Paris, March 10th, 2023,
Paris, France – The EU-funded ARCHE (Alliance for Research on Cultural Heritage in Europe) project, held its first Scientific Advisory Board, Executive Board, and General Assembly meetings in Paris from March 9th to 10th. The meetings brought together representatives from consortium partners and key stakeholders to review progress and design upcoming steps towards the long-term sustainable operation of the network.
The meetings started on March 9th at the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la Photographie (MPP) and concluded on March 10th on the premises of the Ministry of Culture of France. The Scientific Advisory Board meeting focused on the alignment between ARCHE and the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change (JPI CH), which is key for achieving ARCHE’s objectives and strengthening the role of cultural heritage in addressing major societal challenges in line with the EU policy agenda
During the General Assembly, partners discussed updates and key developments, including the first deliverables that set the scope and roadmap for the rest of the investigation. They also determined the R&I domains with European added value for future action, which is critical to unlocking the potential of cultural heritage research.
The Executive Board meeting acted as a recollection from all the updates around ARCHE. Ms. Irena Kowalczyk-Kedziora, European Commission Policy Officer within DG Research and Innovation (D3 – Fair Societies and Cultural Heritage), outlined the upcoming waves of European Partnerships coming in the second part of the Horizon Europe program (2025-2027) and the opportunity it represents to submit a new European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage. ARCHE partners responded that a future European Partnership supporting cultural heritage research and innovation, including the arts and the cultural and creative sectors would address such challenge, in particular by expanding the core community of the Alliance to network beyond issues pertaining to immovable heritage and heritage science, to the broader definition of heritage embracing artefacts, intangible, natural and digital heritage. The paradigm shift, with cultural heritage moving from being a recipient of new technologies and materials to key player and driver for climate change adaptation and mitigation, was also underlined.
The ARCHE project’s recent meetings in Paris represent a significant milestone in developing a European framework for research and innovation in cultural heritage.
