On 7 March 2025, researchers Kristina Kovaitė, Monika Mačiulienė, and Aelita Skaržauskienė (VILNIUS TECH, DIGICHer) contributed to Mediatization Conference 6: Exploring Mediatization in Times of Interplay Between Human and Artificial Intelligence with their presentation: “Mediatisation of Cultural Heritage: Exploring Stakeholder Dynamics and Minority Engagement in Digital Transformation”.
The international hybrid event, hosted by Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, gatheredexperts examining how AI reshapes media, communication, and cultural practices across society.
Presentation Highlights
The presentation was part of Panel VI: Mediatization of Culture and Religion, which brought together diverse perspectives on how cultural meaning, identity, and representation evolve under technological mediation.
DIGICHer’s contribution added a crucial dimension to this discussion – the role of minority communities in digital cultural heritage processes.
Cultural heritage is moving from expert-driven to inclusive models.
Across political, academic, and professional contexts, there is a clear shift toward participatory and community-oriented heritage management, where digitisation becomes a tool for democratising access rather than merely preserving artefacts.
Technology advances faster than inclusivity.
While 3D reconstruction, VR/AR, and photogrammetry dominate current digitisation efforts, minority engagement often remains limited, creating a gap between technological innovation and cultural representation.
A new, adaptive framework is needed.
The team emphasised the growing need for flexible, context-sensitive frameworks that reflect the multicultural and digital realities of contemporary heritage ecosystems.
DIGICHer’s Proposed Solution: A Quadruple Helix Framework
One of the most impactful contributions shared during the session was DIGICHer’s Quadruple Helix Ecosystem Framework.
This model integrates:
Government (policy, funding).
Academia (knowledge generation).
Industry (technological tools).
Civil society (community identity, cultural memory).
At the centre of the model lies knowledge co-creation, ensuring that heritage digitisation outcomes emerge from collaboration – not unilateral decisions. The framework also maps systemic conditions, infrastructure, communication flows, and shared vision as essential elements for equitable digitisation.
Looking Ahead
Digitisation is not only a technical process – it is a cultural, ethical, and political transformation. By highlighting stakeholder dynamics and the challenges of minority inclusion, the DIGICHer project is helping shape a more just and participatory digital future for cultural heritage.
Learn more: https://www.umcs.pl/en/mediatization.htm