
Sound & Vision’s experts continuously work on digitization of and improving searchability to optimally preserve archival material and improve accessibility to the diverse material. To empower this work Sound & Vision participates in ECHOES (European Cloud for Heritage OpEn Science) to make digitized heritage material accessible to heritage professionals and researchers across Europe.
ECHOES aims to connect the fragmented heritage sectors in Europe by developing a shared digital infrastructure that promotes collaboration between various stakeholders and disciplines. The digital infrastructure, called the CHC, will be designed based on Open Access and Open Science principles, ensuring accessibility, inclusion, and the democratization of knowledge and digital tools. This platform will provide access to scientific data, digital tools, and advanced resources for heritage professionals and researchers. Through the platform, expected to go live in 2027, users will be able to work with digital heritage and 3D versions of existing heritage for research and reuse. Additionally, users will be able to enrich the database with their knowledge about heritage and add datasets, contributing to the creation of "Digital Commons"—representations of digitized heritage objects.
Fostering Collaboration
ECHOES not only focuses on creating a digital infrastructure (CHC) but also bridges the digital divide within the heritage community. It does so by offering training, mentoring, and promoting collaboration between large and small heritage institutions. ECHOES pays particular attention to small and medium-sized institutions that often lag behind in terms of digital skills and resources. The various components of ECHOES come together in six overarching objectives:
- Build an open-source infrastructure that enables the creation of practical applications driven by the needs of the cultural heritage communities.
- Embrace a holistic approach to the digital transformation of both tangible and intangible assets, moving beyond an object focused perspective.
- Bring together fragmented communities within the cultural heritage sector into a new cohesive community.
- Integrate results of current and future projects within the Cultural Heritage Cloud regarding data, services, digital processes and applications.
- Deliver a sustainable and inclusive legal entity that handles the development, deployment, and maintenance of the Cultural Heritage Cloud.
- Enable and foster an innovative and collaborative co-creation of new knowledge around the Digital Commons.
In the final phase of ECHOES, the results of EU and national cultural heritage projects will be integrated into the platform. This will ensure the sustainable preservation and continued accessibility of the material through an inclusive legal entity established before the project ends.
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The Cascading Grants Program
The Cascading Grants Program is designed to encourage collaboration among cultural heritage institutions, researchers, and organizations. It provides unique opportunities for stakeholders in the cultural heritage community to contribute to the CHC, a platform that enables global access to and use of digitized heritage.
The three open calls within the program focus on adding new datasets that can be directly integrated into the cloud infrastructure, attracting and expanding the involved communities, and developing applications. The selected projects from the open calls will receive financial support and access to a European network, benefiting projects focused on heritage preservation and practices that risk being lost with modernization without this support.
The Role of Sound & Vision
In addition to establishing a joint digital infrastructure, Sound & Vision is working within ECHOES to strengthen collaboration and knowledge-sharing in the cultural sector, ultimately contributing to the preservation and enrichment of cultural heritage in Europe. To drive change in the heritage sector, Sound & Vision leads the setup and dissemination of the three open calls of the Cascading Grants Program.
Furthermore, Sound & Vision is involved in the development of specific applications that stimulate data and knowledge exchange. The application Sound & Vision is co-developing will provide tools to accelerate digitization and promote data research capabilities for cultural heritage. This includes the use of OCR, HTR, transcription, result visualization, and Humans-in-the-loop technology (PSNC).
To support the sustainable use of the material available through the CHC, Sound & Vision is also involved in developing capacity building material to preserve and share knowledge.
Partners
The French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Université de Tours, CY Cergy Paris University (CYU), The National Research Council (CNR), Fondation des Sciences du Patrimoine, The Europeana Foundation, Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC), The Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA), The ARIADNE Research Infrastructure AISBL (ARIADNE RI), The Cyprus Institute, PRISMA, The Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO), The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), ENCATC, The Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities, CLARIN (Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure), ETT, Time Machine Organisation (TMO), Michael Culture Association (MCA), The National Gallery,...
ECHOES is a project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement n.101157364 – ECHOES. The views and opinions expressed in this website are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee n.10110142 & n.10110466.