Aim and Scope of the Workshop

Exploration, analysis, and preservation of the rich cultural and historical tapestry of the world are essential for our understanding of humanity's past and shaping our future. In recent years, there has been increased interest in the creation and application of Ontologies, Knowledge Graphs, and other Semantic Web Technologies within Cultural Heritage (CH) and Digital Humanities (DH). However, to date, the distinct areas of expertise, methodologies and traditions across the fields have led to a noticeable gap between tech solutions and humanities’ needs.

The aim of SemDH 2026 is to bridge this division and foster closer collaboration across fields. We invite members of the Semantic Web, CH, and DH communities working on systematic methods and advanced technologies for heterogeneous humanities data. Topics include knowledge graphs, information extraction from historical texts, cross-disciplinary data linking, semantic enrichment of historical records, social network analysis, ontology development, and the use of recent technologies such as LLMs in semantic contexts. We also welcome contributions that examine CH and DH data from philosophical, historical, and social perspectives, alongside technical work.

Workshop Topics

  • Fundamental Concepts and Questions in Digital Humanities (DH) Research
  • Vocabulary, Schema, Ontology Development and Design Methodologies in DH
  • Application of Formal Ontologies (UFO, BFO, etc.) in DH
  • Practical Use of Standard Ontologies (CIDOC-CRM, FRBR) in DH: Case Studies, Challenges and Lessons Learnt
  • Harmonization of established standards like TEI, MEI, LIDO and Ontologies
  • Philosophical and Sociological Analysis of DH Models and Modeling Practices
  • Social Studies on Ontology Standardization Policies in DH
  • Temporal Knowledge Graphs in Context of DH
  • Semantic Web Applications for DH
  • Software Architectures, Structural Frameworks and Infrastructures for DH KGs
  • Interoperability and Linking in DH
  • Application of FAIR Principles and KG-based Data Curation Strategies in DH
  • (Automated) Construction of Knowledge Graphs for DH
  • Searching, Querying, and Visualization of DH Knowledge Graphs
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP) for Knowledge Extraction in DH Research
  • Workflows and Tools for Knowledge Extraction in DH, e.g. Crowdsourcing
  • Access Management, Trust and Provenance in the DH context
  • Evaluation of DH Ontologies and KGs: Methods, Metrics and Criteria
  • Retrieval Augmented Generation techniques applied to DH KG

Important Dates


March 03, 2026

Submission Deadline


March 31, 2026

Author Notification


April 15, 2026

Camera Ready Versions


May 10/11, 2026

Workshop Date

All deadlines are 23:59 anywhere on earth (UTC-12).
AHA moment

We invite the Semantic Web, CH, and DH communities to submit work on methods and technologies for heterogeneous humanities data, including knowledge graphs, information extraction, data linking, semantic enrichment, ontologies, social network analysis, and the use of LLMs. We welcome short papers, full papers, and panel proposals that offer technical and interdisciplinary perspectives and foster collaboration across computer science, humanities, and cultural heritage.

Go to Call

Submissions

Workshop submissions must be written in English and formatted in the CEUR-WS.org proceedings style, single column format. All papers and proposals have to be submitted electronically via EasyChair. Each accepted paper needs to be presented by one of the authors, who agrees to register and participate in SemDH2026.

How to Attend

SemDH is an on-site event taking place on May 10 or May 11, 2026 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The workshop is co-located with the 23nd Extended Semantic Web Conference. ESWC is a major venue for discussing the latest scientific results and technology innovations around semantic technologies. Building on its past success, ESWC is seeking to broaden its focus to span other relevant related research areas in which Web semantics plays an important role. All workshop participants must register at ESWC to attend. Please have a look at the official ESWC 2026 webpage for detailed information on the conference, program, venue and registration.