The Charta of Rigas Velestinlis is one of the most important works of the eighteenth-century Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment and the most characteristic sample of Greek scholar cartography. Printed in Vienna in 1220 copies in 1796-1797, this emblematic map of the Balkan peninsula significantly influenced the development of ideas and perspectives that inspired the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. The sixty (60) known remaining copies of this valuable material in Greece and abroad remain stored in the confined spaces of libraries, museums, and archives, strictly guarded for security, conservation, and preservation. This renders their access difficult to both the general public and the educational community. Since the Onassis Library and the General State Archives of Greece—Cartographic Heritage Archives both possess an original copy of this historical document each, they design and implement many educational programs aiming at highlighting its importance and reintroducing it to the public. This paper will present how the usage of new technologies, both in software and hardware, has facilitated the showcasing of cultural heritage artifacts, such as Rigas’ Charta, with an emphasis on technologies and resources that are freely available to everyone. It will also be demonstrated how the digitization projects, the digital libraries, repositories, and platforms implemented by many cultural and research organizations during the last decade, presented the opportunity for the new generation to come in contact with a variety of “locked away” historical documents, like Rigas’ Charta, allowing their reuse and reinterpretation while providing unlimited potential for the collection, research and presentation of facts, evidence and data. Furthermore, the incorporation of this digital cultural wealth in the school curriculum through targeted educational programs and the creative combination with open-source metaverse development tools, unleashed the possibilities of reviving the past, extending the life span of old materials to perpetuity. As a result, this multimodal approach paved the way for the emergence of a new more democratic, open-access, and inclusive educational model.

The article explores the impact of liminality in immersive games on players’ identity from two perspectives: overcoming liminal phases associated with the initiation of a character in games with a narrative-plot architecture that reflects the universal stages of the hero’s “journey”; and overcoming liminality in survival horror games, where players use the virtual world to experiment with their psyche. It introduces and substantiates the terms of mytho-liminal and mystical-liminal games, assessing their positive and negative effects based on data from semi-structured interviews with student groups, totaling 120 informants. After processing the interview data and deriving quantitative indicators, the findings were refined and justified through the lens of research on liminal states, game psychology, and psychological studies on out-of-body experiences in virtual reality. It has been found that the positive effects of mystical-liminal games include the experience of emotions unattainable in the real world, development of coping potentials, working through unconscious conflicts and psychological traumas, and strengthening the moral imperative with a clear distinction between good and evil. The negative impact of mystical liminality manifests in feelings of fear, tension, and discomfort during gameplay, feelings of helplessness and frustration in cutscenes, and cognitive stress due to disidentification with the projective identity when the player’s “positive” avatar is transformed into an immoral character. The positive effects of mytho-liminal games include: enhancement of the sense of subjectivity, awareness of an ideal to emulate, strengthening of the value component of personality, development of creativity and problem-solving skills, unleashing positive potential of latent, unrealized possibilities, development of communication skills, and liberation from social conventions. Negative effects include self-dissociation and depersonalization in both psychological and physical terms, realization of latent destructive needs and deviant behavior, and the substitution of real initiation–finding one’s “self”–with pseudo-initiation through gameplay. This research provides insights into the intersection of liminal and virtual realities, shedding light on the psychological dimension of liminality in video games and enhancing the overall understanding of the liminality role in the virtual context.

In the rapidly evolving technological landscape, modern innovations such as blockchain (BC), artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are playing a pivotal role in realizing the vision of Society 5.0. This concept envisions a harmonious integration of physical, digital, and human elements to create a sustainable and progressive future. Emerging technologies like robotics, biotechnology, quantum computing, 5G/6G networks, smart cities, and the metaverse are expected to further amplify the impact of Society 5.0, driving transformative changes across industries and societal structures. The integration of BC, AI, and IoT within cloud-based frameworks offers a robust solution to enhance security, privacy, and data management. The integration of blockchain, AI, and IoT within a cloud-based framework offers a transformative solution to address the challenges of modern societies. By leveraging these technologies, the proposed platform aims to create a secure, efficient, and sustainable ecosystem that enhances quality of life and drives progress toward the vision of Society 5.0. This approach not only tackles current societal issues but also paves the way for a more interconnected and innovative future. This article introduces a platform that seamlessly combines these technologies to provide a secure and reliable foundation for data collection, sharing, and analysis while enabling the development of smart applications that improve efficiency, productivity, and overall quality of life (QoL).

