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Pillar 2: Heritage science

Pillar 2 "Heritage science" is dedicated to scientific research in support of the federal - cultural, scientific and historical - heritage and in particular the heritage in Belgian Federal Scientific Institutions  (FSIs), as well as the heritage on which the FSIs deploy their expertise. The potentially involved heritage is of a diverse nature: material / tangible and intangible / digital, of national or international origin.

The aim of the pillar 2 is to mobilise and develop the scientific expertise on "heritage science", namely scientific research to support conservation, access (including new ICT tools), interpretation and management of heritage, especially with a view to scientific exploitation and social valorisation. This approach, often interdisciplinary, is at the crossroads of a wide range of knowledge and expertise, from fundamental sciences to humane and art sciences.

The research aims to support:

  • the preservation and management of heritage and collections, with a view to exploitation, mainly scientifically, through the development and / or testing of best practices of techniques and methods, of sampling, of digitisation or other management and preservation methods, documentation, classification, identification and access to the information and / or access to material from the collections;

and / or

  • its placement in social, artistic, historical, geographical, environmental, health, scientific, technical, political, archaeological, linguistic, literary, musical, economic or cultural context, in a synchronized or diachronic perspective.

The implementation of this pillar is done both via thematic and non-thematic calls. The research projects will be carried out by an FSI or will be coordinated by an FSI in collaboration with universities and other research institutions: the projects therefore also have as a challenge to fit into the global strategic priorities of the FSIs, in terms of their scientific expertise and / or their mission with regard to public service.

Committees members


Thematic and non-thematic projects (bottom-up) of the call 2022-2023

BelgicaWeb - Sustaining access to Belgium's born-digital heritage

Thematic project
Keywords: Social media, web archiving, born-digital collections , collections as data, access platform, agile search and API, digital humanities

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2026
  • Budget: 575.459€
  • Coordinator: Geeraert Friedel (KBR)      
  • Promotors: De Terwangne Cécile (UNamur), Mechant Peter (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

BELCOHORT+ - Bringing together existing population health data collections into a Belgian population-based cohort to evaluate dynamically the interaction between health, environment and society to support more targeted policy

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Population cohort, Health policy evaluation, Health and society , Environment, Linkage, Health impact assessment

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2026
  • Budget: 497.965€
  • Coordinator: Van Der Heyden Johan (Sciensano)     
  • Promotors: -
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

Be-MUSIC - A Plurivocal Acces to Belgian Musical Heritage

Thematic project
Keywords: Collection management, (Ethno)musicology and organology, Open access and Linked open data , Sound Archives , IPR, Crowdsourcing

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 558.800€
  • Coordinator: Jadinon Remy (MRAC-KMMA)     
  • Promotors: Willaert Saskia (MRAH-KMKG)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

COLLINT - Internment of suspects of collaboration in Belgium (1944-1946)

Thematic project
Keywords: World War II, internment camp, collaboration , remembrance, military justice, Breendonk

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2025
  • Budget: 371.000€
  • Coordinator: Nefors Patrick (WHI)     
  • Promotors: Horvat Stanislas (ERM-KMS)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

COLOURINPALAEO - To colour or not to colour: COLOUR patterns and pigments in INvertebrates from the PALAEOzoic of Belgium

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Exceptional preservation, New techniques, Colour patterns and pigments , 3D multispectral photogrammetry, Raman spectroscopy, Heritage valorisation

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 230.999€
  • Coordinator: Mottequin Bernard (IRSNB-KBIN)    
  • Promotors: Gueriau Pierre (IPANEMA - Institut photonique d'analyse non-destructive européen des matériaux anciens)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

CONteXT - CONgolese heritage objects examined and contextualized through X-ray Tomography

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: African heritage, conservation, source communities , Micro-ct, ethnographical ethics, sensitive collections

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2025
  • Budget: 176.000€
  • Coordinator: Genbrugge Siska (MRAC-KMMA)     
  • Promotors: Van Den Bulcke Jan (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

DASA - Digital Animal Sound Archive project

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Animal sounds, animal acoustics, reference collection , digital archive, bat sound, echolocation

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2025
  • Budget: 191.459€
  • Coordinator: Brabant Robin (IRSNB-KBIN)     
  • Promotors: Brabant Claire (Natagora), Lambrechts Jorg (Natuurpunt)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

DIGICOLJUST-2 - Military Violence and its (Dis)Contents in Colonial Congo: Sharing the Records, Writing the History

Thematic project
Keywords: Colonial Violence, Colonial Congo, Digital Humanities , Force Publique, Military Justice, Outreach

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 602.442€
  • Coordinator: Tallier Pierre-Alain (AGR-ARA)     
  • Promotors: Henriet Benoit (VUB), Lauro Amandine (ULB)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

FARSuN - Findability and Accessibility of historical (1610-1980) Raw Sunspot Numbers

Thematic project
Keywords: Sun, historical, statistics , archives, sunspot numbers , virtual observatory

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 499.816€
  • Coordinator: Lefevre Laure (ORB-KSB)     
  • Promotors: Von Sachs Rainer (UCLouvain), Cecconi Baptiste (LESIA - Obs. Paris - France), Vaquero Jose (UEX - University of Extremadura)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

For2-BioB - Management and development of forensic biobanks at operational and policy levels in Belgium

Thematic project
Keywords: Forensic DNA-database, criminal justice policy, Human biobanking, Management system

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2025
  • Budget: 444.528€
  • Coordinator: Renard Bertrand (INCC-NICC)     
  • Promotors: Hausman Jean-Marc (UCLouvain), Steuve Séverine (INCC-NICC)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

Mero-Jewel - Production, Materials and Exchange of Merovingian Jewellery (5th-8th centuries)

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Merovingian archaeology, Material Culture, Archaeometry , Gold and silver smithery, Conservation of collections , Metalwork (Archaeology)

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 340.431€
  • Coordinator: Claes Britt (MRAH-KMKG)     
  • Promotors: Van Wersch Line (ULiège), Wouters Helena (IRPA-KIK)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

MUTER - MUseum epigenomics as a Toolbox in Evolutionary Research

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Museum epigenomics, historical DNA, methylomics, phenotypic plasticity

