UNESCO and Arius Technology Forge Landmark Partnership to Digitally Preserve Global Cultural Heritage

UNESCO and Arius Technology Forge Landmark Partnership to Digitally Preserve Global Cultural Heritage

PARIS, PARIS, FRANCE, October 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Arius Technology Europa Italia Srl have officially entered into a Cooperation Agreement to preserve, valorize, and expand access to some of the world’s most significant cultural and documentary heritage.

The agreement was signed on October 2 by Julien Pellaux, UNESCO Director of Partnerships, and Marco Antonio Soriano, Chief Executive Officer of Arius Technology and the man behind the wheel of this initiative whose leadership power a multi-year effort to create ultra-high-resolution digital “twins” of irreplaceable artifacts and artworks—helping safeguard cultural memory for future generations.

Preserving UNESCO Archives and Art Collection

The first phase of the digitization campaign is scheduled for the latter half of 2026 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, with initial priorities focused on fragile, oversized, and non-standard archival materials where advanced 3D scanning provides clear added value.
Key historical items slated for digital preservation include:

• Selected works from the renowned UNESCO art collection, as well as emblematic architectural spaces within UNESCO Headquarters historical building.
• The original register of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
• The exclusive UNESCO poster collection, featuring original contributions by acclaimed artists including Sonia Delaunay
• The International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation Livre d’Or and several UNESCO Livres d’Or spanning decades, including the most recent guest book signed by Pope Léon XIV
• The UNESCO Human Rights exhibition kit
• The earliest, uniquely formatted issues of the UNESCO Courier

Open Standards for Lasting Access

To ensure long-term accessibility and data sovereignty, resulting high-resolution files will be delivered to UNESCO using open, format-agnostic standards —including the Stanford Polygon format (PLY) —avoiding dependency on proprietary software.
From Digital Twins to Documentary Storytelling
Looking ahead, the agreement also creates a pathway to integrate Arius’s scanning capability into UNESCO’s “Dive into Heritage” initiative—enabling digitally captured preservation of complex physical assets worldwide, including:

• sculptures
• mosaics
• frescoes
• rock-art heritage sites

To document the impact of this technology-conservation partnership, UNESCO and Arius Technology plan to jointly develop a documentary film highlighting the meticulous digitization work underway—and reaffirming UNESCO’s enduring role as a steward of knowledge and heritage.
A Breakthrough Digitization Initiative Built for Heritage at Scale
Through this pro bono collaboration, Arius Technology will deploy its specialized 2D and 3D digitization systems , engineered to capture micro-reliefs, textures, and structural properties that conventional photography or scanning methods cannot reliably see.
To deliver exceptional precision, robotic automation, and secure long-term preservation, Arius will be supported by a consortium of technology partners, including:

• Kamanga.io
• Awa Piql
• ABB Robotics
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About UNESCO

With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and bringing people together by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 53 countries and oversees more than 2260 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of over 1500 Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and more than 13 000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions, with a global network of 200 National Commissions. Its Director-General is Khaled El-Enany.
“Since wars begin in the minds of people, it is in the minds of people that the defences of peace must be constructed” – UNESCO Constitution, 1945.
More information: https://www.unesco.org/en

About Arius Technology

Arius Technology Europa Italia Srl is a specialized firm delivering ultra-high-resolution digitization and replication of artworks, heritage objects, and documentary materials. Based in Milan, Italy, the company uses advanced optical technology to capture precise physical geometry of fine art—empowering institutions to study, preserve, and share global heritage.
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Media Contacts
For UNESCO:
• Ms. Marie Guilleus — Conservation Attachée
• Email: m.guilleus@unesco.org
• Phone: +33 1 45 68 00 97
For Arius Technology:
• Mr. Marco Antonio Soriano — Chief Executive Officer
• Email: msoriano@ariustechnology.com
• Phone: +39 389 206 0725

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