HeMo lab: A Platform for Monitoring and Reconception of Cultural Heritage of Ukraine

foreign [Music] nice to speak about him all up or the archaeologists I am not archaeologist but my father was and uh 17 years of my life I also took care of archaeological site but today I will try to describe you what we do for heritage in Ukraine in general having experience in site management but also in the ministry work and now as NGO coalition so one year before last year I talked to Icom [Music] um representatives and general conference conference was about future of museums and Technologies and resilience sustainability this this is what we did before and what you try to do in Ukraine including post-soviet realities but now we have a war so the question is how to link this and could we link this development directions with present situation and can our heritage help us in this war so I will tell you my personal story which starts from Tustin it's archaeological site in carpathians my father Michael rosko researched this site for 33 years to his death and it's Unique because now we have only cliffs Cliffs but there are more than 4 000 channels which help us to understand wooden construction or Fortress in Middle Ages not only in the plan but also in its vertical structure and after measurements and then archaeological excavations my father created a graphical reconstruction um [Music] um precisely as as it could be in two dimensions and but also as vertical structure after his death I took care about the site more like doing 3D reconstruction by a present Technologies museums but also we try to do the site popular and now it's one of the top touristic destinations preserving old place but also having good infrastructure a Middle Ages festivals uh and um museums about about this place uh also we preserve not only the side itself where Fortress was but also uh surroundings natural landscape but also cultural landscape we see this uh agriculture um um landscape formed historically and also traditional boycott architecture so it's like uh buffer zone before the main Monument but also like Echo Museum around [Music] also we also we try to use immersive Technologies for [Music] AR when you can use your phone to see on-site foreign having only Cliffs on the real side then came challenges during a revolution of dignity in 2014 we as Museum workers also are part of this actions but we started maidan Museum which now has a National Memorial complex and we tried to preserve remembrance memory of these events and new quality of society but second response was I came to the ministry of culture as a head of Museum Department and try to understand the whole picture of museums in Ukraine and we understood that we have a huge or Soviet management system incapable in many things and many things should be done from the beginning starting from inventories a list of museums creating communication with regions and so we will try to do this and to the war was already in 2014 so we also try to understand what can we do when the system is not ready to this war what can we save actually then present full scale invasion in 2022 with European Museum we created management response initiative uh four quick emergency response and first we did everything we try to supply museums as wrapping materials try to evacuate some collection it doesn't start the documentation expeditions but then my part of team will be focused more on data infrastructure on digitization and Expeditions for documenting damages from the field as a real and truthful data about what's what's happened so uh hemor Ukrainian Heritage monitoring lab appeared and we are focused uh on on this documenting and putting this into Data infrastructure so as for now we started with like projects supported by World Monumental funds and scry and sir and thanks to this first half year projects from October to March we developed a team it was architects who could document on site but also with I.T Specialists who well data infrastructure and many people who did verification and manage management of these projects so now um the team is not only in a view where I came from but also in KU in harkio we have a local team who acts constantly not as mobile team going to to east and south to document but on on site and also we are forming a sales team for work in Odessa Herson and Nikolai so we are also not only like activists but we are representers of Institutions which exist for a long time and so we we can provide sustainability in spite of projects and it grants money but also as institutions so it's like the Houston site Museum NGO from Museum development of the Polytechnic University architectural Department Institute for geographical informational systems uh uh what we do so uh we do damage assessment for stabilizing of monuments and for further consideration and renewable um also 3D models but partly not not for each objects also the second direction is forensic Heritage documentation we document what crimes against humanity and cultural heritage and due to International methodologies as forensic characters documentation from scribe as it was done in Iraq in muscle for further criminal proceedings against Russia and also we do more than damage assessment we do Heritage inventory because I will show you it's like also we provide military forces whereas data for planning operations trying to preserve or objects especially archaeological so processes like we select sites try to understand is this damage is real from news and then after preparation go to Expedition uh but then we understood that it tooks it takes a lot of time to document deeply and sometimes when you come too late uh some parts are renewed already windows are already back and you you have no traces of Damages anymore so we created a quick verification expeditions uh to do a quick verification when we can visit 20 City Sites per day and then decide where to go um longer but then a very important Partners post processing of materials and to put them and to to put them into the database for a few future use and sharing for those who needs so as for April we documented more than 400 sites in so in Western Ukraine we tested forensic Heritage documentation and here we have the damaged objects where we could go and as for now we also visited flooded territories in Herson region and Odessa after missiles so as for now we have [Music] 750 objects visited so mostly it's