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2025
  • Budget: 161.962€
  • Coordinator: Vangestel Carl (IRSNB-KBIN)     
  • Promotors: Asselman Jana (UGent), Guschanski Katerina (UU - University of Uppsala)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

ORG-ID - Identification and 14C Dating of Organic Materials in Archaeological Ceramics

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Pottery temper, pre-treatment, AMS 14C dating , X-ray µCT, extraction, petrographic analysis

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2025
  • Budget: 212.729€
  • Coordinator: Boudin Mathieu (IRPA-KIK)     
  • Promotors: Crombé Philippe (UGent), De Clercq Wim (UGent), Deforce Koen (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

PaReS - Painted Relic Shrines in Situ. Study of the materials, techniques, function and use of painted relic shrines

Thematic project
Keywords: Painted relic shrines, interdisciplinarity, mixed media

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 646.684€
  • Coordinator: Reyniers Jeroen (IRPA-KIK)     
  • Promotors: Debeir Olivier (ULB), Henderiks Valentine (ULB), Janssens Koen (UAntwerpen)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

PERISSORIGIN - Origin and early radiation of perissodactyls based on precious fossil collections

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Palaeontology, Perissodactyla, Micro-CT scanning , Digitisation, Phylogeny, Biogeography

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2025
  • Budget: 164.955€
  • Coordinator: Smith Thierry (IRSNB-KBIN)     
  • Promotors: Bai Bin (IVPP - Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology), Lebrun Renaud (UMontpellier - University of Montpellier)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

PRECIP-PREDICT - Development of innovative dynamical approaches for short-term PRECIPitation PREDICTion based on long-term radar datasets

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Predictability, nowcasting, precipitation , Dynamical Systems Theory, Deep learning, remote sensing

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 495.422€
  • Coordinator: Vannitsem Stephane (IRM-KMI)     
  • Promotors: De Cruz Lesley (VUB)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

PROMA - Provenance Research for Museum Audiences

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Collection history, Anthropology of museums, Provenance Research, History of Art

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2026
  • Budget: 175.948€
  • Coordinator: Lacaille Agnès (MRAC-KMMA)     
  • Promotors: -
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

ProvEnhance - Enhancing the provenance data of the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) since 1933. Scientific study, digital valorization and narrative in context

Thematic project
Keywords: Provenance research, Digital Art history, Art market during World War II , Sensitive Narratives, Museum History

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 676.442€
  • Coordinator: Alexandre Aude (MRBAB-KMSKB)     
  • Promotors: Luyten Dirk (AGR-ARA), Oosterlinck Kim (ULB), Hopp Meike (Technische Universität (TU) Berlin)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

REIGN - Reconstructing the Ghent knowledge center of the Counts & Countesses of Flanders, 11th-18th C

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Archival history, medieval, early modern , (historical) records in context, governance, County of Flanders

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 299.925€
  • Coordinator:  Verfaillie Joke (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: -
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

ReSoXy - Resounding the Musical Heritage of the Xylophone Collection from RMCA

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Musical heritage, Central African xylophones, Applied musicology , Decolonizing knowledge, Restitution, Artistic experimentation

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2026
  • Budget: 120.000€
  • Coordinator: Jadinon Remy (MRAC-KMMA)     
  • Promotors: -
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

VAMOS - Venus Atmosphere exploration through machine learning and open science in preparation to EnVision

Thematic project
Keywords: Planetary Atmospheres, Machine learning, Open and Accessible science , Remote Sensing

  • Duration of the project: 01/02/2023 - 01/05/2027
  • Budget: 999.895€
  • Coordinator: Vandaele Ann C. (IASB-BIRA)     
  • Promotors: Claes Sandy (LUCA), Frénay Benoït (UNamur), Sermeus Jan (KU Leuven)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation


Thematic and non-thematic projects (bottom-up) of the call 2020-2021

AHEAD - Towards the Development of a National Health Data Platform

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Health information system, National health database, Health surveys, Administrative data, Data linkages, Data warehouse

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020-15/03/2023
  • Budget: 283.080€
  • Coordinator: Devleesschauwer Brecht (Sciensano)
  • Promotors: -
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: Towards the Development of a National Health Data Platform (AHEAD)
    • Samenvatting: Towards the Development of a National Health Data Platform (AHEAD)
    • Résumé: Towards the Development of a National Health Data Platform (AHEAD)
    • Summary: Towards the Development of a National Health Data Platform (AHEAD)

  • Events
    • 06-10-2022 - Study day “Health information and policy"
      Belgium has a rich health information landscape, with valuable information from administrative sources (e.g., health care use, mortality and causes of death, social security) as well as population health surveys and surveillance systems. The Sciensano service Lifestyle and chronic diseases plays a central role in the Belgian health information system. The Service generates and valorises health information to quantify the state of health and health inequalities in Belgium and to support public health policy making. Via the AHEAD project, supported by Belspo, the Service aims to increase the visibility of the Belgian health information system and identify prevailing technical, legal and ethical bottlenecks. AHEAD explores the possibilities of integrating the data that exist within the Belgian health information system and facilitating its use for scientific exploitation and valorisation.
      More information...   - Presentations

  • Media
    • Healthy Data – an online citizen consultation on the reuse of health data
      AHEAD (“Towards the development of a National Health Data Platform”, a two-year project funded by Belspo) and the EU Joint Action TEHDAS (“Towards a European Health Data Space”) have launched the Healthy Data e-consultation on the reuse of health data for purposes beyond individual care, such as research and policy making. The online platform wants to stimulate engagement, reflection and exchange with and between citizens. Therefore, the e-consultation platform is made up of an interactive test, discussion boards, and supporting information. Citizens’ contributions will feed future recommendations concerning the awareness and involvement of citizens in the reuse of data and will be passed on to the European Commission. The e-consultation is organised by Sciensano (Belgium), the Health Data Hub (France) and the NHS Confederation (United Kingdom). The platform is available in Dutch, French and English, and accessible for all European citizens. Contributions can be made until 4 April 2022.
      You are kindly invited to discover and contribute to the Healthy Data e-consultation and to further disseminate the initiative among your network.

