Digital Transformation of Cultural Heritage: Prospects and Threats

The research investigates the impact of digital transformation on culture, particularly cultural heritage, by examining how preservation, representation, and access are evolving in the context of global and Ukrainian-European digitalization. It aims to analyze how digital technologies reshape heritage practices, highlight the challenges they pose, and propose possible solutions. An assessment of prominent initiatives — such as Europeana, Euromuseum, Twin it! World Digital Library, Doctoral Program in Cultural Heritage, Ark, Museum of Stolen Art, and ResearchUA — illustrates that digital tools not only broaden access to cultural resources but also foster new forms of public participation, multicultural exchange, and collaborative digital creation. In this regard, the Internet emerges as a multifunctional space that serves as a technology, a platform for unity, a channel of communication, and a means of cooperation. Of particular significance is the Museum of Stolen Art project launched in Ukraine in 2023, which stands as a unique model of digital innovation in heritage preservation. Nevertheless, the study identifies pressing challenges accompanying digitalization, including fragmented platforms, unstable formats, unequal access, legal and ethical uncertainties, and funding constraints. Addressing these issues requires understanding digitalization not merely as a technological process but as a socio-cultural phenomenon that fundamentally reshapes cultural memory, identity, and institutional responsibility. The findings of this research thus provide practical value for designing effective strategies, educational initiatives, and institutional practices to advance the preservation, accessibility, and sustainability of cultural heritage in the digital era.