We are delighted to share that our paper, “Enhancing Provenance Research with Linked Data: A Visual Approach to Knowledge Discovery“, has received the Best Paper Award at the SemDH 2025 Workshop (Second International Workshop of Semantic Digital Humanities), co-located with the ESWC 2025 Conference, Portorož, Slovenia.
This paper was authored by Sarah Shoilee (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Annastiina Ahola (Aalto University), Heikki Rantala (Aalto University), Eero Hyvönen (Aalto University), Victor de Boer (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Jacco van Ossenbruggen (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), and Susan Legene (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam). It reflects a fruitful collaboration between VU Amsterdam and Aalto University in Finland, made possible through Sarah’s research visit to Aalto in early 2025.
In this work, we explored how Linked Data and semantic exploration tools can be applied to support knowledge discovery in the domain of provenance research for colonial heritage collections. Using the PM-Sampo platform, we developed methods to visualize and extract provenance-related knowledge—such as the people, places, and historical events connected to cultural heritage objects—helping researchers uncover patterns that are often buried in complex archival data.
We are honored that the SemDH reviewers and community recognized the contribution of our work. We believe this award not only reflects the strength of our interdisciplinary collaboration but also the growing importance of semantic infrastructure in the Digital Humanities.
A big thank you to the SemDH organizers, reviewers, and the vibrant community around it. And heartfelt thanks to all our co-authors—it’s been a pleasure to work together!
We look forward to continuing this research and welcome new conversations and collaborations.