Technological advances in digital and computer sciences have profoundly changed our relationship to cultural heritage. Previously limited to documentation and archiving, these technologies now enable new forms of enhancement, mediation and transmission of cultural assets, whether tangible or intangible. They also deeply reshape how heritage is studied.

This shift first took the form of large-scale digitization of heritage collections — artworks, manuscripts, archives, archaeological objects or architecture. This stage made it possible to create sustainable digital repositories, accessible online to a wide audience, thereby fostering the democratization of culture. Innovations then followed rapidly, opening the way to new research methods and to heritage mediation experiences that are increasingly immersive and interactive. The fast development of born-digital creations, such as generative artworks and virtual environments, questions our traditional conceptions and makes new dematerialized heritages emerge, which we will have to learn to understand, preserve and transmit to future generations.

Artificial intelligence, especially in its generative form, opens promising horizons, being able to create images, texts, and even sounds and videos from scratch. It offers fascinating perspectives for cultural heritage and research. It could make it possible to virtually restore damaged or lost artworks, based on existing fragments. AI-powered virtual guides could offer renewed and captivating visit experiences in contextualized, realistic or immersive three-dimensional environments. Digital technologies are also transforming our access to tangible cultural heritage through photorealistic 3D reproductions generated by AI. These offer new enhancement opportunities for heritage works and sites that are difficult to access or too fragile to move. They can be seen as hybrid duplications, halfway between the real and the virtual. AI could also help revive intangible heritage: virtual storytellers and performers could transmit ancestral oral traditions. It could contribute to safeguarding and transmission by regenerating ephemeral artistic performances (theatre, dance, music, etc.) from archives, making it possible to experience them again.

Distributed data ledgers based on blockchain represent a major asset to guarantee authenticity, traceability and property rights of cultural assets in the digital age. This technology makes it possible to build tamper-proof and decentralized databases listing certified metadata of works and heritage objects. For tangible cultural heritage, blockchain offers an effective way to fight illicit trafficking by establishing inviolable digital “passports” tracing the full transaction history of each piece. It also secures the management of intellectual property rights attached to artistic creations. As for born-digital heritage created by generative AI software, blockchain is essential to certify the origin, uniqueness and authorship of these virtual works. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), immutably recorded in the blockchain, become full “titles of ownership”. However, to guarantee interoperability and sustainability of these decentralized certification infrastructures, efforts to harmonize technical and legal standards will be needed. The adoption of open and universal standards is crucial to enable exchange, portability and long-term archiving of heritage data within blockchain-based distributed ledgers.

The symposium is open (without being exhaustive) to the following topics:

The official languages are French and English, for papers and presentations.

The submission of a proposal will be carried out according to the following dates and process:

Full papers submitted to the symposium will be double-blind reviewed, and the program and scientific committee will issue acceptance or rejection notifications at the end of this phase for an oral presentation at the symposium.

1. For all oral communications presented at the symposium: publication of the proceedings in digital form as a one-page abstract (Title, affiliation and abstract in French and English).
2. The program and scientific committee will subsequently, after the symposium, select the best papers for publication in a collective volume (digital and print) after the symposium, i.e. the papers with the best scores and considered publishable without major substantive changes. THIS PARTICIPATION IS SUBJECT TO PRIOR PAYMENT OF THE PARTICIPATION FEES. Other papers may be selected for publication in one or two issues of an online journal (linked to the symposium) dedicated to heritage-related topics.

Registration (before 30 September): registrations are now closed for authors/speakers

Registration is compulsory for at least one of the authors of the accepted communication. The author undertakes to pay the symposium participation fees.

If no registration is received, the communication will be definitively removed from the program.

Participation fees (before 15 November 2025)

Payment methods and participation fees are as follows:

Participation fees include:

• attendance at the symposium
• 1 copy of the symposium proceedings (post-symposium edition)
• coffee breaks

Payment details:

• Nasreddine BOUHAI, CITU-Paragraphe, University Paris 8, France
• Khaldoun ZREIK, CITU-Paragraphe, University Paris 8, France

• Nasreddine BOUHAI, CITU-Paragraphe, University Paris 8, France
• Khaldoun ZREIK, CITU-Paragraphe, University Paris 8, France

• Naoufel ABBES, TiiM, Higher School of Design Sciences and Technologies of Tunis, University of Manouba, Tunisia
• Julien ANGELINI, Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli, France
• Ghislaine AZEMARD, UNESCO ITEN Chair, Paris, France
• Roberto BARTHOLO, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Vincent BECUE, University of Mons, Belgium
• Riadh BEN ACHOUR, Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts of Tataouine, Tunisia
• Cédric BOUDJEMA, University Paris 8, France
• Philippe BONFILS, University of Toulon, France
• Nasreddine BOUHAI, CITU-Paragraphe, University Paris 8, France
• Hafida BOULEKBACHE, DeVisu, Polytechnic University Hauts-de-France, France
• Stéphane CHAUDIRON, University of Lille 3 (France)
• Stéphane CARO, MICA, Bordeaux Montaigne University, France
• Tahar GHNAYA, Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts of Tataouine, Tunisia
• Ramzi HASSAN, School of Landscape Architecture at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
• Marinos IOANNIDES, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus
• Nadia KAAOUAS, Hassan II University – Casablanca, Morocco
• Ioannis KANELLOS, IMT Atlantique, Brest, France
• Panagiotis KYRIAKOULAKOS, University of the Aegean, Greece
• Jean-Charles LAMIREL, University of Strasbourg, France
• Patrizia LAUDATI, SicLab Méditerranée, EUR CREATES, Côte d’Azur University, France
• Michel MEIMARIS, University of Athens, Greece
• François MELA, University Paris 13, France
• Sylvie LELEU-MERVIEL, DeVisu, Polytechnic University Hauts-de-France, France
• Anna LEONE, Durham University, United Kingdom
• Khedidja OULEM, University of Tebessa, Algeria
• Emilio PRADO, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
• Matthieu QUINIOU, CITU-Paragraphe, University Paris 8, France
• Daniel RAICHVARG, University of Burgundy, France
• Amjad RATROUT, Arab American University, Palestine
• Neila RHOUMA, TIMM, ESSTED, University of Manouba, Tunisia
• Fabrice ROCHELANDET, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
• Muath SABHA, Arab American University, Palestine
• Anis SEMLALI, American University of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
• Marta SEVERO, University Paris 10, France
• Pascal SIMEON, University of Mons, Belgium
• Modestos STAVRAKIS, University of the Aegean, Greece
• Federico TAJARIOL, University of Franche-Comté, France
• Mateo TRELEANI, University of Lille, France
• Marie-Michèle VENTURINI, Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli, France
• Xenophon ZABULIS, Institute of Computer Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Greece
• Ikram ZEKRI, Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts of Tataouine, Tunisia
• Khaldoun ZREIK, CITU-Paragraphe, University Paris 8, France (HIS conferences general chair)

Symposium venue:

Campus Condorcet – Conference Center, SALLE 100, Paris – Aubervilliers

Transport: Metro line 12, Front Populaire station

Address: Place du Front Populaire, 93300 Aubervilliers

Laboratoire Paragraphe
Université Paris 8
2, rue de la Liberté - 93526 Saint-Denis Cedex 02
Tel.: (33) + (0)1 49 40 73 43

hisuniv-paris8.fr