The Culture Working Group (CWG) under India’s G20 Presidency is set to organise the Global Thematic Webinar on “Leveraging Digital Technologies for the Protection and Promotion of Culture”. This event will be the last in a series of four organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, with the support of UNESCO (Paris), acting as the knowledge partner of CWG.
The webinar is scheduled to take place on 20 April 2023, from 12:30 PM to 8:30 PM (IST). The aim of this event is to initiate a dialogue and discussion from an expert-driven perspective on priority areas articulated by the CWG and supported by the G20 membership.
The focus of the thematic webinar will be on digital upskilling and capacity building of cultural practitioners, and sharing of best practices for digitising cultural heritage assets for long-term preservation by experts from G20 members, guest nations, and relevant international organisations.
In addition to the discussion of digital preservation and upskilling, the webinar will explore the impact of emerging technologies and the new opportunities they present to memory institutions for reaching wider audiences and engaging them in novel and immersive ways. Experts will discuss the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and robotics to transform the way we engage with cultural heritage.
Digital Technologies present exciting new opportunities for the promotion and protection of Culture
While emerging technologies present exciting opportunities, they also present challenges for memory institutions, particularly in the areas of digital preservation. This requires a global framework for digitisation and digitalisation of culture. The upcoming webinar will consist of three speaking segments, each designed to explore and discuss significant aspects of the theme – Leveraging digital technologies for the protection and promotion of culture.
The webinar will have three speaking segments and experts will be distributed across these segments based on their respective time zone. The webinar will be moderated by representatives from ICOM, ICOMOS, and UNITAR with expertise on the topic. It will be live-streamed on the YouTube channel of UNESCO.
The previous global thematic webinars on priority one, two and three were conducted on 28 March, 13 and 19 April, respectively. The webinar will provide recommendations to the CWG on bridging gaps and identifying priorities for preserving and promoting cultural heritage.
