Franceschini: "digitization of our museums goes through Recovery Fund"

Where are we with the digitization of museums and cultural heritage? The closures that have affected cultural venues from March to the present have forced a rapid acceleration of ongoing processes, and new projects are in the pipeline to make our cultural venues increasingly digital. Digitization is a fundamental and strategic issue for cultural heritage, so much so that the heritage digitization plan is the largest of those submitted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities as candidates for Next Generation EU funds (i.e., those that are improperly still called “Recovery Funds”). To find out how the ministry is working on digital, we took stock of the situation with Minister of Cultural Heritage Dario Franceschini. The interview is edited by Federico Giannini.

Dario Franceschini

FG. Minister, let’s start with the data. From an analysis by Swg for Confcommercio on the cultural consumption of Italians during confinement showed that online cultural content (virtual visits to museums, shows, theater or streaming concerts) was little considered. For example, virtual visits to museums: only 4% made a full virtual visit, and 17% watched something, but without paying particular attention. The remaining 79% either did not know about this possibility, or knew about it but were not interested. In your opinion, how should this data be interpreted? Is this the beginning of a slow process? Or is it, if anything, missing?

DF. Since the early days of the lockdown, MiBACT has been working to keep cultural sites networked, active and connected. New ad hoc digital content has been prepared, audiovisual contributions multiplied with campaigns promoted at a rapid pace to allow Italians to stay in touch with their cultural heritage, from #ArtYouReady to #laculturanonsiferma, promoted prèmiere on MiBACT’s social channels for the first DanteDì, for the anniversary of Raphael and for Christmas in Rome. According to a survey by the Politecnico di Milano, Italian state museums tripled their digital presence during the lockdown months, with a considerable increase in their social media activity and a consequent increase in followers. That said, in the circumstance of the lockdown, cultural institutions found themselves having to accelerate a digitization process that was in a transitional phase at the time. Much has been done on the momentum of urgency, with good results that nevertheless still have ample room for improvement. This is why MiBACT has proposed, as part of the Next Generation EU funds, an organic plan for digitization of its cultural institutions. The range of content available online needs to be improved, capable of becoming fully attractive to potential audiences. To achieve this goal requires substantial resources, which are available only in the European context.

However, it is clear that during the confinement there was a real rush to digital, which, however, was often improvised. A survey by the Osservatorio Innovazione Digitale nei Beni e Attività Culturali (Digital Innovation in Cultural Heritage and Activities Observatory) of the Politecnico di Milano, also conducted after the so-called lockdown, found that 51 percent of Italian museums do not employ any professionals, internal or external, who have digital skills. However, it cannot be said that digital is a new issue: how has work been done on skills in the past, what has been done after lockdown (and what will be done in the future) to improve the situation, what is planned to equip museums with the necessary skills? Are there plans for training, will digital-related figures be used? And if so with what formulas?

It is no coincidence that in 2016, when, after eight years since the last competition, MiBACT had the opportunity to hold a competitive selection, promotion and communication officers were also selected among the cultural heritage professionals for the first time. During the confinement, these new professionals, already established in several museums and archaeological parks, were networked in an innovative way, which allowed effective coordinated action on digital issues. This is an important first step. In the future, new competitions will take into account the need to inject new energies into the cultural heritage protection and enhancement machine, including professionals versed in digital skills. Next Generation EU funds, then, which I recall cannot be used for permanent hires, will be used for further digital training of staff and to carry out projects included in this plan, with important employment spin-offs.

Many museums this summer have tried new ways to communicate. However, according to Valentino Nizzo, director of the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, the fundamental problem is the inadequacy of means to audiences, and “the key is to be found in the forms of communication.” And indeed, lately we often talk about transmediality. In this sense, what is being experimented with in state museums? Will we soon see museums changing the way they communicate and address their audiences? And if so, how do you envision the communication of museums of the future?

It is a change in progress, which, like all transitions accelerated by the pandemic crisis, is not yet complete. Many institutions have strengthened their social channels, constantly feeding them with content, while at the central level an aggregator, Culturaitaliaonline, has been launched, which for the first time gathers the digital activities of museums, archaeological parks, libraries, state archives and superintendencies in continuous update. We are moving toward a rapid evolution of the communication of cultural institutions, we are entering the maturity of museums 4.0 in which digital will increasingly play a predominant role. That it will not replace museum attendance, but will make it more enjoyable, instructive and easier.

