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Digital Heritage 2014, University of York

Ƥǿşŧḗḓ ƀẏ: Catherine Clarke 5 years, 11 months ȧɠǿ

I'm just back from the 2014 Centre for Digital Heritage conference at the University of York, where I gave the keynote address on the day's theme of 'Digital Communities in Action'. It was a great opportunity to share some of our City Witness project work, and I also enjoyed learning from the many wonderful research and interpretation projects shared by others on the day. I particularly enjoyed the session from Laura King and Jamie Stark on the AHRC / University of Leeds project on the cultural value of digital heritage - some challenging and important questions. And it was very exciting to see some of the visualisations being produced by Douglas Cawthorne and others for the new Richard III visitor centre in Leicester - and the results of exporting 3D models to 3D printing... The day included a really stimulating variety of papers, on topics as diverse as how we should treat video games as heritage (material or intangible heritage?), auralization and audio-visual immersion (the Oculus Rift possibilities look very exciting), and getting local communities involved in their heritage (from archaeology to early modern-style pamphleteering!). 

The University of York was hosting one other conference while we were there - the General Synod of the Church of England. While no stray bishops found their way into our sessions, I couldn't help wondering what they would have made of the William Cragh story and the possibility that this was a genuine medieval miracle...

I'm looking forward to being involved in the Centre for Digital Heritage in future - and have taken away lots to think about from this year's conference.