Institutions, companies and entities from 6 EU countries participate in the project, under the coordination of FORTH, with the aim of sustainable management of cultural heritage monuments and artefacts.

Between 3 and 4 of July 2024, the kick-off meeting of the research project entitled "Intelligent advanced Photonics tools for remote and/or on-site monitoring of Cultural heritage monuments and artefacts" - iPhotoCult, took place at the premises of the Foundation of Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) in Heraklion, Crete.

Aim of the project is to contribute to the sustainable management of Europe's cultural heritage artefacts and monuments by leveraging advanced, non-invasive and safe photonics and "smart" software technologies, which will contribute to the monitoring, diagnosis, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage.

The project, under the scientific coordination of the Emeritus Professor of the University of Crete Costas Fotakis, former President of FORTH and Alternate Minister of Research & Innovation in the period 2015-19, is financed by the main funding program of the EU for research and innovation “Horizon Europe”. The consortium consists of 14 partners from organizations and institutions of research, technology, cultural heritage and modern culture.

In the framework of the kick-off meeting, an overview of the project was presented and its objectives were explained. In the discussion between the partners, in which Dr. Athanasios Gerakis, the project officer on behalf of the European Commission participated, the principles governing the project’s implementation were highlighted. Moreover, the interaction possibilities with other funded projects and initiatives within the Green Cluster on Cultural Heritage, a collective effort to protect cultural heritage monuments from the effects of climate change, were discussed.