GAMIFICATION AS A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY-BASED HERITAGE WORK IN LOW-DENSITY TERRITORIES: SELECTED BEST PRACTICES FROM EUROPE

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14795/jaha.13.1.2026.1418

Abstract

This paper examines the transformative role of gamification in engaging small communities with cultural heritage. By integrating serious games and interactive strategies, gamification enhances public participation, fostering cultural citizenship and sustainable development in low-density regions. These approaches not only make cultural objects more accessible but also encourage deeper reflection on their significance within contemporary society. Focusing on best practices, gamification emphasises innovative, community-centred solutions that bridge academic research and public interaction. Fostering partnerships between small communities and academics provides a framework for identifying, safeguarding, and disseminating heritage. Highlighting successful examples, these practices demonstrate how gamification can facilitate participatory and democratic engagement, offering scalable models for broader application. This foundation supports the development of international principles for digital heritage and collaborative cultural networks.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Sergiu Musteata, Valahia University of Târgoviște, Romania

    Sergiu MUSTEAŢĂ is a historian and a professor at Valahia University of Târgoviște, Romania. He holds his PhD from the History Faculty of „Al. I. Cuza” University, Iași, Romania, in 1999, habilitation at the „Ovidius” University of Constanța, Romania, in 2017, and another habilitation at the „Ion Creanga” Pedagogical State University of Chisinau, Moldova, in 2021. He is a former research fellow of various scholarships in the USA (Fulbright scholar at the University of Maryland, University of California Berkeley and Stanford University), Germany (DAAD and Humboldt scholar at Bonn, Freiburg, and Braunschweig universities), Hungary (OSI scholar at the Central European University), Sweden (scholar of the Swedish Institute at the Campus Gotland, Uppsala University), Poland (Thesaurus Poloniae Fellowship at International Cultural Centre, Krakow), etc. He is the author of 10 monographs, more than 300 scientific publications, and editor of over 30 books and two scientific journals. His primary academic interests are History of Eastern Europe, Cultural Heritage Preservation, and History textbook analysis.

Downloads

Published

2026-05-14

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2026): JAHA

Section

Cultural heritage protection

License

Copyright (c) 2026 JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal, we use CC BY-NC-ND license (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs) wich only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

How to Cite

GAMIFICATION AS A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY-BASED HERITAGE WORK IN LOW-DENSITY TERRITORIES: SELECTED BEST PRACTICES FROM EUROPE. (2026). JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.14795/jaha.13.1.2026.1418