Burgas will once again host the international scientific forum DiPP2026 — "Digital Representation and Preservation of Cultural and Scientific Heritage," which is being held for the sixteenth time this year. The event will take place from September 24 to 27, 2026, under the patronage of UNESCO and the Municipality of Burgas.

The forum is organized by the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The conference is held with the support of the "Scientific Research" Fund under contract KP-06-MNF/5 dated May 15, 2026.

The official opening is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, at 1:00 PM at the "Sea Casino" Cultural Center in Burgas. The forum traditionally brings together scientists, cultural heritage specialists, IT professionals, and representatives from various institutions to discuss the development of digital memory.

This year's program will once again offer diverse perspectives and practical experience in the field of digital representation and preservation of cultural heritage. Renowned international and Bulgarian authorities will deliver invited reports. Among the invited speakers are Dr. Bhanu R. Neupane from UNESCO, Prof. Dr. Daniel Arias Aranda from Universidad de Granada, Joeri Both — Deputy Director of the University Library at Vrije Universiteit, Gultekin Gurdal — Director of the Izmir Institute of Technology library, and Prof. Dr. Krasen Stefanov from the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".

The main objective of the conference is to present modern innovations, projects, and scientific and applied research related to the documentation, archiving, representation, and preservation of both tangible and intangible cultural and scientific heritage — on both a global and national scale.

This year's emphasis is placed on the integration of artificial intelligence technologies and ensuring open access to digitized portions of the national cultural and scientific heritage. According to the organizers, this trend has been established in recent years thanks to sustainable policies for continuous digital storage and preservation.

The conference is held in support of Burgas's candidacy for the European Capital of Culture 2032. Co-organizers include the Regional Academic Center of BAS — Burgas, the Regional Historical Museum — Burgas, Burgas Free University, the "Payo Yavorov" Regional Library in Burgas, and Burgas State University "Prof. A. Zlatarov".

The forum will also include side events. One of them is the 17th National Information Day "Open Science, Open Data, Open Access, Bulgarian Open Science Cloud". The other is the 5th Information Day "Research Infrastructure Services in the Humanities and Social Sciences," organized by the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics at BAS. This event will present the results of the project "National Interdisciplinary Research E-infrastructure for resources and technologies for Bulgarian linguistic and cultural heritage, integrated within the European infrastructures CLARIN and DARIAH" (KLaDA-BG).