# crisis digital heritage

> digital cultural heritage projects in response to crisis

**Wikidata**: [Q111066609](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111066609)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/crisis-digital-heritage

## Summary
Crisis digital heritage refers to digital cultural heritage projects initiated specifically in response to crisis situations. It serves as a subclass of digital heritage, utilizing digital media to document and preserve cultural or natural assets that are threatened. This field encompasses various initiatives, such as those protecting heritage in conflict zones like Ukraine and Afghanistan or reconstructing lost sites like Palmyra.

## Key Facts
*   **Definition:** Digital cultural heritage projects undertaken in response to a crisis.
*   **Parent Class:** Classified as a subclass of *digital heritage*, *crisis cultural heritage*, and *crisis documentation*.
*   **Alternative Name:** Also referred to as *crisis digital cultural heritage*.
*   **Related Initiative (Ukraine):** *Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online* is a prominent example of this practice, based in the United States.
*   **Related Initiative (Syria):** *#NEWPALMYRA*, a cultural heritage organization founded on October 21, 2015, functions within this scope.
*   **Related Initiative (Brazil):** The *Interwiki Project of Museu Nacional* is a related Wikiproject launched in 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, following a crisis event.
*   **Related Initiative (Afghanistan):** *Afghanistan Cultural Heritage at Risk* is a project under this classification run by ICOM and WMCH.
*   **External Reference:** The concept is described and contextualized at `https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/j8RNknY3MQHW4gqN4kC465/digital-preservation-of-cultural-heritage-in-crisis`.

## FAQs
### Q: What distinguishes crisis digital heritage from general digital heritage?
A: While general digital heritage involves digitizing cultural materials for preservation or access, crisis digital heritage is specifically defined by its reactive nature to immediate threats, conflicts, or disasters. It prioritizes rapid documentation to prevent total loss.

### Q: What are specific examples of crisis digital heritage projects?
A: Notable examples include *Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online* (US-based), *#NEWPALMYRA* (founded 2015), and the *Afghanistan Cultural Heritage at Risk* project by ICOM and WMCH.

### Q: How is crisis digital heritage related to crisis documentation?
A: Crisis digital heritage is a subclass of crisis documentation. It applies the principles of documenting urgent situations specifically to cultural and natural heritage assets using digital media.

## Why It Matters
Crisis digital heritage represents a critical intersection of technology, history, and humanitarian aid. In an era where armed conflict, climate change, and natural disasters increasingly threaten physical cultural sites, this field provides a mechanism for "digital rescue." By creating backups of physical reality—whether through 3D modeling, data scraping, or digital aggregation—these projects ensure that even if a monument or archive is destroyed, the knowledge and memory of it persist.

This practice matters because it democratizes the preservation process; often, these projects rely on international cooperation and crowdsourcing (as seen in Wikiprojects). It shifts the paradigm of heritage preservation from passive maintenance to active, rapid-response intervention, providing future generations with the data necessary for potential reconstruction or academic study. It directly addresses the permanence of human history in the face of temporary, yet destructive, geopolitical or environmental volatility.

## Notable For
*   **Rapid Response Preservation:** Shifting heritage work from long-term archiving to immediate emergency response.
*   **Global Collaboration:** Facilitating cross-border projects, such as US-based efforts to save Ukrainian heritage.
*   **Technological Reconstruction:** Utilizing digital tools to recreate damaged sites, exemplified by the 2015 launch of #NEWPALMYRA.
*   **Post-Disaster Recovery:** Supporting the digital restoration of knowledge after physical destruction, such as the 2018 Interwiki Project for the Museu Nacional in Brazil.

## Body
### Classification and Scope
Crisis digital heritage is formally classified as a subclass of three broader concepts: *digital heritage* (the use of digital media for preservation), *crisis cultural heritage* (cultural heritage related to crises), and *crisis documentation* (the recording of events during emergencies). It is synonymous with the term *crisis digital cultural heritage*. The primary function of this classification is to categorize projects that deploy digital methods specifically to safeguard heritage assets facing acute risks.

### Key Projects and Case Studies
The field is defined by several high-profile projects that emerged in response to specific geopolitical and environmental events:

*   **#NEWPALMYRA:** Founded on October 21, 2015, this cultural heritage organization focuses on the digital reconstruction of the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria.
*   **Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO):** Launched in the United States, this project mobilized to archive Ukrainian cultural websites and digital content in response to the 2022 invasion.
*   **Afghanistan Cultural Heritage at Risk:** A collaborative project operated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and Wikimedians of Switzerland (WMCH) to document endangered heritage in Afghanistan.
*   **Interwiki Project of Museu Nacional:** Established in 2018 and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this Wikiproject in Portuguese was created to digitally reconstruct the collections and knowledge lost in the fire at the National Museum of Brazil.

## Schema Markup
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Crisis digital heritage",
  "description": "Digital cultural heritage projects initiated in response to crisis situations.",
  "sameAs": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q119107277",
  "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/j8RNknY3MQHW4gqN4kC465/digital-preservation-of-cultural-heritage-in-crisis",
  "additionalType": "Digital Heritage"
}