This was one of the questions at the heart of the Nordic World Heritage Conference 2026, held in Karlskrona and Öland and organised by the Nordic World Heritage Association.
The conference was inaugurated on the morning of September 18 at Konserthusteatern in Karlskrona’s main square by Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, before moving into three parallel thematic tracks.
From digital potential to practical application
BTH and the RESIST team contributed to the Digital and Preparedness Track, hosted at Blekinge Museum and bringing together around 65 participants, including World Heritage site coordinators and managers, as well as representatives from national and local institutions.
The track was excellently moderated by PhD Carl Toller Melén and featured a joint keynote by Professor Marco Bertoni and Thomas Bøgevald Bjørnsten, Head of Research Program at VIA University College.
The keynote explored how digital technologies can support heritage management through immersive experiences, addressing challenges ranging from risk management and preparedness to interpretation, accessibility and engagement.
The discussion highlighted an important shift: digital technologies should not be considered simply as tools for creating digital replicas of heritage. Their value also lies in creating shared spaces where different stakeholders can see, experience, discuss and explore possible futures together.
Marco Bertoni also participated in the final panel, “From Potential to Practice: Using Digital Tools in World Heritage Management”, together with Christoffer Sandahl, Director of Blekinge Museum; the Head of Restoration of the Suomenlinna World Heritage Site in Finland; and the World Heritage Coordinator at the Rock Art Centre in Norway.
The panel brought together perspectives from different heritage contexts and focused on the opportunities and challenges involved in moving from technological potential towards meaningful implementation in heritage management.
Bringing climate risks into the immersive experience
The conference also provided an opportunity for the sixth deployment of the Climate Tech Tour Pop-up, developed in collaboration with Region Blekinge as part of the RESIST Virtual Exposition.
Led by PhD Giulia Wally Scurati (BTH) and Johan Nilsson (Region Blekinge), the pop-up combines research demonstrations with student-developed experiences, giving participants the opportunity to engage hands-on with immersive virtual environments.
Rather than simply presenting information about climate change, the experiences invite participants to explore, interact and learn by playing. They can discover how climate risks such as flooding, sea-level rise and heat may affect heritage sites, while exploring the consequences of different climate adaptation choices.
Technology as a boundary object
“The most interesting role of XR and immersive technologies may not be to provide the answer to a heritage challenge. Instead, they can act as a boundary object — a shared, tangible environment where heritage professionals, authorities, researchers, communities and other stakeholders can explore possible futures together,” reflected Marco Bertoni during the panel discussion.
He continued:
“By allowing people to experience risks, alternatives and their consequences, immersive technologies can support not only awareness and interpretation, but also participation, preparedness and decision-making.”
The Nordic World Heritage Conference provided a valuable opportunity for the RESIST team to explore these possibilities together with people working directly with World Heritage sites across the Nordic region — reflecting on how digital technologies can make climate risks and risk management more understandable, participatory and democratic.
Links:
- Nordic World Heritage Conference: https://www.nordicworldheritage.org/our-events
- Världsarvet Örlogsstaden Karlskrona: https://www.karlskrona.se/varldsarvet-orlogsstaden-karlskrona/
- EU Projekt RESIST: https://resist-project.eu/
The project is run within the Department of Mechanical Engineering, by the Product Development Research Lab research team.