Digital could also be a key to promoting territories through the work of museums-a topic on which little work has been done, however. What is your idea in this regard?

The inland areas of our country hold an extraordinary heritage, which is just waiting to be enhanced. To achieve this, which will also help us govern international tourism flows when, at the end of the pandemic, they return more impetuous than before, we need infrastructure capable of facilitating mobility, reception and connectivity. This is why MiBACT, again in the context of Next Generation EU funds, has proposed a major national plan for the recovery of villages through the regeneration of public spaces and historic buildings, digital infrastturation, improved accessibility, and the revitalization of cultural heritage.

Another problem is online ticketing. There are still few museums that offer the public this option. What is being done to solve this problem? Let’s also keep in mind that all this will be very important even when the Covid emergency ends, because it will improve the museum experience and bring the public even closer (which could happen with other measures: I’m thinking, for example, of evening openings). On improving the museum experience, is there anything planned?

The restrictions imposed on museum attendance during the reopening period forced an increasing adoption of an online reservation system. Now museums are closed again, a painful decision due to the need to minimize people’s mobility. This time will be used to improve what has been done so far in implementing online ticketing, partly because it has been seen that Italians have welcomed the opportunity to visit their museums, to reconnect with their cultural heritage. When international tourism returns, museums will have to be ready to offer a new mode of enjoyment, equipping themselves with more conviction with ways to purchase and book the visit remotely.

Another chapter is that of online collections: few museums have made them available. I would like to ask you, therefore, where we stand with the digitization of collections. Also, since MiBACT has proposed to invest 2.5 billion from the Recovery Fund for the “plan for the digitization of cultural heritage,” it would be interesting to know how, specifically, the ministry plans to invest this very large sum.

It is no coincidence that the recent reform of MiBACT provided for the establishment of the Digital Library, an autonomous institute dedicated exclusively to the digitization of the heritage held in libraries and archives that will allow us to deal on an equal footing with the web giants. I do not exclude that in museums we will go in the same direction: it is a duty to protect cultural heritage also in its digital form, making the state become the protagonist of an action otherwise destined to expose individual museums to the conditions dictated by the over the top.

In recent months you have been very insistent on the need for a “Netflix of culture,” so much so that in the relaunch decree 10 million euros have been allocated to realize it. What is your idea of this “Netflix of culture” about which not much has transpired so far? How do you plan to realize it? Will there also be “hooks” with the live experience, for example, access for those visiting museums?

The lockdown has shown us how cultural offerings can go from museum, movie and live performance halls all the way into homes. This phenomenon has shown that you can multiply cultural offerings and reach more people. So we are thinking about an idea, already financed with ten million euros, to create a public digital platform, which we are building with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti but which may also have private partners, that can offer the entire cultural offer of our country for a fee in Italy and around the world. At the moment it is not possible to know how long the restriction measures for cinema, theater, drama and live performance will last, so this proposal is meant to be a supplement. No one, let’s be clear, thinks to replace the beauty of live performance or an in-person visit to a museum. This integration can provide the opportunity, even once the health emergency is over, for those who want to stay at home or stay anywhere in the world, to visit a museum or enjoy a film or play. It is also a great vehicle for promoting our country’s culture.

An important issue is data: state museums do little profiling, and this applies to both online and physical activities. That is to say, our museums know little about their audiences. How do you plan to improve a problem that is becoming increasingly pressing?

It is clear that the increasing use of social profiles by museums will enable greater profiling of potential target audiences. In this area, too, big data will be key, and there is still a lot of work to be done on this.

To conclude, I would like to quote an observation by Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum, who wrote in our magazine that the digital offerings of museums have been proposed in recent months based on the capabilities of individuals, “and it is evident,” she pointed out, “that not everyone has been able to cope with this shockwave either for lack of personnel, or for lack of adequate tools, or for lack of a strategy understood as planning, design, content conception. Now we are again in a very delicate moment, and perhaps a new ”shockwave" is on the horizon, since the drastic drop in visitors will probably continue to affect museums (which will have to find themselves more prepared than they were in March) as contagions increase. In your opinion, how much longer will this situation be sustainable?

The shock wave, unfortunately, has led, as mentioned above, to the painful decision to close museums. Many are already gearing up to stay in touch with their audiences, as evidenced by the many digital initiatives that are starting these hours. Many will follow in the coming days, because, again, we do not know how long it will be necessary to keep museums closed.

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