Acronym: FolkCloud
Coordinator: Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Partner: Poznan University of Technology
Project Duration: 18 months
Start Date: September 1, 2026
End Date: February 28, 2028
This project has received support through a cascading grant from ECHOES , which is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101157364, with the support of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK Government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee No. 10110142 and No. 10110466.
The FolkCloud project promotes the structured adoption of the the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) within an underrepresented sector: folk music and dance practitioners dedicated to reconstructing and transmitting Polish folklore. At the center of this ecosystem is the ECHOES project (European Cloud for Heritage OpEn Science), which is responsible for building the foundations and core infrastructure of the Cloud. The FolkCloud project is carried out under the ECHOES Cascade Grant Call 2 – Engagement and Collaboration . By bridging the gap between community-based cultural production and European digital heritage services, the project addresses key needs regarding digitization, metadata standards, and the utilization of modern infrastructure.
In 2024, more than 2,700 folklore groups operated in Poland, supported by local and regional cultural centers, community clubs, and socio-cultural organizations. Furthermore, over 70 groups operate outside the country—across Europe, North and South America, and Australia. These geographically dispersed communities play a crucial role in preserving Polish intangible musical heritage. The project aims to integrate these communities into the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) to facilitate the discovery, documentation, and long-term protection of European musical traditions.
The main objective of the project is to promote and adopt the ECCCH platform among folk music and dance practitioners engaged in the reconstruction and transmission of Polish folkloric heritage. The project fulfills four specific objectives:
(1) Raising awareness and knowledge of the ECCCH among folk music practitioners and related cultural organizations;
(2) Building practical competencies in utilizing ECCCH services, including the creation of audiovisual collections, the preparation of structured and standards-compliant descriptive metadata, and controlled content publication and sharing;
(3) Improving the quality, interoperability, and reusability of digital resources documenting intangible cultural heritage; and
(4) Developing a community engagement and onboarding model within ECCCH structures that can be applied to other areas of intangible heritage.
The project comprises four interconnected tasks designed to promote the ECCCH among folk music performers:
Task 1: Building a Contact Database.
Focuses on identifying and engaging the folk group community and related organizations. Deliverable D1.1 (“Contact Database”) will serve as the foundation for targeted outreach and engagement efforts.
Task 2: Dissemination.
Ensures visibility for the project promoting the ECCCH. Deliverable D2.1 (“Information Campaign”) will encompass a bilingual (PL-EN) website, email communications, social media posts, and ECCCH presentations at folklore festivals, enabling outreach to dispersed folk group communities.
Task 3: Development of the ECCCH User Guidelines.
A bilingual ECCCH user guidelines tailored for the folk group community (D3.1) will assist performers in creating audiovisual collections, preparing metadata, and publishing content within the ECCCH.
Task 4: Conducting an Online Workshop on ECCCH Usage.
An interactive workshop (D4.1) will complement the user guidelines with practical training, strengthening user skills and facilitating the use of ECCCH services.
Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Poznan University of Technology – Institute of Computing Science
