Centenary Tour Finale (Europeana 1914-18 & Transcribathon)

Help us celebrate the finale of Europeana 1914-18 and Transcribathon at the House of European History, Brussels.

Belliardstraat 135, 1000 Brussel, Belgium

Learn more about the history of the First World War and how people across Europe remember it with:

A presentation from the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel on the importance of commemoration and cultural heritage to the digital transformation of Europe’s society and economies
An exclusive display curated especially for the event, including both Europeana 1914-1918 campaign objects and artefacts from the House of European History collection
A rich gallery on WWI history in the House of European History permanent exhibition, showing the European and global dimensions of the first industrialised mass war
Two roundtable discussions on the transnational legacy, memory and representation on the web of the First World War from industry experts

Day 1: Tuesday 27 November

13:00------- - Transcribathon begins (to conclude 28 November)
14:00------- - Opening ceremony and introduction
17:00------- - Guided tour of House of European History for Transcribathon participants
18:00-19:30 - Roundtable 1

Day 2: Wednesday 28 November

11:00-13:00 - Roundtable 2
--------13:00 - Transcribathon concludes
13:00-13:45 - Lunch
13:45-14:45 - Presentation of Transcribathon results
14:35-14:55 - 11-11: Memories retold video game presentation
14:55-15:00 - Welcome by Constanze Itzel, Director House of European History
15:00-15:15 - Welcome and introduction from Harry Verwayen, Executive Director Europeana Foundation
15:15-15:30 - Speech by Petra Kammerevert, MEP/Chair Committee on Culture and Education
15:30-16:00 - Speech by Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner Digital Economy and Society and award presentation
16:00-16:15 - Presentation of Europeana Research Grant winners by Professor Lorna Hughes
16:15-18:30 - Closing party

The display will run from Monday 26 November to Sunday 2 December and you do not need to register to attend this. Tickets for the roundtables and closing celebrations are free, but due to limited space, we do require a booking to these elements of the event. You can find out more and book your space below

Round table discussions

27 November 18:00 - 19:30 - Round table discussion: Reflecting World War One Remembrance

What have four years of centennial commemorations achieved?

Although we live in societies defined by a need for instantaneity, we still give significance to events that happened a hundred years ago. In the early 2010s, individuals, organisations and institutions working with history had already started to think about the upcoming centenary of the First World War. Countless conferences, exhibitions, media broadcasts as well as numerous international and local projects in various fields took this milestone and ran with it.

What did the commemorations highlight, what did they neglect? Did we learn new history? Which messages remain? How can we best understand the significance of World War One in shaping Europe and the world we live in today? What are the differences (and possible tensions) between history, memory and commemoration?

As the World War One centenary comes to a close with the commemoration of the November 1918 Armistice, the House of European History brings together voices from academia, civil society and the museum field to reflect on the legacies and memories of World War One that are still alive and relevant for our societies today.

Come to learn and discuss how academic research, history exhibitions and social inclusion projects can make remembering World War I today a meaningful and engaging process for people of all backgrounds and ages.

Panel members:

Kieran Burns, Curator, House of European History, Belgium
Dr Virginia Crompton, CEO, Big Ideas, UK
Prof. John Horne, Historian, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Dr Chantal Kesteloot, Historian, Centre for War and Contemporary Society (CegeSoma), Belgium
Moderator: Jonathan Even-Zohar, history consultant, The Netherlands

Languages: English, French

28 November Wednesday 28 November 11:00 - 13:00 - Round table discussion: From the trenches to the web

Commemorating World War One the digital way

The Europeana 1914-1918 thematic collection brings online resources from many European institutions as well as from citizens all over the world dealing with different types of First World War material: a unique perspective of the First World War, showing it from every side of the battle lines and with insights from every point of view. One innovative aspect of the project has been the application of crowdsourcing - collecting input from people at large and assembling a wide variety of family memorabilia which is then made accessible to the public and to researchers. Since 2017 the initiative Transcribathon Europeana 1914-1918 aims to produce transcriptions of these unpublished documents, also through crowd-sourcing.

Along with the Europeana 1914-1918 collection many new sources and new information have been made available online in preparation for the centenary of the First World War. Numerous archives, libraries and museums have digitized their collections and made them available. New virtual research communities are being created, becoming very active in publishing online articles, reports, and blogs about individual aspects of First World War research and offering links to other websites.

This Round Table brings together professionals from the fields of digital humanities, public history, and education, to discuss to what extent digitization by individuals and institutions has changed the historical discourse on the First World War and how we remember and document World War One in the context of digital sources.

With a keynote by Prof. Lorna Hughes (UK), Professor in Digital Humanities, Univ. of Glasgow & Europeana Research Chair.

Panel members:

Ms Ylva Berglund-Prytz (S), Academic IT Services / Education Enhancement Team, University of Oxford
Ms Irina Mastan (RO), librarian, Europeana 1418 project, Brasov, Romania
Mr Serge Noiret (B), History Information Specialist at the European University Institute (EUI) Library in Florence (Italy)
Marianne Ping Huang (DK), Associate Professor at School for Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Europeana Research member
Mr. Mag. Markus Wurtzer (A), IFK_Junior Fellow Abroad, European University Institute Florence

Moderated by Ad Pollé, collections manager Europeana 1914-1918

Language: English