Technology Harnessing Real-time Embroidery and AI Design

forthcoming

The Technology Harnessing Real-time Embroidery and AI Design (THREAD) project addresses the critical need to preserve, transmit, and innovate traditional embroidery, a significant cultural heritage across Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia, facing challenges in documentation, skill transfer, and market adaptation. Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and real-time digital technologies, THREAD will develop a dynamic platform to capture, analyze, and digitally represent embroidery, while employing AI to assist in pattern design and adaptation. This initiative aims to revitalize interest, support artisans, facilitate cross-border learning and co-creation, and unlock new creative and economic opportunities for the sector within and between these three countries. THREAD is highly relevant to the CREA-CULT-2025-COOP call, operating within the cultural and creative sector and built upon essential transnational collaboration between Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia. It directly targets Objective 2: Innovation, by enhancing capacities to nurture talents, develop new practices, and generate growth through technological solutions. Furthermore, it significantly contributes to Objective 1: Transnational creation and circulation, by enabling easy digital sharing of designs and techniques across borders. The project also aligns with key EU priorities, driving Digital Transition within the cultural heritage sector, enhancing Inclusion through increased accessibility, indirectly supporting Greening Efforts by reducing physical travel, and fundamentally embodying Transnational Cooperation in the Western Balkans.