Join us in unlocking the treasures kept in archives across Europe.
— Digital Treasures
It is time to tap into the enormous potential digital collections have for changing the way that information is used, and for developing new ways of preserving, collecting, organizing, propagating and accessing knowledge.
About
Over the last decades, institutions with archival holding have invested important resources to offer access to digitized items. These “digital treasures” are thus incorporated as primary sources to free access portals, but they do not have a transformation process nor generate economic returns.
The challenges of the digital age are moving memory institutions into new business models, and developing institutional enterprises around digitization. The rapidly changing technology is facilitating a period of experimentation and evaluation of new models. Digital collections have enormous potential for changing the way that information is used, and for developing new ways of preserving, collecting, organizing, propagating and accessing knowledge.
Against this brackground, this project “European Digital Treasures: Management of centennial archives in the 21st century” (short: European Digital Treasures) aims at bringing joint European heritage, and especially its digital versions, major visibility, outreach and use.
The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme, the framework programme of the EU for the cultural and audiovisual sectors. The consortium of 7 partners from 7 countries unites a multi-stakeholder team comprised of state archives, a technological institute, a cultural incubator, a research institution and an international network of cultural heritage institutions.
Our project at a glance:


Activities
In line with the philosophy of large-scale cooperation projects of the Creative Europe programme, the project partners will collaborate in a wide range of complementary and cross-cultural activities and actions.
The project activities are split into four main work packages with different sub tasks:
WP1: New Business Models for European Archives in the XXI Century
evaluate and generate a greater added value, profitability, visibility and economic return for European archives, through the identification and implementation of new business models and activities:
Pan-European diagnosis and state of the art / Definition of an international benchmark (2019-2020)
Artistic residence (Spring 2020)
Serious Games and Archives (2021)
Alternative models for the generation of new activities and incomes / Monitorisation & evaluation report
create 3 interactive, roaming transmedia exhibitions to provide a major visibility of shared European history through a selection of key documents
WP3: Working with new Target Audiences
explore new audiences and work with new profiles to promote the archives to new target groups: the “Generation Y” and the “Silver Generation”.
cooperation with Silver Researchers and hobby researchers through surveys and crowdsourcing activities (2019 – )
Archival Literacy online course – introducing secondary school students to the world of archives (2020 – )
Edutainment App linked to the 3 transmedia exhibitions and connected to social networks (2021 – )
virtual “European Youths’ Archives” created by youngsters (2021 – )
WP4: Communication and Dissemination
News
International Women’s Day
March 8 is the International Women’s Day. The day has been celebrated since 1910, and on March 8, since 1914. The United Nations recognised Women’s Day in 1975, in connection with the International Year of Women. The day was instituted to honour the fight for women’s rights and to support a demand for universal suffrage …
Photography in Malta
Sometimes, administrative records are a documentation of normal moments that eventually have a great impact on society. The National Archives of Malta records one such event that happened 121 years ago. On March 4, 1840, the French ship Dante entered the harbour of Malta. Coming from the Levant, all passengers were placed in quarantine. Two …
The merchandise products: Plan of a machine to raise fresh water from the river to the Alcazar of Toledo and supply the city
Continuing with our series of presentations of the merchandise products, we want to show you the bottle of water inspired by the document “Plan of a machine to raise fresh water from the river to the Alcazar of Toledo and supply the city” 1561 – Simancas General Archive (Spain) that will be part of the …
Contact
Servicio de Cooperación Internacional
Subdirección General de los Archivos Estatales
Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte
Plaza del Rey nº 1, planta 0
28004-Madrid (España)
digitaltreasures.office[at]cultura.gob.es