INT-ACT at CHNT 2025: Showcasing the Future of Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age

From November 03-05, 2025, INT-ACT took part in the Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies (CHNT) in Vienna — one of Europe’s leading events at the crossroads of heritage and digital innovation. With over 250 participants, this year’s CHNT brought together an international and interdisciplinary community of experts dedicated to shaping how cultural heritage is researched, preserved, and shared in the digital era.
Organised by ICOMOS Austria and supported by the Austrian Focal Point for World Heritage, the 2025 edition marked a renewed commitment to integrating World Heritage management, policy dialogue, and cutting-edge technological solutions.

INT-ACT Booth: Spotlight on Immersive Heritage

While the conference ran for three days, INT-ACT was present with a dedicated booth on the second day (November 4th). The booth was managed by project partner ITML and served as a space for interaction, demonstration, and knowledge exchange.

Key features of the booth included:

❖ Printed project brochures and the official INT-ACT roll-up for visual context
❖ A video presentation of the XR demonstrator developed for the Alentejo (Portugal) site, which explores how megalithic landscapes and ritual heritage can be experienced through immersive storytelling.
📽️ Want to see what we presented? Watch the demonstrator video here.
❖ Direct interaction with participants, including researchers, practitioners, and heritage professionals, to explain the project's goals and receive feedback.

The demonstrator video drew considerable attention, with many visitors expressing interest in how INT-ACT integrates Extended Reality (XR), ontologies, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to preserve and present Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in meaningful and accessible ways.

Connecting with the CHNT Community

The INT-ACT team had the opportunity to connect with cultural institutions, technologists, and other EU-funded projects working in related fields. Conversations centered around:

❖ Challenges in documenting and presenting intangible cultural narratives
❖ Cross-sector collaboration between researchers, designers, and local communities
❖ The replicability and scalability of immersive tools for museums and heritage sites
❖ The social impact of digitally-enabled storytelling on cultural inclusion and education

Moving Forward

Participation in CHNT supports INT-ACT’s goal of making cultural heritage more participatory, inclusive, and digitally accessible. The feedback received at the event will inform how the project continues to co-design demonstrators, engage stakeholders, and shape its exploitation and outreach strategy.
We thank the organisers of CHNT and ICOMOS Austria for fostering an open and collaborative environment, and we look forward to returning with more results and experiences from the field in the near future.