A Message from the EuroMed2026 Chairs

Dear Colleague,

This year, we have received an exceptionally high number of submissions, with 234 abstracts in total, significantly exceeding our initial expectations. Over the past week, our organising team has been working tirelessly, around the clock, to complete the scientific evaluation process, finalise the conference programme, and ensure that all authors receive their notifications in a timely manner.

As you may know, EuroMed2026 marks a very special milestone: the 20th anniversary of our international conference series (2006–2026), celebrating two decades of scientific excellence, international collaboration, and innovation in Digital Cultural Heritage.

For this anniversary edition, we made the difficult but carefully considered decision to organise the conference entirely online, with free registration and participation. This decision was primarily motivated by the exceptionally high costs of international travel to Cyprus, together with the continuing geopolitical instability and uncertainty in the wider Middle East region. Our foremost priority has been to ensure that EuroMed2026 remains accessible, inclusive, and open to researchers, academics, professionals, and cultural heritage stakeholders from around the world, regardless of their geographical location or financial circumstances.

The online organisation and delivery of EuroMed2026 are made possible with the full support and close collaboration of Heritage Malta, whose invaluable commitment and contribution are instrumental in ensuring the successful implementation of this special anniversary edition. We are particularly grateful to Heritage Malta for its strong institutional support and dedication to advancing international scientific cooperation in Digital Cultural Heritage.

This approach has been met with an overwhelmingly positive international response, resulting not only in a remarkable number of scientific submissions but also in an exceptionally high number of registrations. This strong participation confirms the growing international significance of EuroMed and the importance of our shared mission to advance the documentation, preservation, accessibility, use, and reuse of Digital Cultural Heritage.

The conference was originally planned as a three-day scientific event. However, given the unprecedented response and, most importantly, the exceptionally high scientific quality of the submitted contributions, we faced the challenge of accommodating as many valuable presentations as possible without compromising the scientific standards or the quality of the conference programme.

We have therefore decided to extend our 20th anniversary celebrations by organising EuroMed2026 – Part II in February 2027, which will be facilitated virtually by the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, once again with free registration and participation.

Importantly, both parts of EuroMed2026 will contribute to a single, common scientific publication by Springer, Germany, ensuring the same scientific recognition, publication opportunities, and international visibility for all accepted contributions, regardless of whether they are presented in November 2026 or February 2027.

We sincerely appreciate your understanding, patience, and continued support during this exceptionally demanding but exciting anniversary edition. Our organising team remains fully committed to maintaining the highest scientific standards while providing an inclusive and rewarding conference experience for our international research community.

We look forward to welcoming you to EuroMed2026 and to celebrating together 20 years of Digital Cultural Heritage research, innovation, collaboration, and scientific excellence.

With kind regards,

The EuroMed2026 Chairs