Events Calendar

DPC Members Forum and Networking Event - Europe

4 Jun 2025 at 9:30am - 5 Jun 2025 at 1:00pm

The Hague

General

We are delighted to invite DPC Members and members of the digital preservation community to attend our DPC Members Forum and Networking Event in The Hague, The Netherlands!

This event - formerly known as our DPC Members "Unconference" - will take place face-to-face* over two days as part of a worldwide program of Member networking activities. The first day is exclusively for DPC Members and features an exciting program of fast-paced member-led talks and discussions. Members will have the opportunity to take the floor, exchange ideas, showcase work, discuss key themes, and network with fellow Coalition members.

Day two offers a morning program, welcoming both DPC Members and the wider digital preservation community. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with the DPC, meet Coalition members, and discuss digital preservation challenges with peers in a collaborative environment. From 9:15 to 13:00, participants will engage in insightful presentations, hands-on workshops with DPC staff and networking opportunities.

*Given the nature of the activities, we do not plan to offer online attendance at this event but aim to provide written highlights.

Who is the event for?

This DPC Members Forum is designed to privilege operational staff working directly on digital preservation. We are particularly keen to hear from:

Junior staff recently appointed and looking for opportunities to build their professional networks;
New entrants to digital preservation seeking to apply professional know-how to this new field;
Experienced practitioners who have clear insights into the challenges of digital preservation in their own institutions.
Senior staff, researchers and students are also welcome, though it is practical knowledge exchange that will be most prominent.

Program*

Day 1
Wednesday 4 June, 09:30 – 16:30 CET
DPC Members only

*Timings (local)*	*Activity*
09:30 – 10:00	Registration open, refreshments served
10:00 – 10:30	Welcome from our host Jeffrey van der Hoeven, KB National Library of the Netherlands Manon Bierman, KB National Library of the Netherlands
10:30 – 10:50	Introduction to the Forum
10:50 - 11:00	Move into groups
11:00 – 11:45	Plenary room Exploring storage solutions for small(er) institutions Tamara van Zwol, Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision Share/Discuss	Room 2 Data Lifeboat and Archiving Social Media Alex Chan, Flickr Foundation Share/Discuss
11:45 – 11:55	Break & change groups
11:55 – 12:40	Plenary room Five Years of Digital Archiving in Flanders: Reflections and Next Steps Katlijn Vanhee, Julie Jordens, Sofie Ruysseveldt, Digital Archives Flanders Share/Discuss	Room 2 Community Archives Karyn Williamson, DPC Learn
12:40 – 13:00	Regroup and reflect
13:00 – 14:00	Break for Lunch
14:00 – 14:15	Plenary session Discussion with DPC team
14:15 – 14:20	Move into groups
14:20 – 15:00 (40 minutes)	Plenary room Open archiving of open access scholarly content Gareth Cole, Loughborough University Share/Discuss	Room 2 Give me one good reason: failing forward by looking back Inge Hofsink and Daniel Steinmeier, KB National Library of the Netherlands Share/Discuss
15:00 – 15:10	Break & change groups
15:10 – 15:55	Plenary room Static websites and low-tech solutions Alex Chan, Flickr Foundation Learn/Discuss	Room 2 Archiving Intranets Patricia Sleeman, UNHCR Share/Discuss
15:55 – 16:00	Regroup in Plenary room
16:00 – 16:30	Feedback, wrap-up and close
16:30 – 17:30	Professional Visit to the KB, National Library of the Netherlands
19:00+	Option to attend a social dinner and continue networking (all delegates welcome, sign-up required)

