Periodic Reporting for period 2 - VAST (Values across Space and Time)
Reporting period: 2021-12-01 to 2023-11-30
“I didn’t say yes. I can say no to anything I say vile, and I don’t have to count the cost. But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all your crown and your trappings, and your guards—all that you can do is to have me killed.”
-Sophocles, Antigone
Thus speaks Antigone and draws the lines of battle: The Laws of God pitted against the Decrees of Man; Familial Obligation against State Authority; Woman’s Self-Determination against Male Dominance; Duty against Mortality. How many times have women and men not reanimated these ancient battlefields of values, always with some bard standing ready to immortalise them, in verse and song? And at the heart of all this stand the most basic of questions: What values encode our communities? How do these values define one’s self? It is the answers given to these questions through the medium of mythos, in its many diverse forms, that we sought to explore in the VAST project.
Why do values matter? Values define who we are. Values are the trails of our common legacy, our collective memory, the way we think about ourselves and the others. Values are historically dynamic, they travel through material culture (artefacts, books, scientific instruments etc.), they are appropriated in different places and times by different people, and they re-emerge in new cultural forms, whether tangible or intangible.
VAST has brought (moral) values to the forefront of advanced digitisation. The project has traced and inter-linked: a) values of the past through the analysis of collections of narratives, such as theatrical plays, fairy tales, and scientific documents, that come from different places and from significant moments of European history (Greek drama, 17th century Scientific Revolution texts, folktales); b) values of the present through the collection and digitision of how values are conveyed today and of how the audiences experience and perceive the communicated values.
An emphasis has been placed in those core European values considered fundamental for the formation of sustainable communities and enabling citizens to live well together, such as freedom, democracy, equality, tolerance, dialogue, human dignity, the rule of law.
The VAST project: Values Across Space and Time
VAST has managed to a) research existing collections of intangible assets and trace and inter-link the values emerging from them; b) expose audiences to moral values, collect and digitise their appropriations; and c) collect and digitise the experiences of those in charge of communicating values, especially through arts (focusing on theatre), folklore preservation (focusing on folktale storytelling), science (focusing on how science is communicated through museums) and education (focusing on museum educational programs).
VAST Core Objectives
• Study values across space and time: VAST scholars have annotated narratives with values and further consolidated, through its platform, digital assets such as texts, and images, enabling the study of how values have been transformed from antiquity to early modernity.
• A semantic graph over artefacts: An integrating conceptual schema has been designed, modelling contexts, interpretations, associations, historical-scale events and values, semantic relations among artefacts, stories and other types of narratives.
• Continuous digitisation of intangible content: VAST methods and tools have allowed the continuous digitisation of the experiences and stories of artists, professionals involved in the curation and communication of values , as well as of the audiences.
• Support Museums, Arts and Creative Industries, through the material that is annotated/digitised, and the new knowledge created, with values and stories being at the centre of the digitisation procedure. The digitised material and the methods, produced during VAST, allows Museums, the Arts and Creative Industries to enhance the inclusivity of their offerings and broaden their target audiences by systematically studying and understanding the values of stories and people.
-Sophocles, Antigone
Thus speaks Antigone and draws the lines of battle: The Laws of God pitted against the Decrees of Man; Familial Obligation against State Authority; Woman’s Self-Determination against Male Dominance; Duty against Mortality. How many times have women and men not reanimated these ancient battlefields of values, always with some bard standing ready to immortalise them, in verse and song? And at the heart of all this stand the most basic of questions: What values encode our communities? How do these values define one’s self? It is the answers given to these questions through the medium of mythos, in its many diverse forms, that we sought to explore in the VAST project.
Why do values matter? Values define who we are. Values are the trails of our common legacy, our collective memory, the way we think about ourselves and the others. Values are historically dynamic, they travel through material culture (artefacts, books, scientific instruments etc.), they are appropriated in different places and times by different people, and they re-emerge in new cultural forms, whether tangible or intangible.
VAST has brought (moral) values to the forefront of advanced digitisation. The project has traced and inter-linked: a) values of the past through the analysis of collections of narratives, such as theatrical plays, fairy tales, and scientific documents, that come from different places and from significant moments of European history (Greek drama, 17th century Scientific Revolution texts, folktales); b) values of the present through the collection and digitision of how values are conveyed today and of how the audiences experience and perceive the communicated values.
An emphasis has been placed in those core European values considered fundamental for the formation of sustainable communities and enabling citizens to live well together, such as freedom, democracy, equality, tolerance, dialogue, human dignity, the rule of law.
The VAST project: Values Across Space and Time
VAST has managed to a) research existing collections of intangible assets and trace and inter-link the values emerging from them; b) expose audiences to moral values, collect and digitise their appropriations; and c) collect and digitise the experiences of those in charge of communicating values, especially through arts (focusing on theatre), folklore preservation (focusing on folktale storytelling), science (focusing on how science is communicated through museums) and education (focusing on museum educational programs).
VAST Core Objectives
• Study values across space and time: VAST scholars have annotated narratives with values and further consolidated, through its platform, digital assets such as texts, and images, enabling the study of how values have been transformed from antiquity to early modernity.
• A semantic graph over artefacts: An integrating conceptual schema has been designed, modelling contexts, interpretations, associations, historical-scale events and values, semantic relations among artefacts, stories and other types of narratives.
• Continuous digitisation of intangible content: VAST methods and tools have allowed the continuous digitisation of the experiences and stories of artists, professionals involved in the curation and communication of values , as well as of the audiences.
• Support Museums, Arts and Creative Industries, through the material that is annotated/digitised, and the new knowledge created, with values and stories being at the centre of the digitisation procedure. The digitised material and the methods, produced during VAST, allows Museums, the Arts and Creative Industries to enhance the inclusivity of their offerings and broaden their target audiences by systematically studying and understanding the values of stories and people.
