Our knowledge about Greek philosophical schools is mostly second-hand and based on Diogenes Laërtius’ 'Lives of Eminent Philosophers' (3rd century AD) and Philodemus of Gadara’s 'Arrangement of the Philosophers' (75-50 BC) – hereinafter 'Syntaxis' –, an extensive treatise in several books which represents the earliest ‘history of philosophy’ to have reached us directly from antiquity. From this work exclusively preserved by the Herculaneum papyri we may derive a virtually systematic account of the history of Greek philosophical schools, which is in many respects unique and much closer to the facts than Diogenes’ is. Unfortunately, the original manuscripts which transmit it are in a poor state and the currently available editions of them have largely been made obsolete by the latest technological progress. By relying on the most advanced technologies available today, the project aims to provide a new innovative critical edition of the whole treatise and its different sections, with extensive introductions and commentaries. In particular, we shall apply Shortwave-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging, TeraHertz Imaging, Optical Coherence Tomography, X-Ray Fluorescence Mapping, 3D Microscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry to both opisthograph and multi-layered papyri belonging to Philodemus’ 'Syntaxis', as well as to other papyri, in order to (a) read the text hidden on the verso, (b) detect, classify and replace overlapping layers, and (c) read the text concealed inside the latter. We shall combine these state-of-the-art methods with new, sounder philological approaches in order to produce a more reliable and substantially improved critical text of Philodemus’ treatise and its various sections through an innovative editorial system. Finally, we shall produce an open-access electronic edition of it through a pioneering open-source scholarly Web platform, engaging the scientific community in an on-going and on-line collaborative review of our critical edition.

"<< Background >>The ADELE project will address the following priorities:-Addressing digital transformation through development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity- Developing forward-looking learning centresSpecifically, the project envisages the development of a free and customisable web-based tool to help organisations active in adult education to reflect on how they use or how best to use digital technologies.In an increasingly fast-changing world, adult education organisations are exploring new roles, methods and services in lifelong learning, constantly looking for ways to better reach learners and make services more user-friendly. Today, digital content offers users the possibility to connect to databases, e-books and archives from anywhere, thus accessing a wider range of information. By connecting from home or from any device that is connected to the Internet, one can view documents and books and take advantage of educational opportunities. The advantages of doing so are not insignificant, e.g. one can choose and organise one's own learning path independently, according to the time available. This possibility, in terms of information and training, is unfortunately still in the hands of few.The tool that will be designed within the ADELE project is inspired by the already functioning SELFIE for schools, with the intention of developing a pathway that is adapted to the needs of non-formal education specifically on adult education. Through a participatory project, the aim is to stimulate the digitisation of the adult learning environment: actively involving organisations, trainers and learners.The non-formal education system includes cultural infrastructures (in particular libraries, reading centres, museums, theatres, cinemas), the voluntary and social sector, third age universities, the universe of social cooperatives, and the third sector in a broad sense. All these play a fundamental role in establishing relationships, promoting citizen participation, gathering and responding to public needs and - outside the structured institutional channels - contributing to providing non-formal educational opportunities for adults.ADELE, starting from the principle of self-assessment, wants to contribute to the adoption and promotion of innovative methods and tools for teaching, training and lifelong learning. By doing so, the project will support the achievement of EU priorities in digital upskilling and non-formal learning, including:-Increasing demand for and supply of high-quality services, in particular literacy, numeracy and digital skills-Ensuring effective awareness, guidance and motivation strategies to reach and assist adult learners-Providing adults with more flexible learning opportunities and better access through the use of ICTs-Improving the quality of adult learning through training of adult trainers/educators<< Objectives >>General objective of the project (GO):Design and test a self-assessment tool to improve non-formal digital learning opportunities for adults in public libraries in Europe.Specific objectives of the project (SO):•SO1: Test and adapt the questions’ list of the EU commission's SELFIE tool to the non-formal adult education sector.