Author: George Giannoulis Giannoulopoulos

The “Tholos” is the (FHW) Foundation’s new dome-shaped Virtual Reality “Theatre” with a capacity of 130 people. It is a building of exceptional architectural design and with unique technological infrastructure, which hosts FHW’s digital collections. The “Tholos” resembles a planetarium regarding its natural and morphological characteristics. However, their only common characteristic is the semi-circular shape of the projection surface. The exterior shape of the “Tholos” refers to a whirling celestial body. It a sensation that is rendered through the processing of surfaces and the selection of materials, such as the successive rings that surround the external shell and the special lights that make it stand out during the night. Thus, the “Tholos” becomes a symbol of Hellenism and characterizes Pireos street. The shows will be interactive, controlled by the spectator, and not static. It is a unique experience of immersion into the virtual world, which is characterized by immediate response, flexibility, originality and liveliness....

Cyprus is the third largest Mediterranean island at the crossroads of three continents, located in one of the most famous archeological areas of the world. Its civilization starts around the 10th millennium BC and has a high number of monuments and sites registered on the UNESCO WHL. Cyprus cultural heritage is the most important living treasure of its people. It is through this that its identity can be expressed and an awareness of its historical continuity through time can be created. From the 31st of October until the 5th of November 2016 we will have the opportunity to come together, exchange our know-how and experiences in the Cultural Heritage research as well as the current and future worldwide developments in this area. Protecting, preserving and presenting our Cultural Heritage are frequently interpreted as change management and/or change the behavior of the society. Joint European and international research produces a scientific background and support for such a change. We are living in a period characterized by rapid and remarkable changes in the environment, in the society and in technology. Natural change, war conflicts and man-made changes, including climate, as well as technological and societal change, form an ever-moving and colorful stage and a challenge for the society. Close cooperation between professionals, the policy makers and authorities internationally, is necessary for research, development and technology in the field of cultural heritage....

Virtual Multimodal Museum (ViMM) is a major, high-impact CSA across the field of Virtual Museums (VM), within the overall context of European policy and practice on Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH). A highly expert seven (7) partner consortium leverages the support of a unique and powerful Advisory Group, consisting of many of the Europe and the world’s leading public and private sector organisations in the field, to define and support high quality policies, strategic and day-to day decision making, the utilisation of breakthrough technological developments such as VR/AR and to nurture an evidence-based view of growth and development impacted by VM/DCH, supported by a set of case studies in culturally-rich regions of South Europe affected by economic recession. Its work is be founded on building a consensual framework directly involving Europe’s leading VM decision-makers and practitioners in defining and resolving existing issues spread across 7 interlinked Thematic Areas (‘the 7 Ds’): Definitions – Directions – Documentation – Dimensions – Demand- Discovery – Decisions and is resulting in wide-reaching stakeholder participation and very high visibility. The latter is being achieved through organisation of key events at policy and practitioner/ stakeholder levels, extensive use of the media, and by the introduction of a highly interactive and wide-reaching communication platform, deploying social media and novel approaches to enable focused debate by all interested parties, supported by access to representations of excellence and a...