Mirror World
Abstract: The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 made us all conscious of the social and economic impact our sector can have, being part of the fast-growing cultural and creative industries in Europe. Not only do we contribute access to valuable content resources, but the sector is seen more and more as an R&D lab, fertile soil, an environment in which technological, behavioural and organisational experimentation can take place safely.
At the same time, the world around us continues to change. Artificial intelligence is fast gaining terrain, 3D is becoming more prevalent as a medium, and web archiving is an increasingly important component of the activities of libraries and archives.
What is critical for us is to understand how we stay relevant in this changing landscape. Using Europeana as an example, we will explore what the foreseeable opportunities are for (web)archives and how we can successfully adapt to these opportunities.
Harry Verwayen is Executive Director of the Europeana Foundation, the operator of the European platform. Europeana supports museums, galleries and archives in digital transformation by making their digital collections available as widely as possible so that people can find and use them. For work, for learning or just for fun. Their work is guided by creative collaboration, supportive teamwork and the idea that sharing and reusing cultural content can positively transform the world. Prior to this Harry worked at the Amsterdam based think tank Knowledgeland where he was responsible for business model innovation in the cultural heritage sector. Harry holds a MA in History from Leiden University and has worked over ten years in the Academic Publishing Industry.