Technologies of Non Linear Storytelling for the Management of Cultural Heritage in the Digital City: The Case of Thessaloniki

Technology is currently promoting unprecedented changes in urban areas, which are often labeled as smart city developments. This paper presents the main findings of the PhD thesis entitled “Technologies of Non Linear Storytelling for the Management of Cultural Heritage in the Digital City: The Case of Thessaloniki”. This thesis focuses on the dedicated digital storytelling strategies that promote active audience engagement in urban cultural heritage. A collaborative model is proposed and analyzed (in multiple perspectives), aiming at providing an integrated approach to cultural heritage documentation, management and dissemination. The model has been built for the Digital City of Thessaloniki (in Greece), a big city, rich in Cultural Heritage, but with rather poor heritage management mechanisms. The research focuses on practices that promote Cultural Heritage in the Digital City and the prospects for improvement, examining theoretical and practical aspects of engaging people for the collection and interpretation of digital Cultural Heritage (places, artifacts, etc.). The outcome of this research is the development of a new model that fuels audience engagement and collaboration of cultural organizations. A pilot implementation strategy has been employed taking into consideration different perspectives of four different target groups that included art lovers, artists, representatives of cultural institutions and art journalists. A related survey was carefully designed and executed, seeking for formative qualitative and quantitative evaluation prior and after the development of the model. The proposed model brings forward novel technological and methodological guidelines regarding audience engagement, which could be successfully deployed in cities with similar cultural, geographical, and technological features.