•SO2: Develop advanced digital competences for educators working with adults in non-formal settings.Operational objectives of the project (OO):a.Promote European exchange of good practices in non-formal digital adult education.b.Produce a multilingual self-assessment tool to support non-formal adult education organisations in digital transformation, integrating digital technologies in non-formal adult education.c.Test the tool in at least 100 non-formal adult education organisations across the EU.d.Produce a capacitation kit with 100 non-formal education scenarios to stimulate digital transformation in non-formal adult education.e.Create a network to support digital transformation of organisations active in non-formal adult education.f.Improve and expand high-quality non-formal adult education opportunities through flexible learning, adapted to the learner's needs with the support of digital tools, and the validation of competences acquired through non-formal learning.<< Implementation >>The idea of the partnership is to study and analyse synergistically the steps needed for non-formal learning establishments, and in particular libraries, to establish themselves as recognised forward looking learning centres of multi-purpose digital learning for adults.We start from an already existing tool: SELFIE for schools, designed to be used by schools offering formal education, then extended to non-formal environments. From this premise, ADELE was born, designed for the education of a target group of adults in a non-formal environment.The project is divided into 3 phases of work:1.Project launch, selection and training2.ADELE tool development3.Capacity building process for adult education staff in librariesConcretely, the activities to be implemented in the project are:-Development of methodological framework and testing of the original SELFIE tool with selected participants-Conceptual design of a beta version: the ADELE tool-Technical development of the beta version ADELE tool-Further testing and review-Finalisation of the final version of ADELE tool-Development of a toolkit to support digital transformation of non-formal learning institutions using the ADELE self-assessment toolThis will be supported by complementary activities, notably:-Project Management, with all partners taking the lead on some aspects of the project- LTTAs in each partner country-Transnational project meetings for sharing, analysis, brainstorming etc-Dissemination activities-Organisation of multiplier events in all partner countries-Evaluation<< Results >>The two main results of the ADELE project will be:1. Web-based self-assessment tool for libraries and organisations involved in non-formal adult education2. Digital toolkit for librarians and practitioners in non-formal adult education Other outputs related to the different phases of the project work will include:-Elaboration of operational-administrative guidelines including the procedure of financial accounting and reporting;-8 internal virtual meetings, via Skype, Zoom, Hangouts or similar video conferencing platforms.-4 transnational meetings + minutes of the meetings.-Evaluation tools and reports-4 Learning, Teaching and Training Activities (LTTAs) for blended mobility of adult learners, targeting 100 adult education practitioners each-4 Multiplier Events hosted by the project partners-Dissemination and exploitation activities: project website, newsletter, articlesAs all partners are active in non-formal education for adult learners, the consortium aims to directly use ADELE products after the end of the project in its own activities. During the training courses they usually organise, the partners will promote the use of ADELE materials.The expected impact is to improve the capacities of people engaged in the field of non-formal education for adult learners to better respond to the challenges related to the ""digitalisation of learning"". The project aims to open a broad debate and dialogue underlying the conceptualisation and implementation of non-formal education initiatives for adult learners in a perspective of long-term sustainability."

Our goal with this project is to develop a ground-breaking technology to virtually eliminate one of the most labour-intensive and frustrating steps in archaeological research, namely the physical reconstruction of shattered artworks. Indeed, countless vases, amphoras, frescos and other ancient artefacts, all over the world, have not survived intact and were dug out from excavation sites as large collections of fragments, many of which are damaged, worn out or missing altogether. Reconstruction of small artefacts is typically done by experienced operators, possibly with the assistance of dedicated software, but when the number of fragments is large (say, of the order of thousands) manual or computer-assisted restoration is simply hopeless. This prevents a large fraction of the world’s cultural heritage from being openly accessible to scholars as well as the general public. By developing and integrating novel technologies in the fields of robotics, computer vision and artificial intelligence, we envisage a future where archaeology can deal effectively with reconstruction problems at an unprecedented scale and be able to bring back to life ancient artworks and masterpieces which would otherwise remain broken into pieces forever. Specifically, we aim to develop an intelligent robotic system which will autonomously process, match and physically assemble large fractured artefacts at a fraction of the time it takes humans to do. The level of ambition of our proposal poses several challenges that cannot be satisfactorily addressed with off-the-shelf technologies, and hence we shall develop brand-new solutions that will push the boundaries of research in the fields of robotics and computer vision. Our system will be tested over iconic case studies from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Pompeii, and one tangible outcome of the project will be to restore two world-renowned frescos which are now shattered into thousands of fragments and forgotten in storerooms.