architecture and we dream we planned we prepare us to start to work with archaeological archaeological experts too because it's quite other type of objects and to to gather this this together so we document monuments due to micro methodology which Let's uh to have or overview a picture of uh what's the most damage at what's not and to to do make decisions for future investigations or stabilizing so um Acro methodology is a number of pages which can be filled on site then we put this also in database and we can classify these objects and see structural damages not only like um exteriors or some light scratches also we do 3D documenting we started actually from this as you see in burjanka shelf it was famous rooster evidence with photogrammetry but it takes some time especially Leisure scanning so we do only on this places where I really need it and actually forensic character documentation and I Chrome should be done as soon as possible so we focus on speed to do this documentation first then when we can also 3D but why 3D is um needed you see yes you can charge and for example in May 2022 we did photogrammetry from drone then in October thanks to Bruno desland as we did Leisure scanning also inside and the whole building very detailed and we could see even process of running however it's moving but while thinking about how can it be preserved and thoughts of ministry or donors um before winter it fell down actually a 3D model is the only thing we have now about this charge so this is example where if you did was photogram photo parametry from Juan from above and also laser scanning from inside because uh below it blew up from inside um and uh then it was put together and it's it's good for Architects conservators for further work it's charged in lukashuka Journey region but documentation is not the only challenge and very important is to to work with data after to make them accessible and to preserve them so our data infrastructure has like two Contours outer is like to gather everything we can it's like GIS we have more than a hundred thousand objects there but then we clean data and uh verify them and reach with metal metadata and we have like internal Contour which is like clean and truthful so for this Gathering every of everything we use geographical informational system with many many years layers not only damages but all Heritage which is in excess for example we have a registry of two and a half thousand museums and official 19 000 monuments due to Ministry of culture register we put this manually in in database and very huge work should be done for verification we understood that so firstly there are no uh official machine readable register of Heritage in Ukraine so we put this PDF without coordinates manually in database but there are many lists which are not not um with different times so the the same objects can be uh in five or seven different names in different lists and it should be put together not to duplicate because something you can link to this and something to this and it's like a chaos so there's another work in office for verification this data and adding meta data to these objects like coordinates or necessary information SS Monument or not to make some searchable clean registry for usage and actually two objects in this our internal registry will link all other information about this from Expeditions archive photos 3DS icon forms so everything is linked to this unique ID of the object and another right part of the slide you see for example um uh two and a half thousand of museums are um on the map and yellow uh under occupation at the beginning of the war in 2022 so red are since 14 occupied and yellow partly are they'll be rated already but you can see that 400 museums were or still a temporary occupied and we should check each each object so as was [Music] immovable Heritage also we understand that each object should be checked which was under occupation because a new information from use is not not enough to believe another thing is interesting that most of this museums on the hill of territory more than 400 and museums about red Glory or Soviet Army so that's why we have actually this this war of census uh internal clean database uh has special tools and infrastructure for cloud storage and such instruments like for doing this verification and registration for planning of expeditions so to to help Architects and our team users to to link and to do this data based storage quickly after after expedition to download everything in proper [Music] places and then we can have overall picture of how many damages we have in each region or or city and the stage of this we you can see all Expeditions we had with list of these objects and which data are linked to to the specifically this objects and to download to to see this data but also we understand that our data are needed for for usage immediately just right now so for some charges Architects couldn't wait for our proceedings of materials in monthers so we created a website Heritage in UA which is becoming a platform where we put the list of objects We Buy in and uh pointing also that for example here we have icon form or 3D model and you can register there and download and it helps share data for those who need it quickly of course it's open data not source for forensic Heritage or that are not that could not be widely open but but this war is against us against our heritage in total so we want not only to to preserve heritage and to survive but uh to to do something bigger to do what we didn't for 30 years of Independence to find the proper role of Heritage in society [Music] as a as a driver for for uniting of us and understanding the roots and identity but we have a number of challenges after Soviet times and before the war management so actually we can know actual statistics we have different numbers of official statistics how many museums or women will have this do we have but uh not not actual and it's a challenge because what how can you preserve something when you do not have the list even of museums not speaking about collections in these museums for example mobile Heritage we have officially almost 11 000 on site architectural archaeological monuments of national or local meaning importance but a Ministry has 140 thousands of immobile Heritage objects declared they are not published yet but it's a huge quantity so you can understand uh yellow uh two and a half