Cultural institutions face a variety of challenges related to the development of digital mediation. If they want to be “up to date” in terms of keeping up with technological innovations and meeting the demands of audiences, especially those with special needs, they should consider some important questions:
- How to enrich cultural content with digital tools and thus make it more attractive?
- How can digital technology provide a better experience for visitors of the institution, including those with special needs?
- How can digital technology contribute to a richer educational experience?
- What long-term impact will digital mediation have on the experience of visitors to a cultural site?
- What skills should the cultural institution’s staff have to be effective in digital mediation?
- What benefits will digital mediation bring to employees and the cultural institution itself?
Answering these questions is only half the battle. A much greater challenge will be the implementation of the proposed solutions. The main difficulty that cultural institutions will certainly face is the financial barrier. Digital solutions for the 21st century are a far-reaching investment, to say the least, but also a very expensive one. Besides, we are talking about accessibility for everyone: for people with physical and cognitive-mental disabilities, for different generations, for people with less ability to interact with culture, for better and less educated people, and so on. The challenge becomes adapting the digital tour and tool for each of these groups. And this may require a reorganization not only of the forms of work, but also of the architectural adaptation of the facility (or at least its interior). What immediately comes to mind is the necessity in cooperation of specialists from different fields, which can also be quite a challenge. Besides, it may become an issue to prepare employees of cultural institutions to effectively participate in digital mediation, especially when guests are people with special needs.