A joint policy contribution from Europeana and the European Heritage Hub.
AI is changing how knowledge, culture and history are shaped, accessed and understood. This has profound implications for the cultural heritage sector, which has long served as a trusted and accountable interface to public knowledge and culture. At the same time, the growing influence of AI raises important social, cultural, geopolitical and geoeconomic questions, particularly as technological power becomes increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small number of private actors outside Europe.
Against this backdrop, a recent online Policy Talk explored the vision of a distinctly European approach to AI – Public AI – and the role that the cultural heritage sector can play in shaping it. The discussion built on a recently published paper by Europeana, titled ‘Making Public AI reality: How cultural heritage can lead the way’ (2026), and an upcoming policy paper from the European Heritage Hub, outlining concrete recommendations to build Public AI in Europe.
European and international policymakers, innovators and leaders from across the cultural heritage and AI communities came together for discussion with the aim to catalyse a coordinated advocacy movement around shared policy priorities and a common vision for Public AI.
A joint policy contribution
As part of the Hub’s mission to contribute to shaping EU policies relevant to cultural heritage, we have been following with great interest the development of the forthcoming AI Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS), which will be released by the European Commission next year, as announced in the Culture Compass for Europe. We are committed to supporting, informing and inspiring this important Strategy and stand ready to mobilise our expertise for this purpose. The recent Policy Talk was part of this effort.
The cultural heritage sector can help to shape a more diverse, fair and sustainable AI ecosystem in Europe – one that is grounded in the public interest.
Together, the European Heritage Hub and the European Heritage Alliance can make a difference by articulating the policies, partnerships and collective vision needed to make Public AI a reality in Europe. Find the recent papers online to learn more.
[This article has been taken from a newsmail for members and followers of the European Heritage Hub.]
The paper is available to view here
Harry Verwayen, General Director of the Europeana Foundation, European Heritage Hub beneficiary and partner, also in its role as the coordinator of the European Heritage Hub – European Heritage Alliance Digital Task Force and steward of the common European data space for cultural heritage.
Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, Project Leader of the European Heritage Hub and coordinator of the European Heritage Alliance.
To cite this article: Verwayen, Harry and Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Sneška (2026) “Making ‘Public AI’ reality: How cultural heritage can lead the way”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 33. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.
