The Ministry of Culture, through the Project Management Unit, announces the signing of the financing contract for the ePatrimoniu project, a strategic initiative aimed at transforming the way Romania's cultural heritage is managed and enhanced.

'With an eligible value of EUR 24,683,353, the project is co-financed by the European Union through the Smart Growth, Digitalization and Financial Instruments Program 2021-2027, Priority P2: Digital transformation in central public administration and the business environment, Action 2.2 E-governance and digitalization for the benefit of citizens, Measure 2.2.3 Digitalization in the cultural sector,' the Ministry of Culture said in a release on Monday.

The project implemented in partnership with the Special Telecommunications Service spans 36 months.

'Cultural heritage needs to be protected and enhanced with modern tools adjusted to the current needs. Through the ePatrimoniu project we are building a consistent, efficient and open system, allowing faster access to information and better-grounded administrative decisions. It is a major step towards the digitalization of public services in the cultural sector,' said relevant Minister Natalia Intotero as cited in the release.

ePatrimoniu will develop a national digital platform that will centralize information about the movable, immovable and intangible cultural heritage and will allow the provision of electronic public services to citizens, institutions and specialists in the field. This will replace paper-based administrative procedures with modern digital solutions, facilitating online services such as the release of approvals for works on historic monuments, the authorization of archaeological research, the release of accreditation certificates for experts etc.

Also, ePatrimoniu will integrate all existing cultural heritage databases and interconnect them with national and European systems.

The platform will provide access to information such as: the updated location of historic monuments; the legal regime of the property; the description of the building (architecture and history data); conservation status and risks/hazards; photographic documentation.

The platform's implementation is expected to bring concrete benefits to citizens, institutions and experts in the field, enabling quick access to information for everyone interested in heritage; the cut of administrative costs associated with the management of standalone or closed databases; complex and rigorous analyses for all types of cultural heritage; efficient interaction between the public and private environment, especially in the approval and authorization processes; specialized digital services for experts and heritage holders; interoperability with other public systems, meaning less time for obtaining documents and better enforcement of the law; increased accessibility of cultural heritage data to the general public; enrichment of information sources with digital content, including images, plans and scanned documents.

At the end of the implementation period, Romania will benefit from a unique digital system, which will bring together information on the country's movable and immovable heritage, significantly reducing red-tape and improving the quality of available data.

It is estimated that over 65,000 users - experts, officials, researchers, organizations and citizens - will use the new digital applications and services made available through the ePatrimoniu platform. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)