BeAM - Belgian Abstract Modernism in the Spotlight: technical art history research with a focus on synthetic organic pigments for improved dating and conservation

Thematic project
Keywords: Synthetic organic pigments, Non-invasive analyses, (Chemical) imaging, Paint degradation, Belgian Abstract Modernism, Anti-dating

  • Project description: 1/09/2021-1/12/2025
  • Budget: 876.534€
  • Coordinator: Saverwyns Steven (IRPA-KIK)
  • Promotors: Currie Christina (IRPA-KIK), Janssens Koen (UAntwerpen), Lynen Frederic (UGent), Servellón Sergio (FeliXart)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

BELTRANS - Intra-Belgian literary translations since 1970

Thematic project
Keywords: Belgian literature, Cultural identity and history, Translation, Reception, FAIR data, Policy

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 - 15/03/2025
  • Budget: 820.085€
  • Coordinator: Vandepontseele Sophie (KBR)
  • Promotors: Brems Elke (KU Leuven), Vanasten Stéphanie (UCLouvain)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

CAHN - Congo-Arab Heritage in Historical Narratives

Thematic project
Keywords: Congo-Arab history, Historical collections and archives, Colonial narratives, Eastern DRC, History Education, Participatory public outcome

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 - 15/03/2025
  • Budget: 820.826€
  • Coordinator: Arazi Noémi (MRAC-KMMA)
  • Promotors: Lierneux Pierre (WHI), Van Nieuwenhuyse Karel (KU Leuven)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

CAPTex - Towards a better appreciation of Central African Textile Masterpieces: understanding the craftwork and Preserving the collection of Textiles

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Textiles, Ethnographic, Conservation, Microscopy, Central Africa, Technology

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020-15/03/2023
  • Budget: 120.000€
  • Coordinator: Genbrugge Siska (MRAC-KMMA)
  • Promotors: Stoffelen Piet (APM)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: Towards a better appreciation of Central African Textile Masterpieces: understanding the craftwork and Preserving the collection of Textiles (CAPTex)
    • Samenvatting: Towards a better appreciation of Central African Textile Masterpieces: understanding the craftwork and Preserving the collection of Textiles (CAPTex)
    • Résumé: Towards a better appreciation of Central African Textile Masterpieces: understanding the craftwork and Preserving the collection of Textiles (CAPTex)
    • Summary: Towards a better appreciation of Central African Textile Masterpieces: understanding the craftwork and Preserving the collection of Textiles (CAPTex)

Climate2Preserv - Sustainable Climate Management Strategy to Preserve Federal Collections

Thematic project
Keywords: Preventive Conservation, Energy-Savings Strategies, Federal Scientific Institutions' collections, Sustainable Preservation, Optimal Indoor Climate, Museum Buildings

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020-15/03/2025
  • Budget: 833.538€
  • Coordinator: De Bruyn Estelle (IRPA-KIK)
  • Promotors: André Philippe (ULiège), Bauwens Geert (KU Leuven), Lousbergh Maarten (MRBAB-KMSKB), Pedersoli José Luiz (ICCROM)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

CLIMPACTH - Climate Impact on Built Heritage

Thematic project
Keywords: Built heritage, Climate modelling, Heritage climatology, Material characterisation, Hygrothermal modelling, Hyperspectral imaging

  • Duration of the project: 01/09/2021-01/12/2025
  • Budget: 957.363€
  • Coordinator: Hayen Roald (IRPA-KIK)
  • Promotors: De Kock Tim (UAntwerpen), Hamdi Rafiq (IRM-KMI), Scheunders Paul (UAntwerpen), Van Den Bossche Nathan (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

CONGOLINES - Inscribing Lines, Weaving Threads. Congolese Colonial Drawings and Paintings as Images and Objects

Thematic project
Keywords: (Im)Material Culture Studies, Mental Heritage, Congolese Art History

  • Duration of the project: 01/09/2021-01/12/2025
  • Budget: 1.103.906€
  • Coordinator: Ceuppens Godelieve Bambi (MRAC-KMMA)
  • Promotors: Van Bockhaven Vicky (UGent), Van Grieken Joris (KBR), Mumbembele Placide (UNIKIN)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

CUNE-IIIF-ORM - Towards an Internationally Interoperable Corpus of Cuneiform Tablets

Thematic project
Keywords: Ancient History, Cuneiform Tablets, Digital Humanities and Digital Cultural Heritage, Internat. Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF), Linked Open Data, Machine Learning

  • Duration of the project: 01/09/2021-01/12/2025
  • Budget: 957.037€
  • Coordinator: Angenon Els (MRAH - KMKG)
  • Promotors: De Graef Katrien (UGent), Hameeuw Hendrik (KU Leuven)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

FAIR-GNSS - Open data portal for European and Belgian GNSS reference station data collections, built upon FAIR guiding principles

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: GNSS, Open data portal, FAIR data, Digital Object Identifiers

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020-15/03/2023
  • Budget: 299.802€
  • Coordinator: Bruyninx Carine (ORB-KSB)
  • Promotors: Van Nieuwerburgh Inge (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Events
    • 11-10-2022 | Webinar "Putting the FAIR principles into practice"
      In the context of the BRAIN-be 2.0 FAIR-GNSS project funded by BELSPO, the Royal Observatory of Belgium together with open science experts at Ghent University, is organizing a  webinar  "Putting the FAIR principles into practice: the journey of a GNSS data repository".
      The goal of the webinar is to give a hands-on introduction to FAIR data principles and showcase a practical implementation.
      We will illustrate the use of available tools and metrics to assess the initial level of "FAIRness" of the data in our repositories as well as the steps and the issues we experienced in the process of applying FAIR principles to our data:
      - restructuring of the data repositories,
      - use of Persistent Identifiers for data (DOI for GNSS data),
      - proposals for metadata standards for GNSS data as FAIR digital objects
      As the focus is on the "journey" and on our experience as a team dealing with GNSS data in "putting FAIR data principles into practice", the webinar could be of interest to the GNSS community,  but potentially also to anyone struggling to apply FAIR data principles to their data/repositories.
      It's a free online webinar that will be held on October 11th 2022 (14:00-17:00 GMT+2). Registration is mandatory.
      More information and registration... 

