An online marathon supporting culture, Hatathon 4.0: Ukraine Heritage Edition, will be held 24-30 July. The event is organised for the fourth time by the EU-funded House of Europe programme and Goethe-Institut in Ukraine, together with the innovation agency Digitizing Space.
Since the full-scale war, hundreds of Ukrainian cities have experienced massive destruction of architectural and cultural monuments. According to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, 1,189 objects of cultural infrastructure in Ukraine were damaged, of which 446 were destroyed. Losses are estimated at 2.6 billion dollars. Hatathon 4.0: Ukraine Heritage Edition is in response to the challenges of the war and ignites an innovative spirit to preserve Ukrainian culture.
The House of Europe programme has been organising Hatathon for the fourth consecutive year. It has become an effective platform for the cross-sector collaboration between cultural and technological specialists, the exchange of ideas, the search for innovative approaches, and the developing of technologies to preserve and raise awareness around the Ukrainian cultural and creative sphere.
“The 4th Hatathon „Ukraine Heritage Edition“ is taking place nearly 1.5 years since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. Faced with the openly declared objective of Russia’s war to destroy and annihilate Ukranian culture, it is now more necessary then ever to identify solutions of how to preserve Ukranian cultural heritage. It is our aim to support this effort by bringing together experts and practitioners from both the spheres of culture as well as the IT community to create fruitful synergies and help keep Ukranian culture alive,” says Franziska Simon, Head of House of Europe.
Digitization has opened up new ways of preserving cultural heritage in the last year. So, for example, the Lviv National Theater is working on filling the Stand with Ukraine electronic library of works by Ukrainian composers. Another example is the Wounded Culture project from the Territory of Terror Museum, which will be able to conduct tours of destroyed museums with the help of VR technologies. The Ministry of Culture, the UNESCO Office in Kyiv, and the reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” recently started a 3D scan of the Gate Church of the Trinity.
“Ukraine urgently needs to implement innovative digitalisation practices to preserve and ensure the future of the multifaceted cultural heritage. Activists, creatives, and technology specialists are actively working in this direction. Our goal is to raise awareness among the Ukrainian tech ecosystem and engage tech specialists on solving the most pressing tasks, which is now the preservation of our heritage,” says Anastasia Sleptsova, co-founder of the Digitizing Space agency and co-author of the idea and concept of Hatathons.
The main goal of Hatathon is to combine technological solutions, creativity, and professional knowledge to keep Ukraine’s cultural heritage alive. The event will consist of two parts: an educational one, which includes lectures and workshops on virtual and augmented reality, data analytics, blockchain, immersive technologies, and a practical one, during which participants will develop projects under the guidance of experts and mentors. Hatathon prize fund — €5,000.
The registration for individual specialists and teams from the technological, cultural, and creative spheres will continue until 23 July 2023, on the official website.
For reference:
House of Europe is an EU-funded programme fostering professional and creative exchange between Ukrainians and their colleagues in EU countries and the UK. The programme focuses on different professional fields: culture and creative industries, education and youth work, social entrepreneurship, and media. Implementation of the House of Europe programme is led by Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
The Goethe-Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institute, active worldwide. It promotes the study of German abroad and encourages international cultural exchange.
Digitizing Space is an innovative agency that designs digitally inclusive projects and programmes, helping businesses, communities, and civil society organisations transform and re-think online human collaboration to foster digital inclusion.
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