The organizer of the World Internet Conference, held yearly in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, has announced a global call for outstanding digital cultural heritage projects — those that utilize digital technologies to preserve and promote cultural heritage.

Announced last Friday, the endeavor aims to foster international exchanges on digital cultural heritage and share experiences.

The call is open to government departments, international organizations, cultural institutions, museums, research institutes, universities and enterprises, according to a news release on the WIC's website.

Case submissions will be categorized into cultural heritage protection, archaeology, and exhibition and utilization, it said.

The WIC, which has been held annually since 2014, will invite leading global experts in the field of digital cultural heritage to review the submitted materials to determine the final selection of cases.

With the digital wave sweeping across the globe, digitalizing cultural heritage is becoming a bridge connecting civilizations beyond borders, the organizer said.

One example of how digitalization has been used to promote cultural heritage has been the use of 3D scanning technology to replicate the intricate details and spatial essence of ancient architecture with micron-level precision.

"Blockchain technology provides a reliable foundation for authenticating and tracing the provenance of cultural relics, while artificial intelligence algorithms are becoming intelligent assistants for ancient book restoration," the release said.

These digital technologies not only break through the constraints of time and space, but also promote the inheritance of global cultural heritage in the virtual world, fostering the deep integration and shared prosperity of different countries and ethnic cultures in the digital era, the release said.

The cases selected will be included in the World Internet Conference Cultural Heritage Digitization Case Collection and receive award certificates.

The successful applicants will also be invited to attend major conferences and events such as the WIC Wuzhen Summit.

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