PERCEIVE aims at improving the perception, preservation, curation, exhibition, understanding and access of colored Cultural Heritage collections. It aims at developing a reliable way to Study, Reconstruct, Render, Remap, Exhibit and Re-appropriate them. These collections are, in fact, a priority because of their high fragility that requires shared methods to preserve and exhibit them (i.e. textiles start fading in only 10 years, while only small traces of the original polychromy on classical statues is left today), because of the complexity of their study (especially with the attempts of reconstructing their original appearance), and because of the importance of their communication to future generations and of the shaping of European common identity around the concepts of “care” and diversity/variety” (i.e. the different shades of skin colors that were common in the Greek and Roman times). PERCEIVE starts from the twofold needs of better preserving and communicating colored artworks, improving and speeding up scientific process results, that could better be used to maximize visitors' experience with the physical and the digital colored collections. Following the coronavirus emergency, in fact, museums have proved to lack of a digital policy that could guarantee a sustainable remote access for visitors. PERCEIVE aims at advancing the digital capability of scientists and cultural institutions, through a service based AI architecture and tool-kit; and by developing a new design theory for on site and remote VR/AR/MR experiences, based on “Care” “Accessibility” and “Authenticity” concepts, with and for the creative industries. Our expected outcomes include services and tools including: a PERCEIVE Tool Kit connected to an on line easy-to-use Service, PERCEIVE Experience Prototypes for the visitors, PERCEIVE Design Tool Kit for designers and educators.

<< Background >>Europe's cultural heritage is the world's most diverse and rich patrimony that attracts millions of visitors every year. This heritage is an important component of individual and collective identity: in both its tangible and intangible forms, it contributes to the cohesion of the European Union and plays a fundamental role in European integration by creating links between citizens. In particular, the huge heritage of manuscripts and early printed books held by public and private libraries, archives, museums and collections across the Europe contain the “memory of Europe”. Written heritage has a dual status: libraries, archives and manuscripts constitute material cultural properties, but are simultaneously carriers of intangible heritage, such as ideas and, by extension, identity. Unfortunately, most of the European written heritage is facing various risks, from environmental degradation and climate change to natural and man-made hazards, from the strains of global tourism to economic crisis and budget cuts, from negligence or inappropriate conservation actions to the mere passage of time itself. Proper written heritage protection against several threats requires specific skills enhanced by a wide degree of collaboration between philological, paleographic, codicological and material science disciplines (physical-chemical and biological). Interdisciplinarity is also necessary for the training, teaching and education of the professionals in this sector and for competing at a national and international level. In the past this aim was random and fragmented, but now it must be the result of a more specific and comprehensive project. In this sense, the SAFECULT project addresses the development of key competences and complex skills required in disaster prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery of written heritage reaching the objective to have conservators, archivists and librarian ready and coordinated to face the emergency.In fact, although a lot of knowledge is available on the mechanisms of physical damage due to the stress induced in organic components of cultural objects (parchment, leather, wood, textiles or paper materials) when their climate-induced dimensional change is restrained by a rigid construction, or by assembling components responding differently to climate variations, this knowledge serves the practice of cultural heritage protection only in limited way. Obviously, it supports institutional, national or international guidelines and standards containing recommendations which can relate to cultural heritage resources in general, however these can be just a starting point for individual strategies for the protection of a specific written object, as each object with its individual original structure and conservation history, acclimatized to a particular environment in which it has been exposed, needs individual levels and ranges of the environmental parameters. The development of such individual strategies requires considerable engagement of professionals specialized in modeling and monitoring the response of heritage objects to environmental conditions. Such highly-specialized competence is not available for a majority of institutions managing written heritage, which creates a barrier in exploiting the available basic knowledge in the conservation practice. Therefore, the fundamental aim of the SAFECULT project is to construct a framework for skills in disaster risk management for European libraries, archives and museums and build the capacity to deploy preventive and intervening measures to mitigate the risks and the inherent impacts of natural hazards affecting the written heritage. The expected impact is to enrich competencies and strengthen the skills required in disaster risk management of cultural heritage operators dealing with written heritage, from manuscripts to books, in libraries, archives and museums, etc.