Cultural digitization: Funds of 45 million euros

European funds in the amount of 45 million euros will be used for digitization in the cultural field, from everything that means approval, authorization, certification of interventions in the construction of heritage buildings, respectively of immovable heritage. The announcement was made by the Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan: "No less important is the call that we will use to invest 45 million euros for digitization in the cultural field. There are two projects for which we have already launched the implementation documentation with European funds, through which we will digitize everything that is part of approval, authorization, certification of interventions in constructions on heritage buildings and at the same time digitization of real estate in Romania, so that we end up with a map of cultural objectives , of heritage buildings with a QR code so that anyone interested in Romania's history can find out in a modern way". The program entitled E-heritage represents a continuation at another level of the E-culture digitization project, started in 2018. European funding in the total amount of 45 million euros is available through two new European projects related to the 2021-2027 financial year.

"The first good news is that the other day we already opened the funding call for one of the two projects, and the second good news is that the contract for the development of the feasibility study and the necessary technical project was signed. Both European projects will actually start in the second half of this year and will last approximately two years", noted Raluca Turcan. Concretely, through E-patrimony, a common national platform for digital public services in the field of cultural heritage will be created.

"Practically, we will provide and store online all services such as the issuance of intervention notices, archaeological research authorizations, expert accreditation certificates, etc.," explained the minister. Also, the immovable cultural heritage of Romania will be inventoried and digitally documented. "We thus ensure the increase of heritage visibility through a tourist map with monuments and labels placed on monuments with QR codes, which will direct the visitor to the platform, but also other technologies or virtual reality tools for mobile heritage, including in support of local communities", he added Raluca Turcan. The minister recalled that E-culture has ensured the transposition into the online environment of over 550,000 mobile cultural resources, from books and old books, historical documents, paintings to ethnographic objects.