On 8-9 of May 2025, VILNIUS TECH Faculty of Creative Industries turned into a vibrant hub for thinkers, makers, and changemakers. The biennial international conference “Visuality 2025: Social Innovations for Sustainability Communication” drew more than 100 experts from across 20+ countries, all gathering to discuss how visuality drives transformation in our society. But the momentum began even earlier – with the pre-conference event.
Pre-Conference Warm-Up
Held on 7 May at VILNIUS TECH’s Faculty of Creative Industries, the pre-conference brought together researchers, practitioners, and citizens under the banner of participatory science.
One session stood out in particular: “Co-Creation and Inclusion in Cultural Heritage Digitisation”, moderated by Dr Paulius Šūmakaris and organised under the EU-funded DIGICHer project (GA No. 101094021).
It sparked a vital conversation on how cultural heritage can and must be co-created with communities – especially those underrepresented in decision-making processes. The workshop explored inclusive models for digitisation that respect identity, ownership, and accessibility.
DIGICHer at Visuality 2025
The DIGICHer project continued to resonate throughout the main conference on 8-9 May. As one of the supporting partners of the event, DIGICHer helped spotlight how interdisciplinary collaboration, digital tools, and community-led approaches can radically transform cultural heritage communication.
DIGICHer’s core themes – ethical digitisation, minority inclusion, and innovative storytelling – echoed across sessions. The project’s presence was also strongly felt through poster presentations, networking moments, and academic visibility, ensuring that culture and technology remained central to the dialogue.
Conference Highlights
Over two days, participants engaged with bold ideas ranging from the role of visuality in politics, urban environments and climate communication to health narratives, citizen science and philosophical reflections on representation. Plenary talks tackled urgent topics – from Ukrainian wartime posters as tools of resistance to AI-fuelled strategies for disinformation detection.
One of the conference’s most compelling voices, Assoc. Prof. Dr Monika Mačiulienė and Prof. Dr Aelita Skaržauskienė delved into how digital platforms and collective intelligence can empower citizens to tell their own stories of climate change and sustainability – resonating deeply with DIGICHer’s own co-creative mission.
As we look back on “Visuality 2025”, one thing is clear: the future of cultural heritage lies not just in its preservation, but in its transformation – through collaboration, technology, and shared imagination. DIGICHer’s contribution to the event not only advanced academic discussions but also grounded them in lived experience and inclusivity ✨
Find more interesting information about the conference: https://vilniustech.lt/international-
conference-visuality/program/343929