New Research Project IMPACT Launched: Immersive Technologies for Participation, Co-Creation, and Regional Identity

A new research project at CODIP, launched on July 1, 2026, explores how digital technologies can help make personal memories, cultural heritage and regional identity accessible in new ways. As part of the IMPACT project – Immersion and Multisensory Experiences for Participatory Activities, Co-Creation and Engagement – an immersive, multisensory installation is being developed together with the Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTWD) and Mobile Jugendarbeit und Soziokultur e. V. (SKZ Telux) in Weißwasser.

The installation aims to create new opportunities to experience cultural heritage and personal experiences, exchange ideas and bring people from different generations together. It will also be used to explore how digital and immersive technologies can contribute to social participation and a sense of connection to the region.

Through its sub-project IMPACT_Gerontology and Technology, CODIP combines research on digital technologies and participation with questions related to ageing and identity formation. The research focuses on the connections between cultural heritage, biographical experiences and the identities of older people. Among other things, biographical interviews will be conducted and participants’ experiences with the installation will be scientifically evaluated. The aim is to explore how innovative technologies can contribute to well-being, identity and social participation in later life.

IMPACT will run for two and a half years and is funded as part of the BMFTR funding initiative “WIR! – Change through Innovation in the Region.” The project is part of the ZukunfTAlter alliance and combines research on digitalization and aging with issues of social cohesion and the development of rural regions.