The debriefing day of the Project “Corfu Virtual Exhibition Site in the Tourism – Culture – Environment Sectors”, with the acronym v-Corfu, was completed with success and a large attendance. The workshop was held on Thursday, November 23, 2023 from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
At the start of the event, greetings were delivered by the Rector of the Ionian University and Professor of the Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Andreas Floros, the President of the Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Professor Andreas Andreas Giannakoulopoulos, the Head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Corfu, Diamanto Rigakou, the Head of Unit B1 of the Special Service for the Management of Operational Programs of the Region of the Ionian Islands, Marietta Orfanou, the President of the Department of Tourism of the Ionian University, Assistant Professor Konstantinos Voglis, and on behalf of the Department of Informatics and the Institute of Digital Humanities of the Ionian University, Professor Konstantinos Oikonomou, who also prefaced the Project.
The event was also honored with the presence of the members of the Academic Community of the Ionian University, teachers and students, officials of the Special Account of Research Funds of the Ionian University, officials of the Special Service for the Management of Operational Programs of the Region of the Ionian Islands, officials of the Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands as well as the local community.
During the event, innovative digital applications were presented to promote and highlight the cultural and natural heritage of Corfu, with the aim of informing and raising awareness of the local community and attracting visitors. The speeches were preceded by an interactive presentation of the Project outputs where the attendees made use of the applications and the special equipment. Afterwards and after the greetings, the Scientific Coordinator of the Project, Vasilios Komianos, Assistant Professor of the Department of Audio and Visual Arts, presented data from the implementation of the Project and referred extensively to the actions, results and benefits. Afterwards, the PhD Candidate of the Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Sofia Fanarioti, spoke about the importance of innovative applications of virtual environments and virtual reality for culture. In her speech, Mrs. Aikaterini Kontopanagou, PhD in Archeology and Art, referred to the historical and cultural documentation of the content created for the needs of the Project. Afterwards, the Postdoctoral Researcher of the Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Athanasios Tsipis, referred to the recording of cultural heritage with three-dimensional media and the importance they have for digital culture, while also presenting the Project’s website which allows access to all of the applications. Finally, the Scientific Coordinator demonstrated live the use of the virtual reality application with the special equipment.
The conference was supported voluntarily by students and researchers of the Department of Audio and Visual Arts. Doctoral Candidate Athanasios Epitideios took care of the audio coverage of the event, undergraduate student Georgios Kandyliaris undertook the support and presentation of the VR applications to the public, and Christoforos Zaverdinos was responsible for the photographic coverage and videography.
The Project “Corfu Virtual Exhibition Site in the Tourism – Culture – Environment Sectors” was financed by the Operational Program “Ionian Islands 2014-2020” and was implemented by the Department of Audio and Visual Arts of the Ionian University in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Corfu.
Learn more here: https://avarts.ionio.gr/gr/news/29541/
