Today’s social and political movements against dominant Western narratives call for a re-contextualization of cultural heritage (CH) toward inclusivity, multiperspectivity, and sensemaking. Our work approaches this challenge from a Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) perspective, questioning how HCI approaches, tools and methods can contribute to CH re-contextualization. Through collaborative reflection on our research practice, we identified four diverging case studies highlighting the different roles of HCI and its increasing entanglement with CH. Case studies 1–3 focus on HCI as a medium for CH, case 4 on digital CH, and thereby on the HCI–CH entanglement. Our reflections contribute to CH re-contextualization by highlighting the need for co-design and slow design approaches, the role of HCI technologies in preserving, communicating, and shaping CH, and open questions and challenges related to the increasing HCI–CH convergence.

The international efforts to establish a management system for the UNESCO World Heritage Bamiyan in Afghanistan, where fundamentalist terrorists once destroyed the world’s largest Buddhist figures, are discussed. A Cultural Master Plan based on remote sensing methods is being used to create a comprehensive inventory of archaeological zones, traditional settlements, water systems, and historical cultural monuments, and to monitor the effectiveness of conservation measures and urban development decisions on landscape change. The case of Bamiyan exemplifies the increasing politicization of outstanding heritage sites around the world that are subject to ongoing conflict, targeted iconoclastic raids, and criminal looting, among dynamic urban development and limited resources for conservation, destroying such sites and landscapes. Lessons learned highlight the importance of careful planning and management of development activities as an integral part of heritage conservation in international relief efforts in crisis areas, especially for World Heritage cultural landscapes. In the context of reconstruction efforts, the management of cultural heritage needs to consider a broader context that considers the identity of the people, the participation, and the revitalization of the affected communities in addition to the long-term preservation of the physical substance. Such an expanded notion of heritage recognizes local communities’ aspirations for inclusive social and economic development considering Landscape Values as Human Values for reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The Datenraum Kultur (Culture Dataspace) project represents a strategic data infrastructure initiative within the EU Digital Strategy framework, designed to transform data sharing in the cultural, media, and creative industries, pioneering innovative approaches to create new digital services while respecting intellectual property rights. As a flagship project in Germany’s National Digital Strategy, it aims to develop foundational infrastructure for the future data economy. The project focuses on a B2B data exchange model that aims to accelerate value-added digital service development. It is characterized by three key architectural principles: (1) data sovereignty, ensuring content owners maintain control over their digital assets; (2) decentralized architecture, facilitating direct content transfer between stakeholders without centralized routing; and (3) collaborative ecosystem development, for negotiated content exchange within trusted networks. Beyond economic considerations, Datenraum Kultur addresses a societal need for culture in the digital age, highlighting trustworthy relationships among actors, ultimately strengthening the competitiveness and relevance of the cultural sector while maintaining participant autonomy in an increasingly data-driven landscape.