Europeana 1914-1918
In 2011, Europeana invited Europe’s citizens and cultural institutions to tell the story of WW1 in a new way by helping to build an online resource, the digital collection Europeana 1914-1918.
Since then nearly 15,000 citizens from 24 countries have digitised and shared around 200,000 objects - from letters and diaries, to life-saving bibles and toys carved in trenches - to help tell their family stories. Stories that shine a light on the shared human experience of the conflict, the telling of which has brought people together across borders and generations.
As Europeana 1914-1918 has grown, so has the potential for how the collection can be shared and used.
Europeana Transcribathon
Europeana Transcribathon 1914-1918 builds on the crowdsourcing trend for volunteers to transcribe large numbers of historical documents with the help of a specially designed online tool. The initiative aims to create a fully accessible record of the unique unpublished stories found in Europeana 1914-1918.
8 Transcribathon events and 7 online runs have taken place across Europe, with more than 23,000 documents having been, or currently being, transcribed by over 1,700 volunteers. In 2018 the Europeana 1914-1918 Transcribathon Centenary Tour has so far brought events to Warsaw, Athens and Rome (with Nicosia to come) as part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage.
A very special event
We’ve teamed up with the House of European History to showcase these projects and mark the centenary of the end of the First World War - the huge historical and cultural influence of which inspired their creation. With a variety of events taking place, we invite anyone involved with Europeana 1914-1918, its Transcribathon challenges or with an interest in the First World War to come and join us. You will be able to learn more about the history of the war and how people across Europe remember it.
You can do so by visiting the House of European History’s gallery on WWI history in their permanent exhibition, showing the European and global dimensions of the first industrialised mass war. There will also be an exclusive display curated especially for the event, including both Europeana 1914-1918 campaign objects and artefacts from the House of European History collection. The exhibitions are free for anyone to attend and you do not need to book tickets.
We have also organised two roundtable discussions on the transnational legacy, memory and representation on the web of World War One. At these events you will be able to hear from and ask questions of experts from a wide range of fields, from memory organisations to academia.
Join us on the afternoon and evening of Wednesday 28 November for the closing ceremony during which you can discover how Europeana 1914-1918 inspires creativity with the opportunity to experience 11-11: Memories Retold, a brand new video game based on real events and stories collected in Europeana 1914-1918. You will hear from Commissioner Mariya Gabriel on why cultural heritage is important to the digital transformation of Europe’s society and economies, and we’d love for you to join us at our closing party drinks reception.
Tickets for the roundtables and the closing event are free, but due to limited space you will need to reserve your place.