FRIABLE - Valorisation and Preservation of friable medium on paper. Case Study on the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Thematic project
Keywords: Preventive Conservation, 19th/20th-century art, Friable Media on Paper, Collection Management, Risk Assessment, Technical Art History

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 - 15/03/2025
  • Budget: 896.555€
  • Coordinator: Rossi-Schrimpf Inga (MRBAB-KMSKB)
  • Promotors: Debry Laura ( IRPA-KIK), Van Geyts Estelle (La Cambre), Watteeuw Lieve (KU Leuven), Sauvage Leila (Rijksmuseum)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

Iguanodon 2.0 - Shepherding the "Belle Epoque" Bernissart Iguanodon collection into the 21st century

Thematic project
Keywords: Long-term preservation, Bernissart Iguanodons, Natural History collections

  • Duration of the project: 15/03/2021 – 15/03/2025
  • Budget: 794.488€
  • Coordinator: Godefroit Pascal (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • Promotors: Baele Jean-Marc (UMons), Claeys Philippe (VUB), Fischer Valentin (ULiège)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

IIHA - It Is Happening Again: Digital criminal justice archives as building blocks for the study of recidivism

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Historical records, Databases, Criminal justice, Criminal career, Recidivism

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 – 15/05/2023
  • Budget: 441.572€
  • Coordinator: Mine Benjamin (NICC-INCC)
  • Co-promotors: Maes Eric (NICC-INCC), Jeuniaux Patrick (NICC-INCC), Robert Luc (NICC-INCC)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: It Is Happening Again: Digital criminal justice archives as building blocks for the study of recidivism (IIHA)
    • Samenvatting: It Is Happening Again: Digital criminal justice archives as building blocks for the study of recidivism (IIHA)
    • Résumé: It Is Happening Again: Digital criminal justice archives as building blocks for the study of recidivism (IIHA)
    • Summary: It Is Happening Again: Digital criminal justice archives as building blocks for the study of recidivism (IIHA)
    • Onderzoeksrapporten - Rapport de recherche

InsectMOoD - Insect Museum Open -omic Database

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Museum collections, DNA bank, Museomics, Open-access, Decision map, Collection management

  • Duration of the project: 2 years
  • Budget: 154.784€
  • Coordinator: Virgilio Massimiliano (MRAC-KMMA)
  • Promotors: Vangestel Carl (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

OART - Open Access Radio Telescope

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Radio astronomy, Renovation, Education, Telescope

  • Duration of the project: 2 years
  • Budget: 349.197€
  • Coordinator: Marqué Christophe (ORB-KSB)
  • Promotors: -
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

ODANext - Oceanographic data acquisition: the next age

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Innovation, FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperab, Data acquisition, Data dissemination)

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 – 15/05/2023
  • Budget: 368.127€
  • Coordinator: Scory Serge (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • Promotors: -
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

OUTLAW - Outsiders and the Law. Uncovering Criminal Justice Trajectories in Nineteenth-Century Belgium

Thematic project
Keyword: Historical criminology, Public history, Digital history, Prison history, Social vulnerability

  • Duration of the project: 01/09/2021-01/12/2025
  • Budget: 597.249€
  • Coordinator: Drossens Paul (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: De Koster Margo (UGent), Vrints Antoon (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

PALc - Pre-screening of anthropogenic lime carbonates for 14C dating

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: AMS 14C dating, Anthropogenic lime carbonates, Mortar, Archaeometry, Polarized light microscopy, Cathodoluminescence

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020-15/03/2023
  • Budget: 174.300€
  • Coordinator: Boudin Mathieu (IRPA-KIK)
  • Promotors: Elsen Jan (KU Leuven)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

PARDONS - Topographies of Pardon Tales: Contextual Mapping of Pardon Letters in the Southern Low Countries, 15th 17th c.

Thematic project
Keywords: Pardon letters, Early modern history, Medieval history

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 – 15/03/2025
  • Budget: 860.445€
  • Coordinator: Put Eddy (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: Cools Hans (KU Leuven), Rousseaux Xavier (UCLouvain), Soen Violet (KU Leuven)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Media
    • YouTube: PARDONS - Gratiebrieven / Lettres de grâce
      Durant l’Ancien Régime, les personnes poursuivies pour des délits graves, et ayant reçu ou risquant une peine sévère, pouvaient demander grâce au souverain. Les Archives de l’État conservent des milliers de lettres de rémission que les souverains bourguignons et habsbourgeois ont accordées à leurs ressortissants. Cette collection constitue l'une des séries archivistiques les plus importantes des Temps Modernes conservées aux Archives de l’État, en raison de sa signification juridique, de la richesse des structures narratives et de la période exceptionnellement longue qu'elle couvre.
      Le projet PARDONS a pour objectif l’ouverture à la recherche, la valorisation et l’analyse scientifique de cette collection unique de lettres de grâce. L’équipe en charge du projet a fait appel à des bénévoles pour aider à la transcription et à l’ouverture à la recherche de cette volumineuse série. Après la numérisation, la description et la transcription de milliers de lettres de rémission, les archives numérisées et les transcriptions seront intégrées dans une base de données en ligne permettant d'accéder à ces sources fascinantes.

      Wie in het ancien régime voor een ernstig misdrijf werd vervolgd, een zware straf had gekregen of riskeerde, kon daarvoor gratie vragen aan de vorst. Het Rijksarchief bewaart duizenden pardonbrieven, die door de Bourgondische en Habsburgse vorsten aan hun onderdanen werden verleend. Deze verzameling behoort tot de meest prominente vroegmoderne archiefreeksen in het Rijksarchief, niet alleen omwille van haar juridische betekenis en de rijkdom van de narratieve structuren van deze archieven, maar ook omwille van de uitzonderlijk lange tijdspanne die ze bestrijkt.
      Het PARDONS-project zorgt voor de ontsluiting, de valorisatie en de wetenschappelijke studie van deze unieke collectie gratiebrieven. Daarvoor doet het onderzoeksteam een beroep op burgerwetenschappers, die meehelpen met de transcriptie en ontsluiting van deze omvangrijke bronnenreeks. Na digitalisering, beschrijving en transcriptie worden zowel de beelden van de bronnen als de transcripties gevaloriseerd op een website, die aan een breed publiek toegang verleent tot deze fascinerende bronnen.