<< Objectives >>It is essential to understand that risk management, both for prevention and emergency management, is not a separate topic, but rather an integral part of the set of skills necessary to manage the cultural institutions. This involves the staff, the visitors and the entire heritage and it is also linked to many other activities carried out by the institution, such as financial planning, classification, training of staff members. Thus, adopting a multidisciplinary approach enhanced by a strong collaboration between the academies and the cultural institutions, the SAFECULT specific objectives are:(1) Assess the state of art of the disaster risk prevention and governance in the cultural Institutions of the EU and the rest of the world.(2) Develop a European network addressing the issues of both disaster risk management and first response intervention, in order to foster cross – border cooperation and assistance. (3) Elaborate courses, programs and materials to support the education of the operators working in the field of written heritage.(4) Improve the key competencies and skills of such operators (mainly archivists and librarians), also addressing the issues related with cross-border cooperation and assistance.(5) Establish a resident international course in the premises of the partners to support the continuous education of the managers and operators of libraries, archives and cultural institutions owning written heritage throughout Europe.(6) Deploy a platform with materials and best practices allowing for sharing and further improving protocols, standards and procedures to mitigate disaster risks and manage emergency situation, targeted to help the cultural institutions of Europe.(7) Increase the consensus of the policy makers and cultural institutions on the fundamental role of risk management approach and its inherent benefits in terms of minimization of costs and maximization of cultural assets protection.<< Implementation >>The project methodology is based on the following structure. (1) horizontal activities, devoted to (1) Management and Coordination of the Project, and (2) Dissemination and exploitation; these will run for all the project duration. (2) Survey and analysis at European and national level- some multidisciplinary and participatory activities will define an upgraded picture of risk mnt approaches applied to written cultural heritage in Europe, through several analysis. Specifically, the phase will last 10 months (M1-M10) and foresees:R1. Study the cases of disaster risk management approaches and the practices adopted for the first response to an emergency affecting the written CHR1/A1. Assess the most important EU Projects and the international studies in the field of disaster risk managementR1/A2. Assess the state of art of continuous training courses on disaster risk management.R1/A3. Survey of the status of the emergency planning and disaster risk management adoption in the public and private cultural organizations in the partnering countriesE1, E2, E3, E4. SAFECULT national living labs (BNCF, SNA, BAR, BBK)R2. Dynamic knowledge-base on disaster risk management and cross-border first aidR2/A1. Network building and animationR2/A2. Design of the SAFECULT Open Educational PlatformR2/A3. Development of the SAFECULT Open Educational Platform (3) Developing the curriculum for cultural operators, as well as the course materials and the capacity building programme. Training materials will elaborate and transfer to operators those good practices, background, reference material, methods and skills useful to operate before and during an emergency affecting the written cultural heritage. The training curriculum will provide a detailed overview of each of the modules offered during the course. The training materials will be developed as face-to-face courses and as MOOC-based modules, which will be accessible from the website. The phase will last 12 months (M9-M21) and foresees:R3. Improved curricula of professionalsR3/A1. Develop contents through the project networkR3/A2. Design the skill card and the curriculumR4. Design and development of course materials (OER)R4/A1. Develop the MOOC-based modulesR4/A2. Elaborate the practices, procedures and methods to support the effectiveness of the courseC1. SAFECULT Training - Academic StaffC1/A1. Selection of target participants through the submission of surveys for the pre-assessment of competencesC1/A2. Training and mobility, capacity buildingC1/A3. Validation of the SAFECULT Model (materials, guidelines, etc.) C2. SAFECULT Training - Cultural Institutions StaffC2/A1. Selection of target participants through the submission of surveys for the pre-assessment of competencesC2/A2. Training and mobility, capacity buildingC2/A3. Validation of the SAFECULT Model (materials, guidelines, etc.)