The Municipality of Kavala in the European Research Project INT-ACT: When Cultural Heritage Meets Digital Innovation

The Municipality of Kavala is proud to be an active partner in INT-ACT, a Horizon Europe research project that explores new ways to connect tangible cultural heritage—such as monuments, architecture, and historical sites—with the intangible layers of tradition, memory, and collective identity that give them meaning.

Spotlight on Panagia District: A Living Archive of Multicultural Heritage

In Kavala, INT-ACT focuses on the historic district of Panagia, an area known for its rich architectural heritage and socio-cultural complexity. This urban environment reflects successive waves of migration, religious coexistence, and community transformation.

The project seeks to capture, structure, and present this layered identity using cutting-edge digital methods, ensuring that the voices, experiences, and traditions of local communities are at the forefront of heritage preservation.

From April 9-12, 2025, the INT-ACT team—under the local scientific lead of Assistant Professor Manolis Pratsinakis (Harokopio University)—conducted a series of on-site visits and strategic consultations in Kavala to co-design the next phases of implementation.

Institutional Collaboration for Sustainable Innovation

Strategic meetings were held with various departments of the Municipality of Kavala, reflecting a whole-of-government approach to cultural heritage:

❖ Department of Planning and Operational Strategy
❖ Directorate of Development and Digital Services
❖ Department of Digital Services and Transparency
❖ Department of Tourism Development

These cross-departmental discussions helped align INT-ACT’s research goals with the city’s strategic vision for digital innovation, urban development, and tourism enhancement.

Engaging Local Cultural Stakeholders

In parallel, the project team organized stakeholder engagement sessions with key cultural institutions and civil society organizations, including:

❖ Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala
❖ Tobacco Museum
❖ Museum of Refugee Hellenism and the Asia Minor Memory Society
❖ Northern Lights Aid (NGO)
❖ Panagia Cultural Association “To Kastro”

These sessions emphasized participatory heritage, inviting dialogue on how digital storytelling and immersive technologies can support the living memory of Panagia’s communities, including its refugee heritage and multicultural legacy.

Reimagining Heritage Through Digital Tools

INT-ACT enables the Municipality of Kavala to advance a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to cultural heritage—one that blends community engagement with emerging technologies such as eXtended Reality (XR), ethnographic methods, and digital archives.

This work is not just about preservation—it’s about creating digitally enriched cultural experiences that connect people across generations and backgrounds, fostering identity, inclusion, and innovation.

As INT-ACT progresses, the work in Kavala will serve as a model for how mid-sized European cities can responsibly and creatively manage cultural heritage in the 21st century.

Stay tuned for updates as the project moves into its next phase of implementation in Panagia and beyond!