Yes, you read it correctly; we are having our first in-person meeting! As the name suggests, the DH Virtual Discussion Group for ECRs in Belgium is usually a virtual event. We meet on a monthly basis during the academic year to keep up-to-date on all that is happening in our Belgian DH community and beyond and to hear about our members’ DH projects. The virtual format was a necessity when the group formed at the start of the pandemic, and it has worked well to fulfill the objective of bringing together people who are interested in DH from institutions all over Belgium. While we certainly intend to continue the virtual format, we are excited to organize our first in-person event this May (Monday 22/5, 13h30-15h30, Hoek 38, Brussels)!
This meeting of the Discussion Group will also be our special DH Benelux session. Each year we organize a special session a week or two before the annual DH Benelux conference. During this session, members of our community who will be contributing to DH Benelux (in the form of a paper, poster, or demo) are invited to give an elevator pitch of their contribution. The format of this session holds many benefits for all who present and who attend:
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- It gives first-time presenters the opportunity to pitch their conference contribution in an informal setting and to work out some of the pre-conference nerves. Similarly, it provides all of our community members the opportunity to support our early career researchers and to encourage them as they pass this first milestone.
- It allows our members to learn about what kind of DH work is happening in our community. We typically hear from one member of our community during each monthly session, but there is not enough time and space to hear from all our members in a more detailed presentation. The elevator pitch format is perfect for this because we can hear from many people in a short amount of time!
- It gives insight into what to expect at a DH conference, and more specifically, what to expect at DH Benelux.
- It promotes and supports the broader DH Benelux community, which is a tight-knit group of encouraging and inspiring people.
- It provides inspiration and promotes further engagement within our community. With a large number of elevator pitches, the chance is greater that mutual research interests will become apparent.
We welcome attendance from anyone based at a Belgian institution (including Universities, Hogeschools, and GLAM institutions) with an interest in Digital Humanities! If this session sounds like something you would like to attend, please see below for the practical details and the link to register:
What: Special DH Benelux Session of the DH VDG
Where: Room 1.01 Gogotte, Hoek 38, Leuvenseweg 38, Brussels (location is within walking distance from the central station)
When: 13h30-15h30
Registration: open until 11/5 via OneButton
There will be cookies, coffee, tea, and water available during the session. Anyone who would like is welcome to go for a social drink at a nearby cafe together after the session. The session is free to attend, but registration is required. Registration will close on 11 May, so make sure to let us know soon if you will be joining us!
Have you been accepted to present a poster, paper, or demo at DH Benelux this year? Congratulations! We would love to have you do an elevator pitch during our meeting (timing will depend on how many people will present, but you can expect to have 3-4 minutes and a maximum of one PPT slide if desired). Please get in touch ASAP so we can get you on the schedule! You can email leah.budke@kuleuven.be to be added to the program.
While we really hope this event will have a large in-person attendance, we also realize that scheduling conflicts might prevent some of our members from being able to travel to Brussels for this event. If you would like to listen to the presentations or present your DH Benelux contribution virtually, that option is also possible. The MS Teams link for virtual access will be circulated to the mailing list the morning of the event. If you would like to present virtually, please let us know this when you contact us to be added to the program.
We hope to see you in Brussels on 22 May!
