AI4LAM Innovation Awards

As part of the AI4LAM Fantastic Futures conferences, the best conference submissions will be recognized and honoured with the AI4LAM Innovation Awards for AI development in Cultural Heritage.

These awards celebrate inspiring, practical, and forward‑thinking uses of artificial intelligence across the Libraries, Archives, and Museums (LAM) community. Their aim is to highlight initiatives that not only advance technological innovation but also build trustworthy solutions or provide implementation models aligned with each year’s conference themes.

We especially welcome submissions that reflect the collaborative, open, and responsible values of the AI4LAM community.

Award Categories

• AI4LAM Best Research Project Award
  Recognizing experimental, research, or early-stage initiatives with strong potential, relevance, and contribution to the field.
• AI4LAM Best Implementation in Practice Award
  Recognizing a mature, implemented AI-based system, service, or tool that is actively used in a real-world LAM environment and demonstrates tangible impact.
• AI4LAM Best Paper Award
  Recognizing an exceptional scholarly paper that advances theory, knowledge and practice in AI for Libraries, Archives, and Museums.

Who Should Apply

We invite submissions from across the AI4LAM ecosystem, including:

• Students, early stage researchers and practitioners
• Libraries, archives, and museums
• Research institutions and universities
• Digital humanities and GLAM practitioners
• Startups, developers, and technology providers
• Cross-sector and interdisciplinary collaborations

Eligibility

Submissions must:

• Demonstrate the application of AI in the LAM / cultural heritage domain.
• Reflect values and practice such as ethical responsibility, openness, equity, accessibility, and trustworthy AI use.
• Have been developed or significantly advanced within the past two (2) years.
• Be original work with appropriate rights and permissions of the applicants.

Selection Process

The selection process reflects AI4LAM’s commitment to transparency and community engagement:

1. Eligibility Check
   Submissions are reviewed for completeness and alignment with the FF2026 call.
2. Initial Review
   All eligible submissions are evaluated using the conference submission criteria.
3. Finalists Selection – Top 10
   The 10 highest-ranked submissions will be selected as finalists and invited to the final stage / reception at the conference.
4. Final Stage at AI4LAM Conference
   Finalists will present their work (presentation, demo, or pitch) to the community and Award Committee.
5. Final Decision
   Award winners will be selected by the Award Committee based on combined scores from written submissions and final presentations.

Recognition

Awardees will receive:

• Official AI4LAM Innovation Award Certificate
• Opportunity to present at the conference reception
• Visibility across the AI4LAM network and partners
• Financial prize.

Join us in building a responsible and meaningful AI-driven transformation of cultural heritage, and in collaborating within our growing international AI4LAM community.

We look forward to your contributions.