PROMATECH - Production, Materials and Techniques of Copper Alloy Alms Basins in Northern Europe (15th - 17th centuries)

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Basin, Material culture, Chemical characterization, Technological history, Copper alloys

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 – 15/03/2023
  • Budget: 314.620€
  • Coordinator: Balace Sophie (MRAH-KMKG)
  • Promotors: Strivay David (ULiège)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo del Castillo Helena

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: Production, Materials and Techniques of Copper Alloy Alms Basins in Northern Europe (15th - 17th centuries) (PROMATECH)
    • Samenvatting: Production, Materials and Techniques of Copper Alloy Alms Basins in Northern Europe (15th - 17th centuries) (PROMATECH)
    • Résumé: Production, Materials and Techniques of Copper Alloy Alms Basins in Northern Europe (15th - 17th centuries) (PROMATECH)
    • Summary: Production, Materials and Techniques of Copper Alloy Alms Basins in Northern Europe (15th - 17th centuries) (PROMATECH)

SEISMOSTORM - Making Analog Seismograms FAIR to Enable Research

Thematic project
Keywords: Machine learning, Storm, Seismic noise, Seismology, Modeling, Climate

  • Duration of the project: 15/03/2021 – 15/03/2023
  • Budget: 409.850€
  • Coordinator: Lecocq Thomas (ORB-KSB)
  • Promotors: Debeir Olivier (ULB), Ardhuin Fabrice (UBO Brest), Hadziioannou Céline (Universität Hamburg)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

SmartwoodID - Smart classification of Congolese timbers: deep learning techniques for enforcing forest conservation

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Wood anatomy, Forest conservation, Deep learning, Timber trade, Congo Basin forests

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020 - 15/03/2025
  • Budget: 249.217€
  • Coordinator: Beeckman Hans (MRAC-KMMA)
  • Promotors: De Mil Tom (ULiège), Hubau Wannes (MRAC-KMMA), Van den Bulcke Jan (UGent), Verwaeren Jan (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

WOMENEXILE - Gendering Political Exile: Women's political migrations to Belgium (1918-1958)

Thematic project
Keywords: History, Women, Archives, Immigrants, Gender Studies

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2020- 15/03/2025
  • Budget: 512.514€
  • Coordinator: Amara Michaël (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: De Smaele Henk (UAntwerpen), Vanderpelen Cecile (ULB)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website [Dutch or French ]
  • Fedra
  • Events
    • 24.09.2024 - Colloque
      Activists in Exile. Gender, Political Commitment and Migration in the Twentieth Century

      Symposium organised in collaboration with the Forum for Belgian research on history of women, gender and sexuality (AVG-CARHIF) and the BRAIN project (Belspo) 'WomenExile: Gendering political exile in Belgium (1918-1958)'.
      The aim of this conference is to highlight recent developments in research on migrant activists, exploring the interactions between gender, political commitment and migration in the 20th century. Proposals may focus on women's involvement as well as on masculinities or gender relations in an activist context. How does gender influence militancy in migration? And how do political commitment and migration influence gender relations and the construction of femininity and masculinity?
      More information...


Thematic and non-thematic projects (bottom-up) of the call 2019

AFRISURGE - Transformative Heritage: politics, peacebuilding and digital restitution of cultural heritage in contemporary Northeast DRCongo

Thematic project
Keywords: Customary authority, Resurgence, Digital restitution, DRCongo

  • Duration of the project: 4 years
  • Budget: 851.314€
  • Coordinator: Vanhee Hein (MRAC-KMMA)       
  • Promotors: Titeca Kristof (UA), Van Bockhaven Vicky (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

ARTPRESSE - Intermedial study of Belgian art as a networked structured as seen through the lens of the mass media magazines in the interbellum years

Thematic project
Keywords: Belgium, Magazine, Art, Photography, Media

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2024
  • Budget: 712.514€
  • Coordinator: Lemmers Frédéric (KBR)   
  • Promotors: Baetens Jan (KU Leuven), Bawin Julie (ULiège), Delville Michel (ULiège)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Event
    • 29-04-2024 > 30-04-2024 | International conference
      Networks and Visual Seriality in Mass-Market Print Culture
      In April 2024, KBR and KU Leuven organise a joint event for the closing of the ARTPRESSE project. This project is a Brain-be 2.0 research project offering an intermedial study of Belgian art as a networked structure as seen through the lens of mass media magazines in the interbellum years. The conference is a collaboration collaboration between the ARTPRESSE projects and PopHeritage (Belspo/FED-tWIN), KBR and KULeuven.
      Covering a period that stretches from after the First World War to the 1960s, this conference invites for new perspectives on European popular serial culture in print, its diverse forms and its media networks in the 20th century, as well as on the archival and curatorial approaches to this type of print heritage.
      This conference proposes to approach this miscellaneous array through the prism of two interrelated concepts – networks and seriality – that describe and capture relationships, connections, and dialogues amidst the vibrant diversity of mass-market print culture. Taken together, defined in an open and encompassing way, these two concepts are opening new avenues for research into periodical cultures.
      Location: Royal Library of Belgium & KU Leuven
      More information...

  • Media
    • 07-12-2021 - Persbericht
      KBR zet robots in bij het digitaliseren van boeken en tijdschriften
      KBR zal dankzij de aankoop van drie geautomatiseerde scanners haar online aanbod met maar liefst 15.000 pagina’s per dag, of 3.000.000 pagina’s per jaar, kunnen uitbreiden. Het gaat specifiek om Belgische boeken en tijdschriften uit de 19de en de 20ste eeuw. Met deze toestellen kunnen ze sneller worden gedigitaliseerd en dus online toegankelijk gemaakt.
    • 07-12-2021 - Communiqué de presse
      KBR introduit la robotisation dans sa chaîne de numérisation de livres et de périodiques
      L’achat de trois scanners automatiques va permettre à KBR d’accélérer l’enrichissement de son offre en ligne à hauteur de 15.000 pages par jour, soit 3.000.000 de pages par an. Grâce à ces équipements spécifiques, les collections de livres et de périodiques belges des XIXe et XXe siècles pourront être numérisées plus rapidement et ainsi rendues disponibles en ligne.

