Project Duration: 01.11.2022 – 30.10.2026
Donor: Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web
Lead Partner: Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory of the University of Belgrade
IFDT Research Team:
Project coordinator – Irena Molnar
Coordinators of Archive of Engaged Thought: Milivoj Bešlin, Balša Delibašić
Colaborators: Petar Žarković, Stefan Gužvica, Pavle Antonijević
Coordinators of Holocaust Archive: Jelena Guga, Milovan Pisarri
Colaborators: Maša Seničić, Stefan Radojković, Siniša Vulić
Coordinators of The Kosancicev venac Decentralized Library of Suppressed Heritage: Smiljana Antonijević, Sanja Iguman
Colaborators: Marta Nešković, Miloš Ničić, Jelena Novaković
In the period of 3 years, from November 2022 to October 2025, IFDT is implementing the project “Distributed Archiving at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (IFDT)” Funded by Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web, the project aims to collect, digitize, preserve, interpret, and distribute information related to cultural heritage that various political and cultural authorities have treated as “undesirable” or “unworthy” of support.
Additional goal is to build organizational and technical infrastructure at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (IFDT) and work with the Filecoin community to demonstrate the importance of libraries and archives that cannot be burned or destroyed at the order of a government or a single individual.
We have mapped several components of our work:
1. The digitization component that will include creating digital representations of existing and vanished cultural artifacts by converting text, images, sounds, and moving images into a digital form through:
- updating the IFDT’s scanning capabilities;
- digitizing materials in the Archive of Engaged Thought with the materials of scholars and politicians who made a lasting impact on the history of Southeast Europe (SEE);
- digitizing the Holocaust materials related to three Nazi concentration camps;
- developing the Kosancicev venac Decentralized Library of Suppressed Heritage that enables users to re-experience the library destroyed in 1941, access materials digitized by IFDT, and contribute their own materials through a mobile AR/VR application;
- supporting additional IFDT and related GLAM institutions’ digitization efforts.
2. The preservation component will result in adding digitized cultural heritage materials to the Filecoin and the IFDT networks/storage.
3. The access and sharing component will involve multiple efforts that will evolve over the grant term; specifically: ·
- making digitized materials and the AR/VR application available under open access licenses;
- organizing expert conference(s) and meetings;
- writing and presenting papers on the project work;
- collaborating with the relevant initiatives on suppressed SEE cultural heritage.