The AURORA Training School, held from 21–24 October 2025 at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, gathered more than fifty international experts, early-stage researchers, and museum professionals for an intensive, four-day exploration of how science and technology can protect cultural heritage from illicit trafficking and misidentification. Organised within the Horizon Europe project AURORA – Artwork Unique RecOgnition and tRacking through chemicAl encoded data – the school served as both a training platform and a collaborative laboratory, showing how chemistry, digital tools, conservation practice, and policy can work together in defence of cultural property.
Set inside the museum’s historic neorenaissance complex, the programme offered participants an immersive environment where lectures, hands-on workshops, and discussions unfolded among collections that reflect the cultural diversity and vulnerability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The school targeted postgraduate and doctoral students, young professionals, and members of the AURORA consortium.
Day One – Chemical Markers and Conservation Ethics
The opening day introduced participants to the chemical foundations of AURORA’s invisible marking technologies. Daniela Iacopino (Tyndall National Institute) and Rodorico Giorgi (University of Florence) presented advances in photoluminescent security inks using zinc oxide and carbon quantum dots, as well as lanthanide-doped phosphors. Their lectures emphasized compatibility with various materials—paper, stone, metals, ceramics—and durability under environmental stress.
A practical workshop translated this theory into experience. Participants prepared and applied luminescent inks and learned how to read them under different UV wavelengths, illustrating AURORA’s vision of creating stable, covert chemical signatures for artefacts.
Conservator Antonio Mirabile concluded the day by framing these technologies within conservation ethics. He highlighted the growing role of conservators as mediators between scientific innovation and cultural values, stressing minimal intervention, reversibility, and sustainability.
Day Two – Digital Fingerprints, AI, and Blockchain
The second day focused on digital technologies that complement chemical marking. Lorenzo Bellucci presented XRF (X-ray fluorescence) mapping as a method for generating unique “digital fingerprints” embedded in the material structure of artworks. These fingerprints remain resistant to surface alterations, making them ideal for long-term authentication.
Taras Maksymyuk followed with an overview of how blockchain and artificial intelligence can improve provenance tracking. He demonstrated how blockchain’s decentralization and immutability can address fragmentation and opacity in traditional systems.
A joint session by Maksymyuk, Matias Torres Diaz, and Francesco Meloni presented AURORA’s integrated system in which XRF-derived data is stored on IPFS, anchored on the Ethereum blockchain, and linked with NFTs as identity certificates. IoT tracking devices equipped with environmental sensors completed the picture, showing a comprehensive workflow for monitoring artefacts.
Research teams led by Martina Piletti and Sanjeev Kumar also presented advances in Embedded Wireless Tracking systems, achieving sub-20-cm indoor localization accuracy while monitoring temperature, humidity, and light—key parameters for museum conservation.
Day Three – Cross-Border Cooperation and European Synergies
Day Three shifted to policy and international cooperation. Cameron Walter (OSCE) outlined the work of the OSCE Heritage Crime Task Force and its cross-border coordination across 49 states. His examples highlighted how rapid communication between customs, police, and experts can disrupt trafficking networks.
Dr. Lujza Varga (Hungarian National Museum) presented strategies for building institutional resilience through disaster risk management and cross-sector training. A roundtable with the ENIGMA and ANCHISE sister projects provided complementary European perspectives on technological tools and policy responses to illicit trafficking.
Day Four – Museum Realities and Hands-On Verification
The final day focused on the practical realities of adopting innovative technologies in museums. Aida Vežić (Balkan Museum Network), Jove Pargovski (Museum Bitola), and Azra Bečević Šarenkapa (National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina) discussed infrastructure challenges and highlighted early testing of AURORA’s photoluminescent markers in demanding conservation conditions.
The concluding workshop guided participants through the complete scanning and verification process—from uploading XRF images to confirming authenticity in normal and altered conditions—emphasizing usability and institutional applicability.
A Shared Vision for Heritage Protection
Over four days, the AURORA Training School demonstrated how chemical science, digital technology, conservation ethics, and policy can form a unified defence against illicit trafficking. Sarajevo’s layered history provided an ideal setting, reinforcing the importance of preparedness, resilience, and international cooperation. Participants left with new skills, expanded networks, and a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary ecosystem required to safeguard cultural heritage.
Check the full programme at school’s website https://www.aurora-euproject.eu/aurora-training-school/
Download the Training School Book of Abstracts:
Training School Book of Abstracts
The activities are the part of AURORA (Artwork Unique RecognitiOn and tRacking through chemicAl encoded data, miniaturized devices and blockchain alliance) project that is being funded by the European Union Horizon Europe program.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.