(4) Validation and transferability of the SAFECULT outcomes- the materials and the practice are further delivered through national multiplier events. In particular, the trainers participating both in C1 and in C2 (the previous phase) will further engage local and national operators in piloting the same courses, gaining valuable feedback, to deploy guidelines for operators and professionals in the field. The phase will last 5 months, starting in month 19 and running till the end of the project. The phase will concentrate on the development of the good practice, the roadmap for addressing future challenges and pragmatic suggestions. The outcomes of the guidelines will be translated into an interactive document. A decision support tool will be developed to support the up-scaling of the SAFECULT. the phase foresees the following activities:E5, E6, E7, E8. SAFECULT capacity buildingR5. The Eu framework for the management of risks and emergencies for written CHR5/A1. Eu guidelines for the management of risks and emergencies for written CHR5/A2. Eu collaborative cross-border response tools.<< Results >>Result 1. Establish a multidisciplinary European network/framework for the continuous education on disaster risk by linking together the fields of conservation of cultural heritage and in order to elaborate specific disaster risk management plans, and a mutual intervention plan to collaboratively respond to disruptive natural hazards. This will eventually constitute a robust international network and build institutional capacity over an extended period of time.Result 2. Increase the European capacity to manage the emergency situations (especially, concerning the first aid) in the field of written heritage by creating an interconnected network of specialists and fostering other institutions to join the network.Result 3. Assess the state of art of disaster risk prevention and management for written cultural heritage, specifically addressing the partner countries, through the establishment of living labs continuous activity in which many institutions will be invited to share their specific scientific knowledge and technical expertise on disaster risks reduction, fill the gaps with new knowledge and co-create a harmonized approach.Result 4. Develop new courses on disaster risk management and provide multidisciplinary training for participants, thus improving their specialized curricula. The courses will provide teaching/pedagogical tools in an organised manner, in the form of case studies, checklists, and workshop formats that may be adapted depending on the thematic focus of the course. The trainees will acquire new competencies and abilities and will be equipped to: - undertake integrated disaster risk assessment of different (tangible and intangible, immovable and movable) cultural objects by analysing their vulnerability to disasters caused by natural and accidental human induced hazards;- build comprehensive systems for disaster risk management that incorporate prevention/mitigation procedures as well as preparedness, response and recovery measure to be integrated into the governance systems of the cultural heritage institutions;- elaborate disaster risk management plans pertaining to a geographical and cultural context, and cross-sectoral supporting mechanisms;- use practical tools and methodologies enhancing the disaster risk management approach, such as (1) cost benefit analysis, (2) value assessment, (3) budgeting, (4) risk and disaster communication methods and (5) business continuity; - recognize the different values of the cultural objects during an emergency, and use this understanding to prioritize and provide a more effective cultural heritage first response;- elaborate on-site damage and residual risks assessment during the emergency situations, while providing guidelines and behaviour to ensure the safety of the cultural first aiders;- secure, save and stabilize a variety of cultural materials and structures;- create and coordinate teams that effectively communicate and collaborate with with the local community and other stakeholders at each stage of the disaster risk management process;- use the data on damage, risks and needs collected during the first aid provided in emergency situations to obtain further insights and promote early recovery of cultural objects.Result 5. Provide scalable solutions for staff training on disaster risk management for written cultural heritage. We have dedicated a whole Intellectual Output focused on design, development, and piloting an online platform as an effective knowledge transfer system where all research-related data and documents, methodologies, good practices and training materials will be uploaded and made available to all professionals involved in disaster risk management for written heritage. Result 6. Improve internationalization of participating countries through joint staff training Programmes attracting international students and audiences, together with guest speakers and trainers from abroad. Increase international mobility and participation.