*Program subject to change

Day 2*
Thursday 5 June, 09:15 – 13:00 CET
Open to all

*Timings (local)*	*Activity*
09:15 – 09:45	Registration open, refreshments served Please come early to meet your fellow delegates
09:45 – 10:00	A welcome from the DPC
10:00 – 10:45	Protecting Tomorrow’s Legacy: Cyber Security and Digital Preservation Panel discussion with Gijs Meijer, Innovation & Ecosystem Manager at DEN, Jeffrey van der Hoeven, Head Digital Preservation at KBNL and Michael Popham, Digital Preservation Analyst at the DPC This dynamic panel discussion brings together leading experts to examine the critical intersection of cyber security and digital preservation. Drawing from recent research and real-world experiences, panelists will explore current challenges, emerging threats, and solutions in protecting digital cultural heritage. The session will feature interactive elements through audience polling and Q&A, fostering meaningful dialogue about securing our digital future.
10:45 – 11:00	Break & move into groups
11:00 – 12:30	Continuous Improvement Workshop: DPC Rapid Assessment Model (RAM) Sarah Middleton, DPC The DPC’s Rapid Assessment Model (DPC RAM) is a digital preservation maturity modelling tool that has been designed to enable rapid benchmarking of an organization’s digital preservation capability and facilitate continuous improvement over time. This workshop explains the key concepts which make up the DPC RAM and helps users get started in establishing their base line for digital preservation. OR Continuous Improvement Workshop: the Competency Audit Toolkit (CAT) Amy Currie, DPC Applying a carefully considered approach to continuous improvement of digital preservation capabilities can greatly benefit practitioners when looking to set and achieve objectives, sharing and embedding this responsibility across whole organizations. The DPC has created the DPC Competency Framework with accompanying audit toolkit (DPC CAT) and example role descriptions, to help facilitate this process. This workshop aims to provide attendees with the skills and tools to develop and implement a methodology for continuous improvement in digital preservation skills at their organization.
12:30 – 13:00	Reflections Wrap-up, thanks and close

*Program subject to change

About our Panelists

Gijs Meijer is Innovation & Ecosystem Manager at DEN, where he leads digital transformation and cyber security initiatives in the cultural sector. Gijs is the leading figure behind the Digital Security Checklist and CyberSafe Check initiatives for cultural institutions.

Jeffrey van der Hoeven is Head of Digital Preservation at the KB National Library of the Netherlands, where he oversees the safeguarding of the KBNL's digital collections. He is involved in the governmental Task Force on Cyber Security in The Netherlands. Jeffrey has a background in Information Technology and is chair of the International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC).

Michael Popham Prior to joining the DPC, Michael spent 25 years working for the University of Oxford, holding senior roles in both IT Services and the Bodleian Libraries, where he was the Head of Digital Collections and Preservation. Michael was previously Director of the Arts and Humanities Data Service Centre based at Oxford, and subsequently Head of the Oxford Digital Library. He has led several major digitization and digital preservation projects, and coordinated the Bodleian’s participation in the Google Books Library Programme.

Registration now closed.

This event welcomes both DPC Members and non-members alike, with programming designed to optimise opportunities for networking and information exchange. Registration is now closed. Please contact angela.puggioni@dpconline.org if you have any queries about this event.

DPC Inclusion & Diversity Policy

The DPC Community is guided by the values set out in our Strategic Plan and aims to be respectful, welcoming, inclusive and transparent. We encourage diversity in all its forms and are committed to being accessible to everyone who wishes to engage with the topic of digital preservation, whilst remaining technology and vendor neutral. We ask all those who are part of this community to be positive, accepting, and sensitive to the needs and feelings of others in alignment with our DPC Inclusion & Diversity Policy.

Delaney Sweep from the University of Calgary attended the DPC Forum and Networking Event for the Americas. She says:

"In speaking to both members and non-members over the course of the two days, I felt a growing sense of community within the Americas region. Everyone who attended was open in sharing their personal experiences with digital preservation and extremely supportive when providing advice during discussion periods. Working in digital preservation can sometimes feel isolating, especially if you are in a small (or single person) department. The candor and friendliness of those in attendance, both in-person and online, made this members forum and networking event truly remarkable."

Venue address:
KB, National Library of the Netherlands
Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 5
2595 BE Den Haag

Event Location: The Hague

Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 5
The Hague
2595 BE
The Netherlands