thousands of museums and green in the Parisian region it's example of those part of this 140 000 um lists so how how many objects and we have and it's a challenge because when we give this to military forces they should have some priority they could not preserve everything and as for now we can have Monument as a word in charge of 18th century but also a monument of Soviet soldier of the same important or importance in the list so the question of what's our real Heritage is another question besides database digitization could solve many of these problems but we have to answer a number of questions for this which data we need when [Music] um do they appear who generates them who uses and so on so it's very complex problem and we believe that only data infrastructure approach is the answer uh not to do one software for example for everybody but um it's important to have rules and standards and so complex solution with hardware and software was trainings and uh organization support so with this we created a vision we started one project with UNESCO last year and we created a version of possible um infrastructure when many actors who create datas museums archives archaeologists CD modellers can create and share data with special standards like you purana europeana in machine readable way to make this interoperable to open for White Society but also for special tasks during the war for stolen objects list or for considerators and linking to official ministers register of immobile heritage or Museum collections register so what we do in part of world documenting we do in this version and dream to unite many actors in this field what else also we work with museums inventory books but also uh to create file digitization sentence which can work for many museums as for now it's in view but then we dream and plan to multiply in other regions so not uh so to raise capacity of museums to create this data and the center is a kind of competence and expertise to do different things not only one type of objects for many museums constantly and digital accounting system also we understand that we should divorce unusual and nobody was ready to do this not only in Ukraine I believe and we we have sudden challenges and needs to respond as soon as possible so we after them damage it damages with that expedition with military forces to document this if possible and that special report for this also to present a methodology because very important is to to develop experience and international methodologies which we use to set them to present realities and we try to also to share this new experience and skills and changes done so we did conference for this in April you can see the whole recording of this about different internal things we do and also we did a report about details and everything you can see on this site Heritage in UA and other direction is forensic heritage and we was together with cry and conflict Observatory win in the monitoring of looted museums and presented the results um conferences Icom together as Ukrainian icon committee about looted museums and of course there are people around museums which are kidnapped and it's also the question also we provide military forces with data Delta is a software for which they use for military planning but they created also separate layer for heritage um to understand where important objects especially archaeological for example not to damage if possible during the war actions so and they take this data from our database in machine readable way through API and another layer they do have for war crimes for allotted museums and damaged objects because it's like a software where you can understand from where which muscle came and what happened not after but during the situation and actually um it's very important to work with military forces for Salvage and documenting of Heritage because surveillance we have a very limited access especially near the Wars one that's why creating of CPP do version is very important for us and finishing with creation of Blue Shield Ukraine and Expeditions with military forces were very effective thanks to access they provide and they help they can so uh here you can see our platform where I try to download data and reports and it will be developed with new directions our Facebook page and also we try to to act networking so capacity depends on the bias and people who can help not only professionally but also in management that's why we invite to to contact UM partnership and Back Back to the Future I believe that we should think about followers who who will who could continue what we do and that's why it's very important not only to not only to do but to describe and to to work with with fire in the eyes so database is about hundreds thousands of objects but actually for me personally and I hope for everybody every each however has its own objects which is very important for him and we take care of that's why we should think not only about [Music] exploring not only about institutions but how it can be sustainable in time so Heritage tourism approach is important creating clusters in cooperation with museums government business and local community finding some sustainable Financial models also are very important because it's about life it's about importance of Heritage and that it will be needed after us to I hope and now now we I have the feeling that we are trying to to build some playing during the flight not only to to work with the war uh consequences but also trying to build system we didn't help before thank you for attention and maybe questions thank you very much that was that was excellent very very inspiring um I'm looking around the audience here uh throw it open to questions if anybody has any one like to yeah there's a lady up there or just bring the microphone up to her battle thank you very much and he can you hear that Russell did she she just no yes yes because test just a second we're having difficulty with the microphone thanks again are you here echoing yes so um um back to I have on with whether Alpha Phillips how to on it but to not you can't hear properly maybe if you ask if you want to come down or okay question I can um yeah dance probably the thing yeah or maybe you can repeat in microphone she's coming now so it's probably easier okay can you hear me now yes perfect thanks yeah thanks uh again thanks for this Splendid presentation and congratulations for all