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Belgicaweb

BelgicaWeb aims to make born-digital heritage of Belgium accessible and FAIR.

Born-digital heritage is digitally created and has no analogue equivalent. Rapidly changing technology makes this type of heritage especially vulnerable. BelgicaWeb is a BRAIN 2.0 project funded by BELSPO. BelgicaWeb aims to make Belgium’s born-digital heritage accessible and FAIR, i.e. Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. We want to do this by developing a user-friendly access platform and an API that enables access at data level.

Objectives

  1. investigate how to provide sustainable access to born-digital collections,
  2. develop the necessary data infrastructure to access such collections,
  3. enrich the (meta-)data,
  4. analyse the relevant legal frameworks and
  5. promote Belgium’s born-digital heritage.

Project phases and duration

The BelgicaWeb project started in April 2024 and is scheduled to end in April 2026. During these two years, we will work on, among other things:

  1. Creating collections of born-digital data using tools for archiving web and social media content.
  2. Developing the API and access platform in two phases: a pilot and a final phase.
  3. Indexing and enriching data by using digital methods such as Linked Data and Natural Language Processing.
  4. An analysis of the legal frameworks related to data sharing, text and data mining, data protection and privacy rights, freedom of expression and the impact of the proposed European regulation on artificial intelligence.

Reference group of experts


Within the project, a reference group of experts will provide iterative input on the selection, development of the API and access platform, data enrichment and quality control and usability.

Survey on User Requirements for the Platform and API


In 2024, we conducted a survey on user requirements for accessing a platform and API for archived web content. The goal of the BelgicaWeb project is indeed to make Belgium’s digital heritage accessible and FAIR – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.


The survey gathered input from both researchers and the general public about their expectations regarding features such as search results, the functionalities of the interface, API functionalities, and content enrichment. The responses were analyzed and prioritized (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have). Suggestions collected during a workshop at the RESAW conference were also included.

TO THE RESULTS of the survey

You can find the full research report here.

Project partners


The BelgicaWeb project brings together partners with different expertise.

CRIDS from University of Namur will provide expertise on the relevant legal issues.

IDLab, GhentCDH and MICT of Ghent University will work on data enrichment, user engagement and evaluation and outreach to the research community, respectively.

KBR acts as project coordinator and will work on the development of the access platform and API and data enrichment.


The project partners have already gained experience with web and social media archiving in the previous BELSPO supported KBR coordinated projects of PROMISE and BESOCIAL, which is an additional asset for this project.

Want to know more?

Friedel Geeraert (Coordinator) – sevrqry.trrenreg@xoe.or

Christina Vandendyck (Developer) – puevfgvan.inaqraqlpx@xoe.or