BCCM GEN-ERA - BCCM collections in the genomic era

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Culture collection, Microorganisms, Genomics , High-Throughput Sequencing, Bioinformatics

  • Duration of the project: 15/03/2020 – 15/03/2022
  • Budget: 297.545€
  • Coordinator: Becker Pierre (Sciensano)
  • Promotors: Baurain Denis (ULiège), Declerck Stephan (UCLouvain), Rigouts Leen (ITG), Vandamme Peter (UGent), Wilmotte Annick (ULiège)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

BePAPER - Belgian Art on Paper in a European Perspective. 1918-1950

Thematic project
Keywords: Art on paper, Avant-garde studies, Museum collection, Networks and dissemination, Open data, Art and cultural history

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2024
  • Budget: 650.798€
  • Coordinator: Rossi-Schrimpf Inga (MRBAB-KMSKB)
  • Promotors: Bru Sascha (KU Leuven), Draguet Michel (ULB), Truyen Frederik (KU Leuven)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Event
    • Symposium
      Avant-Garde Art on Paper in Europe, 1905-1950

      As part of the research project BePAPER, The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, in collaboration with the University of Leuven and the Université Libre de Bruxelles, are organizing an international symposium on the role of paper in European avant-garde art during the first half of the 20th century.
      The symposium will take place from March 23rd to March 25th 2022.
      More information and registration

BESOCIAL - BESOCIAL: towards a sustainable social media archiving strategy for Belgium

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Social Media, Web Archiving, Preservation, Digital collections, Digital humanities, Belgian newspapers

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2022
  • Budget: 441.750€
  • Coordinator: Vandepontseele Sophie (KBR)
  • Promotors: Mechant Peter (UGent), Michaux Benoit (UNamur), Watrin Patrick (UCLouvain)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Report WP1 : an international review of Social Media Archiving initiatives
    • Final Report: BESOCIAL: towards a sustainable social media archiving strategy for Belgium
    • Samenvatting: BESOCIAL: towards a sustainable social media archiving strategy for Belgium
    • Résumé: BESOCIAL: towards a sustainable social media archiving strategy for Belgium
    • Summary: BESOCIAL: towards a sustainable social media archiving strategy for Belgium

  • Events
  • Media
    • 27-10-2021 - Quels médias sociaux devraient être conservés par KBR?
      KBR fait appel à vous via un crowdsourcing ayant pour but d’archiver le contenu des médias sociaux belges. Quels comptes et hashtags mériteraient d’être archivés ? #moulesfrites ou #doureuuuh ? @foirelivrebxl ou @fetesdewallonie? Vous pouvez envoyer vos suggestions via www.kbr.be/fr/socialmedia .
      En tant que bibliothèque nationale, KBR conserve et gère une collection de plus de 8 millions de documents. Si la plupart de ces documents sont “physiques”, elle conserve également une importante collection de documents numériques. En plus de digitaliser ses collections patrimoniales, KBR possède également des publications “nées numériques” comme les e-books, les e-journaux et les bases de données.
      Mais qu’en est-il du patrimoine national en ligne ? Il existe plusieurs initiatives d’archivage des médias sociaux et du web en Belgique comme, par exemple, les bonnes pratiques d’archivage des médias sociaux en Flandre et à Bruxelles. Toutefois, une part considérable du web belge n’est pas encore conservée alors qu’internet et les médias sociaux font partie intégrante de notre vie quotidienne depuis plusieurs années.
      Le projet BESOCIAL de KBR a pour objectif la mise en place d’une stratégie durable d’archivage et de préservation des médias sociaux en Belgique. De plus, KBR élabore également une politique d’archivage des sites web et devrait pouvoir entamer en 2024 l’archivage systématique d’une partie du web belge.
      En savoir plus...
    • 27-10-2021 - Welke sociale media moeten volgens u worden bewaard?
      KBR start een crowdsourcing-actie om Belgische sociale media-inhoud te archiveren. Welke accounts en hashtags verdienen het om gearchiveerd te worden? #biefstukfriet of #donderdagveggiedag? @pukkelpop of @RockWerchter? Iedereen mag suggesties inzenden via www.kbr.be/nl/socialmedia .
      Als nationale bibliotheek bewaart en beheert KBR een collectie van 8 miljoen documenten. De overgrote meerderheid daarvan zijn ‘fysieke’ documenten, maar de instelling bewaart ook een grote collectie digitale documenten. We digitaliseren onze erfgoedcollecties, maar bieden ook digital-born publicaties zoals e-books, e-journals en databanken aan.
      Maar wat met het nationale erfgoed op het web? Er bestaan een aantal web- en sociale media- archiveringsinitiatieven in België, zoals goede praktijken voor de archivering van sociale media in Vlaanderen en Brussel, maar een groot deel van het Belgische web wordt niet bewaard. Nochtans maken het web en de sociale media al jaren deel uit van ons dagelijks leven.
      Het BESOCIAL-project van KBR ontwikkelt daarom een duurzame strategie voor het archiveren en bewaren van sociale media op federaal niveau. Daarnaast werkt KBR aan een beleid voor het archiveren van websites en zou ze in 2024 starten met het systematisch archiveren van een deel van het Belgische web.
      Lees meer...

