The IKONOS project originated from the idea of employing the latest advances in information and communication technology towards the creation of a long-term capacity building strategy for the benefit of Mediterranean Cultural Heritage. IKONOS is a Euromed Heritage II project which started in December 2001 and was completed in February 2005.

The aims of the IKONOS project were three:

1. To devise and promote the use of a common cataloguing system where the main results were the publication of a guidebook that is intended to give cultural institutes better insight into the standards and technical specifications required to create their own web-based cultural heritage catalogue. and a sample database with over two hundred artefacts, ranging from paintings to ceramics to architectural sites from various Mediterranean countries.
2. To set up an effective distance-learning training system using a Satellite-Enabled Wide Area Network and Video-Conferencing (SEWAN / SEVC) system, consisting of individual distance learning nodes in Algeria, Greece, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands and a hub/control centre in Malta which communicate in real time via satellite. The fully-equipped nodes in the partner countries hosted a wide range of activities during the project’s duration – from introduction courses to conservation with both theoretical and practical sessions to training seminars – all of which were guided by the pedagogic standards identified during an intensive research exercise. Two guidebooks illustrating the practical applications of this technology were published and are freely available on the project website.
3. To establish an international network of experts in the field of cultural heritage by facilitating communication and cooperation through Satellite-enabled Video Conferencing (SEVC). Thanks to the SEWAN/SEVC system, the partners were able to participate in research and collaboration meetings, training sessions in the use of the SEVC equipment, conservation seminars and even international conferences thus helping to promote the creation of cooperation and knowledge-sharing across the Mediterranean

Further information on the project and its results is available at www.ikonosheritage.org