Community-centred language REVItalisation powered by heritage-led storytellling and digital innoVation in Europe

Acronimo: REVIVE

Descrizione

REVIVE is a €3 million project funded by Horizon Europe and led by the StoryLab Research Institute at ARU. Bringing together an international consortium of academic and industry partners from the UK, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, and Estonia, the project seeks to safeguard Europe’s endangered intangible heritage and linguistic diversity of Griko and Cornish endangered languages.

Languages are part of our shared Cultural Heritage and gateways to European multicultural identity. Within this framework, Endangered Intangible Heritage and Language (EIHL) communities hold unique traditional knowledge that supports a distinct sense of place-making and long traditions of cultural and heritage sustainability within some of the most vulnerable ecosystems. Although digital technologies provide a uniquely powerful opportunity to revitilise EIHL, previous efforts have predominantly concentrated on preserving grammatical/lexical aspects. There remains untapped potential in exploring the integrated use of immersive technologies and participatory storytelling for linguistic heritage revitalisation through active community engagement.

REVIVE will identify and evaluate the role of digital innovation, creativity and interactive narratives in promoting understanding and engagement with EIHL, fostering social integration and cross-cultural fertilisation among marginalised European communities. The project will be based on two concrete case studies and cultural contexts: Cornish (UK), and Griko (Italy).

Case studies
REVIVE will design, develop and evaluate REVIVE(S) digital scaffolder for the two communities:

• Cornish, a “revived”/awakening language that had no surviving native speakers in 1800 but has since seen a re-emergence;
• Griko, a language related to Greek, spoken in the Apulia and Calabria regions of southern Italy and considered a severely endangered language and the one most at risk amongst our sampled communities.

Although Cornish and Griko are two distinct languages with different linguistic origins and historical contexts, they share some similarities in that they are both minority languages that have experienced a revival in recent years.

Taking advantage of XR (Extended Reality) technologies, REVIVE will produce the first EU online digital scaffolder – so called REVIVE(S) – comprising a) an online repository (and showcase) of old material testimonies collected by locals and new XR digital narratives and b) onsite temporary exhibitions, made of micro and macro outputs born out of REVIVE(S) and setup in selected communities’ venues.

CNR ISPC activities
CNR ISPC plays a key role in the REVIVE project by leading the design and development of the REVIVE(S) digital scaffolder, ensuring its usability, accessibility, and sustainability.

The institute contributes to the digitization and archiving of linguistic and cultural heritage through photogrammetry, volumetric video capture, and XR storytelling techniques.

Additionally, CNR ISPC is responsible for pilot-testing the online scaffolder, using user behavior analysis and immersive technology evaluations to refine digital engagement strategies. Its involvement ensures that digital innovations effectively support endangered language revitalization and community participation.

CNR ISPC leads the Educational Popup Labs, developing school programs to integrate minority languages through interactive and digital activities. CNR ISPC also oversees Evaluation Protocol assessing the impact of digital exhibitions and cultural events on user engagement, learning outcomes, and emotional response.

Additionally, it supports the REVIVE Policy Recommendations, contributing to discussions on multilingualism and digital innovation in education. Throughout, CNR ISPC collaborates with various partners to ensure the project’s scientific rigor and community engagement.