site.btaSofia University Hosts International Conference on Documentation of Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage

An International Conference on the Documentation of Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage is taking place at the Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia on March 11-13. The event is organized under the NARRATE Programme, an Erasmus+ Project, the University said.

The participants are discussing topics including best practices in digital documentation, challenges of documentation of ecclesiastical artifacts, and the future of the documentation of ecclesiastical treasures (technology, funding and sustainability).

The opening was attended by Sofia University Rector Prof Georgi Valchev, Greece's Ambassador Alexios Marios Lyberopoulos, Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev, Assoc. Prof Ivaylo Naydenov, Dean of the University's Faculty of Theology, the event's organizer and coordinator Assoc. Prof Svetoslav Riboloff, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Theology, and scholars from Greece and Turkiye.

Experts will make presentations on user-centered design for digital documentation initiatives, digitization ethics and cultural sensitivity, church-historical geography of Thrace, archaeological discoveries and the conservation of church monuments in Thrace, Sofia University said.

The ongoing advancement of digital technologies offers unprecedented opportunities for the precise and comprehensive documentation of ecclesiastical treasures in the Thrace region. Digital technologies enable the wide dissemination of these treasures for educational and devotional purposes. To achieve these goals, a team of experts from Greece, Turkiye and Bulgaria has been implementing the NARRATE project in the Thrace region. The project also seeks to assist local custodians of these treasures in their preservation efforts, helping to deter illegal trafficking. Every description and presentation on the internet helps to introduce the treasures to the international scientific community, according to the University.