The MBD conferences aim to attract academics, practitioners and technologists engaged in the current research discourse on the new trends of the Museum Big Data domain; in addition, the conference aspires to showcase experimental work.
Important Dates
Early-Bird Paper submission deadline: 10 May 2026, with Early-Bird Notification of acceptance by 7 June 2026
Paper submission deadline: 12 July 2026, with notification of acceptance by 1 September 2026
Camera-ready copies due: 1 October 2026
Authors Registration due: 15 September 2026
The Conference
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- Masterclass (limited spaces availability): 12 November 2026
- Conference Opening: 12 November 2026
- Main Conference days: 13-14 November 2026
- Social Events: TBA
History
MBD Conferences started in 2019 with the 1st International Conference on Museum Big Data that took place from 30th April – 2nd May 2019 in Doha, Qatar. It brought together international experts who shared their experiences and discussed how museums can integrate more aspects of big data in their services. The conference was live-streamed with thousands of viewers.
The vision of the Chair and co-Chair of the Conference, Drs Georgios Papaioannou and Milena Dobreva, Associate Professors at UCL Qatar at the time, was to enhance the international partnerships and continue the series in various venues. To this end, MBD Conferences continued in Nicosia, Cyprus (MBD2020, 22-24 October 2024).
After the closure of UCL Qatar in 2020, the MBD Conference are organized by the Museology Research Laboratory of the Ionian University, Corfu, Greece. In 2024, the Conference was held in Athens, Greece (MBD2024, 18-19 November 2024).
In 2026, the Conference takes place in Sofia, Bulgaria (MBD2026, 12-14 November 2026), under the auspices of the prestigious ERA FOCUS Chair in “Fostering Digital Cultural Heritage via Open Innovation and Open Science”.
Context
The MBD conferences showcase the most innovative research and practical work in Museum Big Data. The main objective of each MBD conference is to promote high-quality research in the field as well as to provide an excellent opportunity for networking in this emerging field. Also, MBD conferences aspire to set the research agenda in the Museum Big Data domain. It is addressed and aims to attract academics, practitioners and technologists engaged in the current research discourse on the new trends of the domain; in addition, the conference aspires to showcase experimental work.
Big Data and Data mining processes comprise relatively new fields in museum research and inquiry, which are expected to become core disciplines as museum data input increases and digital museum data collections from museums’ everyday activities and operations become increasingly larger. Nowadays, museums all over the world maintain and expand dynamic databases and big datasets on museum objects and operations as well as generated data extending from visitors’ numbers, times and stops to tweets, likes and shares.
There is an emerging need to detect new and discover hidden and useful information, patterns, clusters and relationships among large sums of museum data. To address this need, we require ethical considerations and processes, a thorough understanding of contexts in the physical and the digital world, and cross-disciplinary Big Data methods, techniques and testing.
We also need to develop theoretical frameworks and explore connections with the Big Data ongoing discussion in libraries, archives and information studies.
Why MBD2026 in Sofia
Cultural Heritage and Museums in Bulgaria
Bulgaria hosts one of the most diverse cultural heritage landscapes in Europe, spanning over seven millennia of human history. From prehistoric settlements and Thracian sanctuaries to Roman cities, mediaeval capitals, Ottoman-period urban heritage, and socialist period monuments the country represents a unique crossroads of cultures, traditions, and historical layers.
The Bulgarian museum sector includes over 300 museums, galleries, archives, and cultural heritage sites, ranging from large national institutions to regional and local museums, as well as specialised collections focused on archaeology, history, ethnography, art, and natural heritage. Bulgaria is also home to 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both tangible (such as the Ancient City of Nessebar and the Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo) and intangible (like the Traditional Bulgarian Choral Singing.
In recent years, Bulgarian cultural heritage institutions have increasingly engaged with digitisation, digital preservation, and data-driven approaches, often in close collaboration with universities, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and European research infrastructures. At the same time, many institutions face challenges related to data interoperability, long-term sustainability, skills development, and integration into broader open science ecosystems.
Hosting Museum Big Data 2026 in Sofia provides a timely and meaningful opportunity to situate global discussions on open collections, open science, and responsible AI within a context where cultural richness meets active transformation. Sofia, as a historic city and a growing research and innovation hub in Southeast Europe, offers an ideal setting to bring together diverse perspectives, bridge Widening and non-Widening experiences, and collectively shape the future of museum data and knowledge.
The local host, ERA Chair in Fostering Digital Cultural Heritage via Open Innovation and Open Science at the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IMI-BAS), is committed to introducing transformative practices for opening knowledge for all. IMI-BAS is also the coordinator of the National programme for capacity building in open science.