Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture
Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture is a campaign run by the European Commission and Europeana Initiative to collect and showcase emblematic and high-quality samples of Europe’s cultural assets in 3D. Launched in June 2023 under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, it will culminate in June 2024 under the Belgian Presidency.
The campaign invited Ministries of Culture of EU Member States to liaise with their national cultural institutions to submit at least one 3D digitised heritage asset to the common European data space for cultural heritage. It also provided dedicated support, guidance and events to facilitate the process and build national capacity for 3D digitisation.
Following months of work from Member States, cultural heritage institutions, technological partners and colleagues across the Europeana ecosystem, we were delighted that every Member State in the EU was able to contribute to the campaign. The results were unveiled in the Twin it! high-level event under the Belgium Presidency on 14 May.
High-level political opening
The event was opened by European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton as proud co-host of the event. In his opening remarks, Commissioner Breton conveyed his enthusiasm and appreciation for the remarkable efforts by Member states, ‘in preserving important markers of our shared European identity,’ through the Twin it! campaign. He also emphasised the importance of investing in the availability of our cultural heritage in the digital age as a matter of technological sovereignty.
Commissioner Breton’s address was followed by a speech from Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister of Culture, Jan Jambon, who, on behalf of the Belgian Presidency, presented the Belgium-Flanders submission to the Twin it! campaign, the Statue of Maria Lactans held by M Leuven Museum; see the 3D video below.