• A “Registry of Values” has been designed and aligned with the Theory of Basic Human Values (Schwartz, 2012).
• A set of 112 digital artefacts (20 plays from ancient Greek drama, 36 documents/images from 17th century Scientific Revolution, and 56 fairy tales written by the Grimm Brothers) has been annotated with values.
• More than 4000 citizens and cultural heritage professionals have participated in VAST activities, collecting more than 1500 digitised assets.
• One digital exhibit in the HoCGI exhibition has been inspired and implemented based on VAST outcomes. The exhibit is based on Sophocles’ “Antigone”, focusing on the trial of Antigone. The exhibit has been integrated into the current exhibition of HoCGI and has already been visited by a few thousands of visitors.
• Three (3) short documentaries have been produced and distributed through social media.
• The VAST consortium has been engaged with Horizon Results Booster, in an attempt to further develop and enhance its sustainability. From this process, a set of 4 Key Exploitable Results has been identified and analysed.
• A set of 112 digital artefacts (20 plays from ancient Greek drama, 36 documents/images from 17th century Scientific Revolution, and 56 fairy tales written by the Grimm Brothers) has been annotated with values.
• More than 4000 citizens and cultural heritage professionals have participated in VAST activities, collecting more than 1500 digitised assets.
• One digital exhibit in the HoCGI exhibition has been inspired and implemented based on VAST outcomes. The exhibit is based on Sophocles’ “Antigone”, focusing on the trial of Antigone. The exhibit has been integrated into the current exhibition of HoCGI and has already been visited by a few thousands of visitors.
• Three (3) short documentaries have been produced and distributed through social media.
• The VAST consortium has been engaged with Horizon Results Booster, in an attempt to further develop and enhance its sustainability. From this process, a set of 4 Key Exploitable Results has been identified and analysed.
A) Progress beyond the state of the art
VAST has designed and tested a methodology for co-creating educational activities that connect CH artefacts with values. Specifically, it guides the design of activities through: a) the definition of goals & objectives; b) knowledge related to values and educational background in the field of citizenship education; c) a conceptual structure; d) the definitions of the structural elements related to the digitisation process, and e) the collection of experiences working both in person and groups.
B) Results
The VAST Platform has integrated a set of tools that implement functionality related to data aggregation and integration (i.e. the VAST Digitisation Application and VAST digitisation apps), data discovery and complex query answering (i.e. the VAST Explorer), and data acquisition/curation (i.e. the VAST Digitisation Application, the VAST Digital Asset Manager, and the VAST Semantic Repository). All applications are available under open-source licences through GitHub.
C) Impacts
• Several liaison activities with sibling EU-funded research projects and European research projects with similar research agendas.
• Organisation of several conferences and workshops (also in collaboration with projects with similar research agendas).
• 43 scientific publications (9 Abstract/Posters, 6 Abstract/Oral, 18 Conference publications, 6 Journal publications, 2 Books and 2 Book chapters).
• Participation in the 2023 edition of the Semantic Evaluation Workshop (SEMEVAL), in the task on the Identification of Human Values behind Arguments.
• Participation in the “ValuesML - Unravelling Expressed Values in the Media for Informed Policy Making” initiative.
• 24+ VAST activities have been implemented with institutions outside of the consortium (museums, schools, universities, festivals, municipalities, etc.). In most of the cases, activities were co-designed with the host institutions.
• The VAST consortium has participated in activities organised by ICOM (International Museum Day 2023 & European Heritage Days 2023), DARIAH (DARIAH Annual Event 2023), Europeana (Europeana 2022).
• The VAST consortium has invited professionals from UNESCO, DARIAH, ICOM Greece, and national government officials and policy makers, in activities organised by the consortium.
VAST has designed and tested a methodology for co-creating educational activities that connect CH artefacts with values. Specifically, it guides the design of activities through: a) the definition of goals & objectives; b) knowledge related to values and educational background in the field of citizenship education; c) a conceptual structure; d) the definitions of the structural elements related to the digitisation process, and e) the collection of experiences working both in person and groups.
B) Results
The VAST Platform has integrated a set of tools that implement functionality related to data aggregation and integration (i.e. the VAST Digitisation Application and VAST digitisation apps), data discovery and complex query answering (i.e. the VAST Explorer), and data acquisition/curation (i.e. the VAST Digitisation Application, the VAST Digital Asset Manager, and the VAST Semantic Repository). All applications are available under open-source licences through GitHub.
C) Impacts
• Several liaison activities with sibling EU-funded research projects and European research projects with similar research agendas.
• Organisation of several conferences and workshops (also in collaboration with projects with similar research agendas).
• 43 scientific publications (9 Abstract/Posters, 6 Abstract/Oral, 18 Conference publications, 6 Journal publications, 2 Books and 2 Book chapters).
• Participation in the 2023 edition of the Semantic Evaluation Workshop (SEMEVAL), in the task on the Identification of Human Values behind Arguments.
• Participation in the “ValuesML - Unravelling Expressed Values in the Media for Informed Policy Making” initiative.
• 24+ VAST activities have been implemented with institutions outside of the consortium (museums, schools, universities, festivals, municipalities, etc.). In most of the cases, activities were co-designed with the host institutions.
• The VAST consortium has participated in activities organised by ICOM (International Museum Day 2023 & European Heritage Days 2023), DARIAH (DARIAH Annual Event 2023), Europeana (Europeana 2022).
• The VAST consortium has invited professionals from UNESCO, DARIAH, ICOM Greece, and national government officials and policy makers, in activities organised by the consortium.