CT-CEPH - A fresh look at Devonian, Early Carboniferous and Latest Cretaceous to Paleogene nautilid cephalopods from Belgium: major steps in nautilus evolution revealed by micro-CT and nano-CT scanning of RBINS-RMCA type collections

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Type collections, µCT, Evolution, Digitisation efforts, Cephalopoda

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2024
  • Budget: 170.898€
  • Coordinator: Mottequin Bernard (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • Promotors: Goolaerts Stijn (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

DATA-KBR-BE - Facilitating Data-level Access to KBR Collections for Open Science

Thematic project
Keywords: Open Science, Data Management, Digital Humanities, Contemporary Belgian History and Cultural Life, Digital Text Analysis, Digital Cultural Heritage

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/3/2022
  • Budget: 498.976€
  • Coordinator: Lemmens Frederic (KBR)
  • Promotors: Van Hulle Dirk (UA), Verbruggen Christophe (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

DeepSun - Interconnection and valorisation of long-term solar datasets via deep learning

Thematic project
Keywords: Digital heritage, Deep learning, Solar activity, Astronomical databases, Open access

  • Duration of the project: 4 years
  • Budget: 556.847€
  • Coordinator: Delouille Veronique (ORB-KSB)
  • Promotors: De Vleeschouwer Christophe (UCLouvain)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

DIGICOLJUST - Colonial Violence, Subaltern Agency and Shared Archival Heritage: A Digital Platform of Colonial Judiciary Sources

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Colonial History, Military Justice, Belgian Congo, Shared Heritage, Colonial Violence

  • Duration of the project: 2 years
  • Budget: 314.902€
  • Coordinator: Tallier Pierre-Alain (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: Henriet Benoit (VUB), Lagrou Pieter (ULB), Lauro Amandine (ULB)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: Colonial Violence, Subaltern Agency and Shared Archival Heritage: A Digital Platform of Colonial Judiciary Sources (DIGICOLJUST)
    • Samenvatting: Colonial Violence, Subaltern Agency and Shared Archival Heritage: A Digital Platform of Colonial Judiciary Sources (DIGICOLJUST)
    • Résumé: Colonial Violence, Subaltern Agency and Shared Archival Heritage: A Digital Platform of Colonial Judiciary Sources (DIGICOLJUST)
    • Summary: Colonial Violence, Subaltern Agency and Shared Archival Heritage: A Digital Platform of Colonial Judiciary Sources (DIGICOLJUST)

HOME - Human Remains Origin(s) Multidisciplinary Evaluation

Thematic project
Keywords: Human Remains, Legal & Ethic, Colonization , History, Repatriation, Anthropology

  • Duration of the project: 2 years
  • Budget: 880.940€
  • Coordinator: Semal Patrick (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • Promotors: Couttenier Maarten (MRAC-KMMA), de Broux Pierre-Olivier (USL-B), Delvaux Luc (MRAH-KMKG), Desmyter Stijn (NICC-INCC), Louryan Stéphane (ULB)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

ICHIE - Interconnectivity of large Carnivores, Humans and Ice Age Environments

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Late Pleistocene, Stable-isotope analyses, Large carnivores including domesticated dogs, Climatic fluctuations, Neanderthals and Upper Palaeolithic Modern Humans, Extinctions

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2022
  • Budget: 179.816€
  • Coordinator: Germonpré Mietje (IRSNB-KBIN)
  • Promotors: Boudin Mathieu (IRPA-KIK)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: Interconnectivity of large Carnivores, Humans and Ice Age Environments (ICHIE)

  • Media
    • The large predators of the Ice Age
      Meet Elodie-Laure Jimenez (RBINS - University of Aberdeen). As a zooarchaeologist, her job is to study prehistoric predators and their life during the last Ice Age. The only way to understand what happened to these extinct species is to study the fossils that have survived the test of time. In Belgium, this led Elodie-Laure to identify a den where hundreds of baby cave hyenas died shortly after birth. Find out more about her fascinating research in the video .

LORD - Lordship and State Formation in the County of Flanders, 15th – 18th C.

Thematic project
Keywords: State formation, Seigneurie, Archives, Legislation, Taxation, Lordship

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2024
  • Budget: 698.515€
  • Coordinator: Verfaillie Joke (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: Buylaert Frederik (UGent), Lambrecht Thijs (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

NaPol-Intel - Nationalizing Police Intelligence in Belgium (1918-1961): Democratization Processes and Bureaucratic Knowledge Practices

Thematic project
Keywords: History, Belgium, Archives, Police, Intelligence, Bureaucratization

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 – 15/03/2024
  • Budget: 602.732€
  • Coordinator: Amara Michaël (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: De Koster Margo (UGent), Rousseaux Xavier (UCLouvain)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

POSTWAREX - The ultimate punishment: military justice and the executions of death penalties for collaborators after the Second World War in Belgium (1944-1950)

Thematic project
Keywords: Legal history, Penal law, Social history, Archives of the military justice system

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2022
  • Budget: 293.351€
  • Coordinator: Luyten Dirk (AGR-ARA)
  • Promotors: Horvat Stanislas (ERM-KMS)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Jamart Georges

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: The ultimate punishment: military justice and the executions of death penalties for collaborators after the Second World War in Belgium (1944-1950) (POSTWAREX)

  • Event
    • 29-11-2023 - Conference-debate
      The last 242 executions in Belgium: military justice and executions as part of the repression of collaboration after World War II.

      CegeSoma Public History Meeting (2023-8)
      Conference-debate (in French and in Dutch) with guests, Élise Rezsöhazy, Dimitri Roden, Stanislas Horvat and Dirk Luyten
      After World War Two, in Belgium, 242 collaborators and war criminals condemned to death were shot. Not only were these executions the most severe punishment for the crimes of collaboration, they are also engraved in the collective memory because of their considerable social and symbolic impact. However, there are still many myths and misconceptions about these executions. The BELSPO-BRAIN 2.0 Postwarex project, developed in cooperation between CegeSoma and the Royal Military Academy, examined these executions from the point of view of military justice, which played a central role both in the process leading up to them and in the executions themselves. For the first time, Postwarex researchers had access to the entire military justice archive. They were able not only to draw up a detailed profile of the 242 people executed, but also to reconstruct in detail the executions and the decision-making process. The results of this research are now available in Dutch and French in two new publications: De Laatste 242/Les dernières 242 exécutions en Belgique, published by Lannoo and Racine.
      During a bilingual Public History conference and debate organized by CegeSoma and the non-profit organization 'Les Amis du CegeSoma/De Vrienden van het CegeSoma' on Wednesday 29 November 2023 (4.30 - 6.00 pm), the four authors will develop the final results of their research, some partial aspects of which they have already highlighted at the closing conference of the Postwarex project in May 2022. This will also be an opportunity to debate with the authors about these executions and their significance for repression and for the long-term history of Belgian justice.
      Read more...

