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On October 24–26, 2023, the next edition of the international conference entitled "IT in Cultural Heritage (IT-CH'2023)" took place at Lublin University of Technology. This unique initiative has been organized alternately in Poland and Uzbekistan since 2018.

The conference was attended by representatives of various scientific and university centers in Uzbekistan, such as: Academy of Science Uzbekistan, National University of Uzbekistan - Tashkent, Samarkand State University, Urgench State University, Chirchik State Pedagogical University, Center for Contemporary History of Uzbekistan - Tashkent, Samarkand International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage "Silk Road", Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies and Tashkent State Transport University.

Representatives of museum centers were also present: Registan Ensemble, Samarkand and Shakhrisabz State Museum-Reserve.

The participants also included people from central offices: Center for Increasing the Social Activity of Students and Pupils under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Among the guests of the event were also scientists from the University of Cyprus and the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin.

The conference was opened by the Vice-Rector for Science, Prof. Wojciech Franus, the Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Prof. Paweł Węgierek, and the Head of the Department of Computer Science, Prof. Tomasz Zientarski.

The initiative connected computer scientists and representatives of technical sciences with humanists, such as historians, art historians, museologists and linguists. The scientific interests of this conference fit perfectly into the current development of digital humanities: history, art history, archeology and tourism.

During the conference, as many as 53 scientific papers were presented, including 37 from outside Lublin University of Technology. Thirty-three presentations took place during the 6 plenary sessions on October 24-25, and the rest were available online the following day.

The speeches were divided into several leading topics, which emphasizes the diversity and richness of the discussions.

“Silk Road” as a meeting place for people, cultures, religions and scientists

This topic was discussed by many speakers, primarily from Uzbekistan (Dr. A. Mullaev, Prof. M. Hashimova, Prof. D. Mukhamedova, Prof. U. Abdullaev, Dr. S. Jumaeva, U. Urunkhodjaev) in the historical, material and cultural aspect. "Silk Road" is still a meeting space for people representing different cultures, nations and professions. This is evidenced by the implementation of a joint project by scientists from the Department of Computer Science of Lublin University of Technology with four universities from Uzbekistan - the "3D Digital Silk Road" project, which was mentioned by the project manager, Dr. Eng. Elżbieta Miłosz. The speakers pointed out the need to digitize objects of tangible and intangible heritage (e.g. dances) and the problems of properly creating exhibitions and presenting museum artifacts.

Threats to cultural heritage and modern methods of documenting it

The world of wars, armed conflicts and riots that have recently appeared in Europe and its surroundings have been synthetically described by Prof. J. Montusiewicz (Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria, Kosovo, Lebanon, Ukraine, Israel, Belarus and Cyprus). For this reason, there is a direct threat to objects of tangible cultural heritage, which should be digitized in 3D technology as soon as possible. A rational solution to this problem is the use of short-range photogrammetry methods (ground and air), which is based on a series of photos of one object taken from different perspectives. It was noted that in creating a database of such photos, photos taken by tourists, which are placed on various social networking sites and websites, may be helpful. The development of AI tools will be useful in the future for sorting millions of photos thematically.

In his speeches, Prof. M. Miłosz, using the example of Polish churches in Chicago, presented the issue of the impact of demographic changes on the status of these buildings and their degradation. Desacralization of existing churches results in their sale, demolition, reconstruction and change of their functions, which inevitably leads to the loss of the material national heritage of the Polish community. 3D models of St Adalbert's Catholic Church were presented (scanned during the 2nd scientific expedition of the project conducted by the ECCC Foundation from Lublin), which was completed at the last minute - two days later, the historic stained glass windows and sculptures were dismantled.

Dr. K. Żyła presented this issue on the example of wooden Romanian Orthodox churches from the 17th and 18th centuries, which were scanned by employees of the Department of Computer Science during a scientific expedition in 2022. These buildings are abandoned for two main reasons: depopulation of villages located deep in mountain valleys and the construction of new brick churches in villages located on the main communication routes. Wooden facilities become warehouses and deteriorate over time.

IT in education and popularization of cultural heritage

An important issue repeatedly raised by the participants was building a teaching staff that would be able to cope with the challenges of modern education (Prof. B. Eshchanov, Dr. I. Abdurakhmon, Dr. M. Dilfuza). Introducing knowledge of 3D computer technologies (scanning, modeling, reconstruction, printing, creating digital exhibitions and VR) are the school tools of the future. There were also topics that connect Poland and Uzbekistan: S. Ibragimov talked about the presence of Polish (Nicolas Copernicus and Johannes Hevelius) and Uzbek (Ulug Beg) astronomers in the museums of Samarkand, and J. Warakomski presented the use of automatic translation of story by Ksawery Pruszyński "The Trumpeter of Samarkand" into Tajik and Uzbek languages, which was written in 1942 when soldiers of the Polish Army in the East formed by General Anders, were stationed in Uzbekistan. The method of popularizing 3D technology and Uzbek culture was presented by Prof. J. Montusiewicz who presented workshops for children on printing fabrics, using copies of traditional Uzbek stamps during the 19th Lublin Science Festival. Dr. R. Nargiza presented the development prospects of the so-called digital tourism, the main advantage of which is counteracting economic and social exclusion due to various types of disabilities.

The use of 3D technologies in creating digital models

The development of various 3D computer technologies in the area of devices, software and computing hardware was presented, among others, by Dr. J. Kęsik - short-range terrestrial photogrammetry on the example of generating digital 3D models of a bell and Pieta (Chicago, USA). S. Skulimowski presented VR technologies when creating digital exhibitions, examining cultural competences and promoting cultural heritage. In turn, Dr. M. Badurowicz presented the use of a hybrid approach to generate realistic digital 3D models using 3D scans and aerial photogrammetry on the example of a wooden church from the 18th century located in the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok, while Dr. P. Powroźnik described the use of motion capture technology for the acquisition of data of regional dances from the Greek part of Cyprus. Representatives of Uzbekistan: Dr. A. Safarov, T. Boltaev, R. Kayumov, Dr. M. Buzrukov and N. Khushvakov presented technical and organizational aspects of scanning objects of the Timurid period (14th–17th centuries), mosques and mausoleums in Samarkand, the remains of Amir Timur's palace and his town in Shakhrisabz and archaeological sites.

Methods of sharing cultural heritage objects

An important topic discussed at the conference were modern methods of sharing cultural heritage objects that can be used in museology. Traditional museums provide access to their artifacts, usually placed in closed display cases. Nowadays, we strive to ensure that selected objects or their copies can be touched in museums. Dr. S. Korga presented, using the example of a copy of a 12th century water vessel from the excavations of the city of Afrasyab in Uzbekistan, a method of creating an object that was adapted to the needs of blind people. Inscriptions in Braille were incorporated into the surface of the vessel at the stage of the digital 3D model obtained after scanning the original vessel. Dr. M. Barszcz presented methods of 3D modeling of architectural objects and their scaling before 3D printing, so that the sizes of the objects ensure that blind people can recognize the shapes of decorative elements located on their surfaces. Dr. K. Dziedzic presented problems related to reducing the grid of digital models and thus reducing their size to make them suitable for presentation on websites and digital museums.