International cooperation for the digitization of cultural heritage: emerging models and the legacy of the lockdown

Although during the last thirty years there was an increasing demand for digitization of cultural heritage (Rossato, 2020), the process of digitization remains demanding (Evens and Hauttekeete, 2011), since it requires not only significant financial investments but also specific competences, skills and software. Several cultural heritage institutions therefore prefer to outsource the digitization process: in countries that are still developing their digitization skills, often this outsourcing requires hiring companies and professionals at an international level. The covid-19 pandemic has highlighted that this model is inherently fragile, and that innovation is needed in the way international cooperation is implemented. This paper addresses this topic, by analyzing the best practices of two international projects of digitization of Brazilian cultural heritage and reflecting on how these two case studies could help us change the traditional approach to digitization in Global South countries.