This article proposes a pioneering approach to teaching Financial Education in Brazilian schools by leveraging the immersive world of Metaverse Games, specifically within the Roblox platform. Financial literacy is a critical global skill, yet making it captivating for students is a challenge. Our Roblox-based educational space creatively demystifies complex financial concepts such as assets, salary, income management, savings, debts, and investments. To assess the impact, we administered three questionnaires: a pre-test to determine initial knowledge, an intermediary test during digital interaction, and a post-test to evaluate knowledge retention. Results indicate that Roblox effectively engages students with financial content in a fun and interactive way. The Metaverse represents a new frontier for educational technology, prompting the development of innovative assessment and learning management strategies. Despite observing impulsive decision-making in the virtual setting, students adopted a cooperative approach to improving outcomes through the reset function of the game, highlighting a collective learning experience. Our research concludes that financial literacy is essential for young individuals to manage real-life finances and that collaborative learning significantly boosts skill acquisition. It is, therefore, crucial to universally adopt playful and cooperative financial education in schools to prepare students for financial success in their personal lives and future society.

This paper examines the evolving challenges of intellectual property (IP) rights protection in the Metaverse, with particular focus on the intersection of traditional IP frameworks with emerging Non-fungible token (NFT) technology. While existing research has explored digital IP rights broadly, the unique characteristics of the Metaverse—its decentralized nature, platform interoperability, and novel ownership models—present unprecedented legal and technical challenges that warrant systematic investigation. The research addresses three key questions: 1) How do traditional territorial-based IP frameworks adapt to the borderless nature of the Metaverse? 2) What specific challenges does NFT technology present for trademark and copyright protection? 3) How can existing legal mechanisms be enhanced to provide effective IP protection in virtual environments? Through comparative analysis of recent case law from American and European courts, supported by examination of regulatory frameworks and technological capabilities, this study identifies critical gaps in current IP protection mechanisms. The analysis reveals that while NFTs offer new possibilities for digital rights management, their implementation raises complex issues regarding ownership verification, cross-platform rights enforcement, and jurisdictional authority. The paper proposes a three-tier framework for enhancing IP protection in the Metaverse: 1) Technical solutions incorporating blockchain-based verification systems with practical implementation considerations; 2) legal adaptations to address jurisdictional challenges; and 3) platform-level governance mechanisms. Each tier is evaluated against current technological constraints and legal precedents to ensure practical viability. This research contributes to both academic discourse and practical policy development by providing a structured analysis of Metaverse IP challenges and offering implementable solutions that balance innovation with rights protection. The findings suggest that effective IP protection in the Metaverse requires a hybrid approach combining adapted legal frameworks, technological solutions, and platform cooperation.

The progression of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reshaped our understanding of intelligence, consciousness, and the human condition, challenging long-held assumptions about the mind and its relationship with machines. Starting with Alan Turing’s Imitation Game, the narrative of assessment of AI has continually evolved. This historical context underlines the importance of moving beyond mere facts to confront philosophical questions about AI’s role and limitations, especially in its capacity for consciousness and emotional resonance. In healthcare, the evolution of AI reflects a transformative cycle. Historically, medicine began as an empathic endeavor, where caregivers provided comfort amid limited knowledge. Over centuries, advancements in science elevated physicians to authoritative figures, creating a paternalistic doctor-patient dynamic. Today, with the advent of AI and technologies like the metaverse, healthcare knowledge is becoming democratized. Patients can increasingly access AI-driven diagnostics and interactions, creating a potential era of “algorithmic paternalism” where machines dominate the knowledge hierarchy. Looking to the future, as AI assumes cognitive and diagnostic responsibilities, the human aspect of medicine will gain renewed importance. Physicians will return to their foundational role as empathic caregivers, focusing on human connection and emotional support—qualities that AI, despite its advances, cannot fully replicate today. This shift completes a historical cycle, reaffirming the enduring value of humanity in medicine and positioning the physician as a central figure in the emotionally nuanced landscape of healthcare.