The 8th meeting of the Commission’s Expert Group on the Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage took place online on 21-22 May 2025, gathering more than 60 participants including representatives from Member States, cultural heritage professionals, and European Commission officials.
Progress and Priorities
European Commission representatives gave an overview of recent policy and funding developments, including the Competitiveness Compass, the Culture Compass, funding opportunities under the Digital Europe and Horizon Europe Programmes, as well as the preparations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
A significant update covered the publication of The Future of Europe’s Past report, taking stock of Member States’ progress towards reaching the cultural heritage digitisation targets set out in the 2021 Recommendation on a Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage. Several upcoming events were highlighted, notably the Europeana 2025 conference which will take place in Warsaw, Poland, on 11-12 June.
Best practices and way ahead
Several Member States took the floor to present their national initiatives and strategies for digital cultural heritage. Updates were presented on actions developed under the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, notably the Ghent Manifesto as well as ongoing and future initiatives under the Polish and the Danish Presidencies.
Moreover, participants learnt about Estonia’s proposal for digital cultural heritage data preservation beyond national borders, Finland’s digital cultural heritage preservation infrastructure, and France’s national aggregation strategy. On the second day of the meeting, Prof. Dr. Julia Noordegraaf from the University of Amsterdam was invited to present her work in collaboration with the Time Machine organisation, on using cultural heritage data for urban planning in the municipality of Amsterdam, a very good reuse example of digital cultural heritage.
Looking ahead, the Europeana Foundation presented the draft concept of a new Pan-European campaign following the success of the Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture which resulted in an impressive collection of Member States’ heritage assets digitised in 3D, and culminated with a high-level event in Brussels, in May 2024. The Twin It! Part II will focus on 3D reuse and enrichment, supporting Member States' digitisation capacity, and promoting national and Europe-wide collaboration.
The next CEDCHE meeting is scheduled to take place in Luxembourg in the third quarter of 2025.