CLARIAH-AT is the consortium of Austrian universities and research institutions that coordinates and drives Austrian activities in the European ESFRI research infrastructures CLARIN (Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure) and DARIAH (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities).
The consortium brings together Austrian institutions with relevant expertise in research, development and teaching in the field of digital humanities as well as in the establishment and sustainable operation of research (data) infrastructures, which also play an active role in the Austrian development of digital humanities and the establishment and expansion of technical and social infrastructures for the humanities in general.
Austrian researchers were involved in both research infrastructures during the preparatory phase and have made substantial contributions to them at both the local and European levels. Thanks to the support of the then Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy, Austria was able to become a founding member of both consortia (CLARIN 2012, DARIAH 2014). In 2014, the Austrian Academy of Sciences was entrusted by the Federal Ministry of Science and Research with the coordination of local activities. In June 2019, the core group of CLARIAH-AT reconstituted itself by signing a consortium agreement between the participating institutions, which was extended indefinitely in March 2021.
National DH Strategy
In 2015, the group was commissioned by the responsible ministry to develop a strategic document, the DH-Austria Strategy, which served as a roadmap for the sustainable establishment of the digital humanities in Austria.
The new strategy paper Digital Humanities Austria Strategy 2021+ (EN) is based on preliminary work by the consortium and a consultation of the Austrian professional community in the field of digital humanities. It defines four guidelines for the future development of digital humanities in Austria and serves as a work program for the working groups of the same name:
- Research infrastructures and networks
- Research data and repositories
- Methods, services and tools
- Education, training and knowledge sharing
An important part of the current work program is the 2022 project call "Interoperability and reusability of DH data and tools".
Activities
The consortium members are actively involved in numerous bodies at the European level. Particularly noteworthy are
DARIAH Working groups
- ELDAH (Ethics and Legality in the Digital Arts and Humanities)
- DH Course Registry
- dariahTeach
- Thesaurus Maintenance
- Guidelines and Standards (GiST)
CLARIN
- User Involvement Group
- CLIC - CLARIN Legal Issues Committee
- Standards Committee
- SCCTC - Standing Committee of CLARIN Technical Centres
Part of the CLARIAH-AT activities were also the three go!digital calls in 2014, 2016 and 2018, which were competitively advertised and organized by the Austrian Academy of Sciences with funding from the Austrian National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development. The 30 projects selected by international experts promote the development and use of innovative digital methods in Austrian humanities research.
In addition, 20 CLARIAH-AT funded projects are in the implementation phase (or have recently been completed).
Contact
E-Mail: clariah-at(at)uni-graz.at (Walter Scholger, Consortium Speaker)
Twitter: @AtClariah