the strategy you have developed uh in fighting and in Saving anything you can uh I have a question concerning uh uh whether you have also developed some strategy or or uh develop thoughts about how to monitor and how to act in territories that are currently still occupied by by the Russian army uh looted museums where for instance Uh Russian experts are hired to rebuild or to with a promise to rebuild The Monuments and so on and so on which is actually against the Geneva Convention but of course they they do not see this and they do not act that so uh do you have any thoughts or power to act also in the occupied territories thanks for the question uh actually our power is in our action so we are not the ministry right but we try to cooperate and to share what we can and cooperate where we can so the a few uh directions of this on the level of monitoring have distant monitoring from news we try to monitor everything but as at the beginning of the project a year ago we used a website of ministry as a main source because a person who did this monitoring that's it very good and precisely uh so we trusted this and didn't duplicate and just took information about objects in the region and then when to this damaged objects into the Expedition on the occupied territories uh but Ministry doesn't do this anymore doesn't publish this anymore so we are developing this monitoring system by ourselves uh in combination with our database and analogous knowledge about objects uh about publishing uh I believe that it should be like closed information and we should be very accurate with Heritage informing about Heritage and damaged territories especially museums because it will be more dangerous for them when we will talk loudly about for example showing the list of whole museums or um actions which could be done so I think public silence is more important and of course we cannot we can have some information from people but it should be also a very um accurate and not not officially because they are still there and it's dangerous for them people people are above everything but for example as for rooted museums we did this on Ludo characters about facts of looting and conflict Observatory sky and uh cultural heritage monitoring lab from Virginia Museum provided us with information from news and from a satellite imagery and we tried to prove this from like on site or through contacts here in Ukraine so this combination is very very important and actually joining forces is very important because there are many initiatives who do this but not to duplicating and to to to join information would bring much more information but as as for now we have visited more sites and on the site of ministry as for today about damaged objects [Music] um and we cannot visit this even border of fire is not accessible for us even for military um so no not even after [Music] missiles in different parts of Ukraine not always we can read this but for example when drama theater was was a stroke we did quick report on this but it's not on occupied territory thank you thank you very much any other questions yes there's somebody coming down now for another question so thank you for the presentation I was wondering I know that there are some archaeological art attacks in black market for from Ukraine and thus those items come from the looted museum or are also archaeological site being looted a boss as far as We Know our Expedition with military couldn't reach all sides after flooding off of them ruining but black alcohol just that custom region and second in museums also I think it's complicated so we see patterns from Russian side and part of this became like black archeology from museums but also some looted collections like uh persons from very high level told them to do this so it's like on purpose it's not like for markets and for auction but other thing is black archeology in Ukraine was also before the war and it was not solved this problem so it's a long problem which exists long before and maybe it's also from previous times because exactly many many people do this and uh government does not solve this problem as for now properly and effectively thank you that's that's such a terrible terrible shame um any other questions I just have one question which may be hopefully is a little more positive and then perhaps that might be a good point to stop um we're coming up on two o'clock um I was wondering about the records that you've um made and the the data that you've collected and wondering how you envisage or how you think that you might be able to use that in the future in terms of repairing and restoring the the buildings and structures that have been damaged foreign thank you for the question uh it is used already so we started to share this just after first Expeditions a year ago but you know it's not so like hierarchical so officials are mostly um busy because of the war because of very urgent routine and on places they have no neither capacity nor money for restoration so as for now I think mostly donors like what monument funds are subscribe trying are trying to help to do some stabilizing things but in future of course we work for this um we believe that data not only data about damages but for example score then you come in museum we have um as it was before the damage not only after the damage and it will help not only to uh to reconstruct but also to rethink because as we thought about library in chernigo a very nice building damage it um maybe some some damages should be shown through like in museum interpretation way in different kind of material of [Music] the wall or like you know and other other direction is to rethink the usage of this post-soviet libraries or uh folk houses which were created during Soviet times for example and which are not about 21st century uh so we can see what was before Soviet Union there so I believe that when you have database and when you everything is linked and you can put layers on layers of your knowledge you can do investigations of of Ukrainian Heritage uh I believe the world is more interested and will be in recent times and you can put some senses Identity or some research or some development of educational programs on the basis of this data so it can be used in different ways when you can trust this information and when you do this constantly and linking everything together and putting in database for four years [Music] foreign [Music]