Intangible cultural heritage, the songs, crafts, rituals, stories and know-how that communities pass from one generation to the next, is among the most valuable and most fragile parts of Europe’s cultural wealth. For the past three years, the Horizon Europe project INT-ACT – Intangible Cultural Heritage: Bridging the Past, Present and Future has explored how this heritage can be documented, shared and kept alive, combining fieldwork with local communities, policy analysis and immersive XR technologies.
On 11–12 November 2026, the project presents its results at its Final Conference at The Excelsior Hotel in Thessaloniki. The conference is hybrid, single track and in English, and brings together researchers, cultural institutions, municipalities, policymakers and communities.
Day 1 – Wednesday 11 November
After registration (13:30) and the welcome (14:00), project coordinator Prof. Masood Masoodian (Aalto University) and Giorgia Romagnoli (URBASOFIA) open Session 1 – Bridging Past, Present and Future with three years of INT-ACT: aims, approach and key results.
Session 2 – Four Places, Four Stories (15:30) presents the project’s four pilot sites, each with an XR demonstrator built from local narratives:
- Alentejo, Portugal: megalithic landscapes
- Calanais, Scotland: stone circles and community memory
- Koli, Finland: nature, art and national identity
- Kavala, Greece: a city of many cultures
The day closes with the findings of the INT-ACT Stakeholder Advisory Board (17:15) and conclusions.
Day 2 – Thursday 12 November
The day opens with a keynote by Dr Charalampos A. Dimoulas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), Collective Memories and Immersive Experiences: Reimagining Heritage in the AI era (09:30).
- Session 3 – Heritage for Society (11:00) looks at well-being, communities and inclusion, with contributions from the META-MUSEUM project (Polytechnic of Turin & KMOP), the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
- Session 4 – Heritage and Technology (14:00) addresses ethics, authenticity and access. Speakers come from Europe Direct Thessaloniki and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the REEVALUATE pilots are presented by MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
- Session 5 – Looking Ahead (16:15) is a roundtable on policy, sustainability and next steps, including an intervention from the European Commission, before the closing at 17:30.
ITML’s role
ITML is a partner in INT-ACT and is co-organising the Final Conference in Thessaloniki.
Download the full programme here
Learn more about INT-ACT: https://int-act.aalto.fi
