Imagination, Innovation and Technology in Service of Heritage
- Didier Bergame
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
At I-PAL, we believe that heritage interpretation is, above all, an act of human connection. This is why each year we choose a thematic focus that allows us to grow as a professional network, question our approaches, and open new paths.
For 2026, we selected a theme that reflects the challenges and possibilities of our time: Imagination, Innovation and Technology in Service of Heritage.
Far from being a trend, this focus arises from a deep reflection on how we think, design and accompany interpretive experiences across Latin America and the Caribbean. Allow me to explain why each of these pillars matters.
1. Imagination: the foundation of creativity and multisensoriality
In interpretation, we often speak of creativity and multisensory experiences as separate elements, yet both originate from the same source: imagination.
Imagination is not an abstract idea; it is a central cognitive ability. To imagine is to mentally simulate experiences, sensations and relationships before they exist in the real world.
It enables us to:
Create possible worlds before an experience is even designed.
Anticipate which senses to activate and how to combine sounds, textures, scents and images to evoke memories and emotions.
Transform complex information into accessible and meaningful sensory cues.
Give creative form to what does not yet exist: a route, a metaphor, an atmosphere, a scene.
Without imagination, creativity becomes technical and multisensoriality becomes a sequence of effects. With imagination, both become vehicles of meaning, connecting people to the deeper values of heritage.
Imagination is not optional. It is our first interpretive infrastructure.
2. Innovation: transforming processes, formats and relationships
At I-PAL, we understand innovation as a cultural practice rather than a technological trick. To innovate is to revisit how we work and open space for new interpretive logics.
This becomes visible when we:
Test more dialogic participation formats, sensitive to local realities.
Rethink the relationship between interpreters, communities and visitors as a shared space of meaning-making.
Respond to emerging needs such as accessibility, sustainability, wellbeing and cultural relevance.
Promote co-design processes that recognize diverse knowledge and produce more balanced, ethical and representative narratives.
For us, innovation is not rupture: it is a conscious transformation, built through responsibility, sensitivity and dialogue.
In 2026, we want innovation to be an active verb: learning, adjusting, experimenting, collaborating.
3. Technology: expanding human possibilities without replacing them
Technology is transforming the heritage field, and at I-PAL we believe it is time to approach it with discernment, creativity and responsibility. Not to replace interpreters, but to expand what we can achieve together.
Technology can:
Support interpretive design through artificial intelligence.
Create immersive experiences that reveal what we cannot see with the naked eye.
Provide analytical tools to better understand our audiences.
Enhance accessibility for visitors with diverse needs.
We begin with a simple principle: technology gains value when it enriches the human experience.
Our role is to ensure that digital elements coexist naturally with the sensitivity, ethics and intentionality that enrich interpretation.
A focus to advance as a professional community
This 2026 focus invites us to ask:
How can imagination expand our creativity and sharpen our multisensory awareness?
Which innovations can make interpretation more relevant and more inclusive?
How can technology multiply our capacities without distancing us from our professional identity?
Throughout the year, these questions will guide workshops, debates, publications, collaborative practices and peer-learning spaces.
Our intention is clear: to cultivate heritage interpretation that is creative, ethical, multisensory and inclusive, where human sensitivity naturally coexists with new technological possibilities.
An open invitation
As a network, we have the responsibility not only to prepare for change, but to lead it with vision and sensitivity. I invite you to work together so that imagination, innovation and technology become allies of what we value most: our heritage and the people who give it life.
Didier Bergame
Executive Director I-PAL
Articulos de referencia que puede encontrar en la bibloteca I-PAL
Barsalou, L.W. (2008) – Grounded Cognition. Annual Review of Psychology
Fauconnier, G. & Turner, M. (2002) – The Way We Think. Basic Books
Kosslyn, S.M. (1994) – Image and Brain: The Resolution of the Imagery Debate. MIT Press
Articulos o libros recomendados
Falk, J.H. & Dierking, L.D. (2016) – The Museum Experience Revisited
Left Coast Press
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