“Widening the Big Blue Horizon” is the international conference focused on the protection and valorisation of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH), organised by BCThubs. This year marks the 2nd edition, which introduces ‘’Innovative Practices and Policy Pathways for the Sustainable Management and Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.’’ The event is in hybrid mode and will take place between December 3rd and 4th, 2026, in Burgas, Bulgaria.
The conference aims to bring together experts and stakeholders from academic and research institutes, the maritime research and innovation industry, as well as the public sector, aspiring to build a constructive forum for knowledge and experience exchange and the discussion of current approaches in support of the research, preservation, accessibility and management of UCH. In this context, it will be an opportunity to present state-of-the-art technologies, research results and lessons learned.
The conference programme will cover 5 main topics:
- Innovative Technologies in Maritime Research.
- UNESCO Best Practices and the Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage.
- Adaptive and sustainable approaches to Climate Change impacts on Underwater Heritage.
- Integrating 3D, geospatial, semantic, and data-driven frameworks for Underwater Cultural Heritage: building a Digital Ecosystem for maritime and coastal knowledge.
- Policy Pathways for Accessible and Sustainable Underwater Heritage.
More details at the official conference webpage: https://bcthubs.eu/conference2026/
Key Dates & Information:
Type of participation: Paper and/or poster presentations
Abstract submission deadline: 1 March 2026
Link for abstract submission: https://forms.gle/ik2ZsQggo524W1bp6
Notification on acceptance after blind review by: 1 April 2026
Paper submission deadline: 1 September 2026
Paper guidelines: published here: Paper Guidelines
Conference Language: English
Participants can attend the conference either in person or virtually and need to register via the conference registration form. Note that there is no registration fee.
