BAAC conference 2025: Call for Papers
Unlocking Audiovisual Heritage with AI: New Horizons for Archives, Libraries and Museums
The 20th Annual BAAC Conference will be held on 13–14 November 2025 in Vilnius, Lithuania, hosted by the Lithuanian Central State Archives, National Library of Lithuania and Archivists’ Association of Lithuania.
In recent years, memory institutions tasked with preserving audiovisual heritage—such as moving images, sound recordings, and photographs—have increasingly explored the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). As AI technologies continue to develop, they offer powerful tools to enhance access, enrich metadata, and introduce innovative methods for engaging with heritage materials.
When implemented thoughtfully, AI can support professionals in memory institutions by improving efficiency, particularly in repetitive and technical tasks such as processing, describing, and organising large audiovisual collections. Additionally, AI can help reveal hidden connections and thematic patterns across collections—insights that might remain undiscovered through manual analysis alone.
However, AI is not a perfect or standalone solution. Its application raises critical questions about authenticity, transparency, and the ethical reuse of cultural content. Ensuring that AI technologies serve the goals of memory institutions requires responsible use, guided by the expertise of heritage professionals.
The 2025 BAAC Conference invites audiovisual heritage professionals, researchers, AI developers, legal experts, and creative industry representatives to share their experiences, research, and perspectives on the evolving relationship between AI and audiovisual heritage.
Conference topics include, but are not limited to:
- Practical experiences of memory institutions applying AI solutions
- National and international projects involving AI in the heritage field
- Object, face, and place recognition for metadata enrichment and improved searchability
- AI-based speech-to-text transcription, translation, and subtitling
- Creative reuse of archival materials through AI-generated works
- AI in academic research on audiovisual heritage
- Legal and ethical issues, including copyright, authenticity, and data transparency
- Future outlook on the role of AI in memory institutions
Conference language: English
BAAC invites presentation proposals for the 2025 Annual Conference in Vilnius. The submission deadline is 28 May, 2025. Proposals should include an abstract (maximum 250 words) and be sent to