Tepak and Chandria community collaborate on digitisation of village archives

The Cyprus university of technology (Tepak) and the community of Chandria have signed an agreement for the digitisation of the village’s archives as part of the activities of the university’s Digital Heritage Research Lab (DHRLab).

The project was announced last Friday with an event held in the village square, attended by locals, officials, and academics.

On behalf of the community council, Soula Socratous spoke of the importance of the agreement and announced a scholarship for a PhD thesis about digitising the community’s archives.

From Tepak, project director Dr Marinos Ioannides touched on the significance of this project to the mountainous communities of Pitsilia, explaining that through the digital recording of the memory and historical tradition of the region, Chandria will be given the unique opportunity to be included in the European and world map (Europeana library) of preserved cultural heritage.

Making reference to corresponding examples of collaborations with other communities, research associate Marios Kountouris mentioned the “exciting work” that is underway in Fikardou village, whose ultimate goal is the digitisation and holistic documentation of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage and encourage cultural tourism in our country.

The Digital Heritage Research Lab (DHRLab) was established in 2013 at Tepak’s department of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Informatics.

According to its official website, the lab is devoted to research on the digitisation, documentation, archiving, preservation, protection, and promotion of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Cyprus.

It also plays hosts to the Unesco and European Research Area (ERA) Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage.