A major digital innovation conference taking place this week at Monmouth's historic Shire Hall will examine how the town has embraced technology through its MonmouthpediA project and other creative schemes.

Digital Past is a two-day conference being held today (Wednesday 20th) and tomorrow (Thursday 21st February) at Monmouth's Shire Hall.

It showcases innovative digital technologies for the management of heritage sites and historic artefacts.

This prestigious conference offers Monmouth, the first town in Wales to offer a free local Wi-Fi system, an opportunity to demonstrate all its exciting new initiatives.

Monmouthpedia was launched last year with the help of Monmouthshire County Council and allows visitors to glean information through the use of QRpedia codes – a bar code (on a ceramic tile fixed to a building) that a smartphone can access relevant Wikipedia articles in visitors' first languages.

During these two days, the county council will also launch its Digital Blue Plaque Heritage Trail – the first of its kind in the UK – developed in conjunction with the Monmouth Civic Society and the South Wales Centre for Historical and Interdisciplinary Research.

The trail builds on the legacy of MonmouthpediA by enabling visitors to journey through time and access any-time expert tour guide videos on their smart phones or tablet devices at key landmarks around the town.

In addition, the new Dig Monmouth exhibition at Shire Hall will also be launched. This new visitor experience shares with the public archaeological treasures found in the town over the last 50 years by the Monmouth Archaeological Society.

Collaborating with a local artist new interpretation boards have been installed in Shire Hall with rich illustrations of key episodes of Monmouth's past with QRcodes to allow visitors to find out more about the stories in the new art work and watch relevant videos on their personal devices.

The Dig Monmouth experience is aimed at families with a hands on fun experience for children who have a rare opportunity to touch, play and create with examples of the archaeological treasures on display.

Both of these exciting initiatives have been developed by CMC2, the council's new community interest company which is leading the delivery of Monmouthshire's green and digital futures for the benefit of the county's residents.

Running for the fifth year, Digital Past 2013 offers a combination of papers, seminars, hands-on workshops and demonstrations to investigate the latest technical surveying and interpretation techniques and their practical application in the world of heritage interpretation, education and conservation.

Monmouthshire's cabinet member for modernisation, enterprise and communications, Councillor Bob Greenland said: "We are proud to host such a well-regarded conference that reflects the progress made by the council in the field of digital technology.

"Monmouthshire and the town of Monmouth with our very own iconic Shire Hall may be steeped in history but we have also developed a well-earned reputation for blazing a trail in today's hi-tech world."