ICDAR 2024Workshop on Computational Paleography in Athens

24 January 2024

Photo: Dias12

From 30 August to 4 September 2024, the 18th International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition will take place in Athens. The prestigious conference also includes the 3rd Workshop on Computational Palaeography, which is co-organised by Hussein Mohammed.

Computational palaeography is an emerging interdisciplinary field that applies computational methods to ancient handwritten documents. At the intersection of computer vision, instrumental analytics, and palaeography (the study of ancient scripts and their physical mediums), this field benefits immensely from recent technological advancements. In particular, it fosters unique collaborations of manuscript experts, computer scientists, and natural scientists. When optical, chemical, or computational analyses are applied, established barriers between different disciplines in the humanities, which focus on different eras and areas, become obsolete.

Conversely, computer scientists are eager to employ their methodologies on tangible research questions, while natural scientists focus on both the physical aspects of written artefacts and their digital representations. Such collaborative efforts are essential for meaningful advances in studying ancient scripts.

The 3rd Workshop on Computational Palaeography on 31 August 2024 aims to convene specialists from these varied backgrounds, targeting professionals in computer science and the natural sciences, as well as the humanities. It will present completed and ongoing projects, fostering in-depth discussions. This convergence of diverse kinds of expertise not only addresses specific research queries on ancient manuscripts but also enhances the broader understanding and public accessibility of these cultural heritage treasures, enriching society as a whole.

The workshop takes place as part of the 18th International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR 2024), which is held from 30 August to 4 September 2024 in Athens, Greece. It is organised by Hussein Mohammed, a computer scientist at CSMC and Principal Investigator of a project on ‘Similarity Measurement of Visual Patterns in Written Artefacts’, and Isabelle Marthot-Santaniello from the University of Basel. Previous editions of the workshop took place in San José, California, in August 2023, and Lausanne, Switzerland, in September 2021.

The Call for Papers is still open and submissions will be accepted until 7 May 2024. For more information on the workshop and other events happening at ICDAR 2024, please visit the conference website.