Organised by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Digital Past is an annual two-day conference which showcases innovative digital technologies and techniques for data capture, interpretation and dissemination of the heritage of Wales, the UK and beyond.

Running for the twelfth year, in light of the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 Digital Past 2021 will be held as an online conference via the Zoom platform. One day of presented talks on Wednesday 10 February will be supplemented by workshops across the week of 8 to 12 February 2021.

Bringing together individuals from the commercial, public, academic, third sector and voluntary sectors, the conference aims to promote learning, discussion and debate around a range of digital technologies in current use, or in development, to record and understand the historic environment.

Call for Contributions
We are seeking submissions from those working on innovative projects on the themes outlined below in a research or operational capacity, who can contribute to this forward-looking conference. Contributions can be made through formal presentations or workshops. We welcome contributions through the medium of Welsh, English, or bilingually.

Themes and topics
The two main strands of the conference will be Digital Technologies and Digital Heritage, which may encompass digital survey (Terrestrial Scanning, Geo-physics, LiDAR, Photogrammetry, UAVs, etc.), data processing, manipulation and analysis (including GIS & BIM), data storage and archiving, 3D modelling and reconstruction, visualisation and animation, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, gaming, immersive environments, 3D printing, e-publication, crowd sourcing, communities, education, engagement, interpretation and tourism.

Themes may include but are not limited to:

Virtual access to heritage including survey, collections, archives, tours, exhibitions, education and gaming; IPR and copyright; E-infrastructures; aggregators; open access; multilingualism; funding; and ethics.

Diversity in digital cultural heritage including improved recognition of BAME/LGBTQIA+/women’s histories within digitised/digital heritage; improved capture and storytelling of intangible heritage; and increasing and improving the diversity both of the audience offer and the audience engagement.

Digital heritage, the environment and climate change including the role of archaeology in recognising the past and informing the future; recording and monitoring climate change impacts on the archaeological and built environment; and the environmental impacts of ‘digital’ heritage.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please go to https://rcahmw.gov.uk/about-us/digital-past-conference/call-for-contributions/