The Second Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Communication and Innovative Development Forum 2024 was held on May 31 at Northwestern Polytechnical University. It was sponsored by the China Computer Federation (CCF) and co-organized by the School of Computer Science at Northwestern Polytechnical University(NPU), the School of Culture and Creativity at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Fudan Publishing House.

The forum is held on Friday at NPU headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi province in Northwest China.

With the theme, "Group Intelligence Collaboration for New Quality Intangible Cultural Heritage", the forum emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary integration in the cultural field. It reflected the new quality and form of new productive forces in the field of intangible cultural heritage.

The Global Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Communication Research Report was first released at the forum.

The report, supported by the National Social Science Fund for Digital Intangible Cultural Heritage, focuses on the digital communication technology, practices, and cases of 14 representative countries on five continents around the world. It was jointly completed by the Digital Intangible Cultural Heritage Joint Research Group of Northwestern Polytechnical University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and published by Fudan University Press.

This report is based on the "Research Report on Digital Communication of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage (2018-2022)" released by the joint research group in 2023, and is currently the first research report in China that focuses on global digital intangible cultural heritage communication. It summarizes the basic overview and key technologies of digital communication of global intangible cultural heritage, aiming to enhance the perspective of researchers in related fields and promote exchanges between China and other countries in the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.

The report is released at the forum.

Digital intangible cultural heritage is the process of collecting, recording, storing, disseminating, and recreating intangible cultural heritage through digital technology. It is the digital preservation of traditional intangible cultural heritage and an innovative way of opening up new paths for the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage.

More than 100 experts and scholars in the field of digital intangible cultural heritage   explored the core issues and development trends of digital intangible cultural heritage development and dissemination. They were joined by representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, and industry professionals from top domestic universities, including Zhou Ying, deputy director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Qu Shiming, literary and artistic scholar from Shaanxi Province, Li Chunke, secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Computer Science at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xue Ke, vice dean of the School of Cultural and Creative Industries at Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Southern California University, Guo Bin, vice dean of the School of Computer Science at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Yang Junchang, professor from the Institute of Cultural Heritage at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Yuan Miaotong, professor from Communication University of China, Zhu Lingyu, vice president of Beijing Qingbo Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Wang Haiyan, inheritor of shadow puppetry, Zhang Beiyuan, inheritor of dough sculpture, Zhao Chun and Cui Meng, inheritor of Qin Embroidery, as well as representatives from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Universities, Communication University of China, Shaanxi Normal University, Shanghai Normal University and Xi'an Engineering University.

During the forum, Professor Yang Junchang from the Cultural Heritage Research Institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University delved into the digital research and value excavation of unearthed cultural relics, starting from ancient gold craftsmanship. Professor Xue Ke from the School of Culture and Creativity at Shanghai Jiao Tong University Nanjing University elaborated in detail on the innovative paths and development strategies of intangible cultural heritage in the new era.

Professor Yuan Miaotong from Communication University of China explored how to use modern technological means to restore and reconstruct the audio-visual memory of intangible cultural heritage, and Zhu Lingyu, vice president of Beijing Qingbo Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., presented in detail the case of AIGC technology assisting creators in designing and producing high-resolution short videos and movies.

A roundtable discussion for inheritors of intangible cultural heritage is held during the forum.

The roundtable sub-forum for inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, co-hosted by Professor Guo Bin from Northwestern Polytechnical University and Professor Xue Ke from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, invited Shaanxi Province literary and artistic scholar Qu Shiming, shadow puppet inheritor Wang Haiyan, dough sculpture inheritor Zhang Beiyuan, Qin embroidery inheritor Cui Meng and Zhao Chun, to jointly explore the inheritance and innovation of intangible cultural heritage.