  • Media
    • Publication: Les 242 dernières exécutions en Belgique
      Les séquelles de la collaboration 1944-1950
      Élise Rezsöhazy - Dimitri Roden - Stanislas Horvat - Dirk Luyten
      Éclairage nouveau sur l'exécution de 242 collaborateurs après la Seconde Guerre mondiale
      À l'issue de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, 242 collaborateurs et criminels de guerre condamnés à mort sont exécutés en Belgique. Parmi eux figurent notamment les célèbres Irma Laplasse et Philipp Schmitt, ancien commandant du camp de Breendonk et dernier condamné exécuté en Belgique, le 9 août 1950. Les exécutions sont gravées dans la mémoire collective de la répression. Les retombées sociétales et symboliques en sont profondes. Les fausses idées sur ces exécutions sont pourtant, ou justement, nombreuses sur le sujet.
      Cet ouvrage ouvre pour la première fois l'intégralité des archives de la justice militaire, acteur essentiel dans ces événements. Quatre historiens de la guerre et du droit présentent des dossiers individuels et dévoilent le rôle des différents maillons de la chaîne décisionnelle. Qui est condamné à mort et pour quels faits ? Quelles luttes de pouvoir ont lieu entre les différents acteurs ? Comment sont accordées les grâces et comment procède-t-on à l'exécution des peines ? Quel est le rôle des exécutions dans la liquidation de la guerre et de l'occupation ?
      « Au moyen des sources consultées, nous vérifions l'image bien ancrée de l'idéaliste flamand qui aurait été proportionnellement plus sévèrement puni pour sa collaboration que le collaborateur francophone. Et qu'en est-il de l'idée qu'une partie au moins des condamnés à mort ne l'ont été que pour des infractions relativement mineures ? Le portrait de groupe des exécutés permet d'opérer une distinction entre la réalité et le mythe. »

      En savoir plus...
      Publicatie: De laatste 242
      De terechtstelling van collaborateurs na de Tweede Wereldoorlog
      Élise Rezsöhazy - Dimitri Roden - Stanislas Horvat - Dirk Luyten
      Indringende reconstructie van de terechtstelling van collaborateurs na WO II
      Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog werden in België 242 ter dood veroordeelde collaborateurs en oorlogsmisdadigers gefusilleerd. Onder hen ook de bekende Irma Laplasse en voormalig kampcommandant van Breendonk Philipp Schmitt, die op 9 augustus 1950 als laatste de kogel kreeg. De executies staan in het collectieve geheugen van de repressie gegrift. De maatschappelijke en symbolische weerslag was groot. En toch, of net daarom, zijn er veel misvattingen over deze terechtstellingen. Dit boek opent voor het eerst het volledige archief van het militair gerecht, de centrale speler in het verhaal. Vier oorlogs- en rechtshistorici presenteren individuele cases en leggen de rol van diverse schakels in de besluitvorming bloot. Wie kreeg de doodstraf en voor welke feiten? Vochten de verschillende beleidsmakers om de macht? Hoe verliepen de genadeverlening en de strafuitvoering? Welke rol vervulden de executies in de afhandeling van de oorlog en de bezetting? 'Klopt het dat de Vlaamse idealist verhoudingsgewijs harder bestraft is dan de Franstalige collaborateur? En zijn er inderdaad mensen voor relatief lichte misdrijven tot de doodstraf veroordeeld? Dankzij het groepsportret van de gefusilleerden kunnen we nu een onderscheid maken tussen werkelijkheid en mythe.'

      Lees meer...

RETROPOLLEN - Reconstructing four decades of spatio-temporal airborne pollen levels for Belgium to assess the health impact

Thematic project
Keywords: Pollen, Surface air pollution, Chemistry Transport Model, Health, Pollinosis

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2024
  • Budget: 830.894€
  • Coordinator: Delcloo Andy (IRM-KMI)
  • Promotors: De Guchtenaere Ann (Zeeprev), Hendrickx Marijke (Sciensano), Hutsemékers Virginie (CELINE-IRCEL), Michils Alain (ULB), Nawrot Tim (UHasselt)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

SURA - Unlocking the Photographic Archives of the Pioneering Years of Egyptology at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels

Thematic project
Keywords: Historical pre-digital photos, Egyptology, Archaeology, Valorisation of unexplored heritage, Metadata, Digital imaging

  • Duration of the project: 2 years
  • Budget: 297.567€
  • Coordinator: Claes Wouter (MRAH-KMKG)
  • Promotors: De Meyer Marleen (KU Leuven)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

TOCOWO - In support of the international travel of ethnographic collections: Identification of wood on Congolese objects using micro- an sub micron Tomography

Non-thematic project (bottom-up)
Keywords: Wood anatomy, African artefacts, Conservation, Travelling exhibitions, Micro-CT and sub-micron CT, CITES

  • Duration of the project: 15/12/2019 - 15/03/2022
  • Budget: 218.732€
  • Coordinator: Genbrugge Siska (MRAC-KMMA)
  • Promotors: Beeckman Hans (MRAC-KMMA), Van den Bulcke Jan (UGent)
  • BELSPO programme manager: Calvo Del Castillo Helena

Documentation

  • Project description
  • Project website: MRAC-KMMA - UGent
  • Fedra

  • Reports
    • Final Report: TOCOWO (TOmography of COngolese Wooden Objects) In support of the international travel of ethnographic collections: Identification of wood on Congolese objects using micro and sub micron Tomography
    • Samenvatting: TOCOWO (TOmography of COngolese Wooden Objects) In support of the international travel of ethnographic collections: Identification of wood on Congolese objects using micro and sub micron Tomography
    • Résumé: TOCOWO (TOmography of COngolese Wooden Objects) In support of the international travel of ethnographic collections: Identification of wood on Congolese objects using micro and sub micron Tomography
    • Summary: TOCOWO (TOmography of COngolese Wooden Objects) In support of the international travel of ethnographic collections: Identification of wood on Congolese objects using micro and sub micron Tomography