Over the past year and a half, the consortium of the HER[AI]TAGE: Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage and Environmental Knowledge Through AI Technology project carried out activities in Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, using artificial intelligence to collect, archive and present intangible cultural heritage and traditional ecological knowledge.
The Erasmus+ project was implemented by Kultivator Association as coordinator, together with Public Open University Čakovec, Croatian Cultural Society Pomurje and Novi Sad City Library as project partners.
The HER[AI]TAGE project focused on the personal memories, stories and knowledge of older people connected with the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers and their local natural environments. Its aim was to preserve experiences that are primarily passed down orally and risk disappearing together with the generations that hold them.
As the project comes to an end, we present an overview of its most important results and the resources that will remain permanently available to the public.
From personal memories to a digital archive
At the heart of the project was the collection of authentic testimonies from older members of local communities. The interviews explored changes in the natural environment, life along the rivers, local customs, traditional practices, legends and ways of passing knowledge from one generation to the next.
During the project:
- 68 older people from Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia were interviewed;
- 182 oral accounts were collected and digitally archived;
- the accounts were published in Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian and English;
- the content was organised into six thematic categories, ranging from personal memories of landscapes and traditional ecological knowledge to historical events, cultural practices and folk stories.
The result is an extensive multilingual database that enables users to explore local history, the relationship between people and nature, and the experiences of individuals whose knowledge is rarely found in official archives or textbooks.
Stories brought to life with artificial intelligence
A total of 36 stories were selected from the collected database and further presented using artificial intelligence tools in a multilingual story collection.
Each story is accompanied by an illustration generated from the original testimony and an audio narration available in four languages. It also includes a short educational text connecting the story with contemporary environmental, social or educational topics.
Artificial intelligence was not used to replace authentic human experience, but as a tool to make the stories more visually engaging, accessible and understandable to different groups of users.
Free courses on the use of artificial intelligence
As part of the project, an e-learning platform was created with three free accelerated online courses:
- AI and Generative AI in Adult Education, focusing on the use of AI tools in the planning and delivery of educational activities;
- AI in Cultural Heritage Preservation, presenting opportunities for the ethical and effective use of artificial intelligence in projects documenting and presenting heritage;
- AI in Environmental Education, providing examples of how artificial intelligence can be used in activities related to nature, sustainability and environmental learning.
All courses are available free of charge, without registration, in English and in the languages of the project partners.
Exhibitions connecting heritage and modern technology
A total of four in-person exhibitions were organised in Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, together with an accompanying online exhibition.
Visitors were able to view illustrations based on the collected testimonies and use digital content to read and listen to the stories behind them. The in-person exhibitions attracted several hundred visitors, while the online content enabled the project to reach a considerably wider audience.
Feedback collected from 150 participants confirmed that combining personal stories, illustrations and audio narration provides an accessible and memorable way to explore local cultural and natural heritage.
The materials remain available
Although the official implementation period of the HER[AI]TAGE project has ended, all developed materials remain freely available to the public.
The database of oral testimonies, the collection of illustrated stories, the online exhibition and the educational courses can be used in adult education, cultural institutions, local communities and projects dedicated to heritage, the environment and intergenerational learning.
We would like to thank everyone who shared their memories and knowledge, as well as the project partners, activity participants and exhibition visitors who contributed to the project’s implementation.
Visit the HER[AI]TAGE project website, explore the collected stories and discover how modern technology can help preserve the wisdom of previous generations.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes (AMPEU). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
