21 – 23 September 2026

Programme

Three days of keynotes, panel discussions, lightning talks, round tables, and workshops at the University of Passau.

Monday21Tuesday22Wednesday23

Monday

21 September 2026

  1. from 12:00

    Registration

    Registration & Check-in

  2. 13:00 – 15:00

    1. Workshop

      What's New in Transkribus: Enhancing Your Workflow with the Latest Features

    2. Workshop

      Building Databases from Historical Documents with Smart Extract Models

  3. 15:00 – 15:15

    Coffee Break

  4. 15:15 – 17:15

    1. Workshop

      Sustainable Editorial Workflow Automation for Digital Scholarly Editions

    2. Workshop

      Datasheets for Cultural Heritage Datasets: Documenting Handwritten Material in Transkribus

    3. Workshop

      Generic vs. Tailored ATR Models: A Collaborative Writing Sprint on Decision-Making

  5. 17:15 – 17:30

    Break

  6. 17:30 – 18:00

    Opening Session

    State of Transkribus

    Hosted by the READ-COOP Board

  7. 18:00 – 19:00

    Alíz Horváth

    Keynote

    Why does language inclusivity matter in text recognition and otherwise in the age of AI?

    Alíz Horváth · Central European University, Vienna, Austria

  8. from 19:00

    Social

    Oktoberfest Reception

    Welcome drinks and Bavarian bites to kick off the conference.

Tuesday

22 September 2026

  1. 09:00 – 10:00

    Vincent Christlein

    Keynote

    What Visual Language Models Can (Not) Do for Document Analysis

    Vincent Christlein · Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen, Germany

  2. 10:00 – 11:15

    1. Lightning Talks

      Panel 1 · Scripts of the World

      Building Text Recognition Models for Diverse Languages and Writing Systems

    2. Lightning Talks

      Panel 2 · From Records to Rows

      Structuring Serial Sources and Genealogical Data for Databases

    3. Lightning Talks

      Panel 3 · Scaling the Pipeline

      API Integration, Large-Scale Workflows, and Benchmarking

  3. 11:15 – 11:45

    Break

  4. 11:45 – 12:45

    1. Round Table

      Crowdsourcing the Past

      Citizen Science Strategies for Transcription at any Scale

    2. Round Table

      Transcription guidelines for HTR-projects at cultural heritage institutions

    3. Round Table

      AI for Under-Resourced Manuscript Traditions

  5. 12:45 – 13:45

    Lunch Break

  6. 13:45 – 15:00

    1. Lightning Talks

      Panel 4 · Mastering Complexity

      Advanced Segmentation and Text Recognition for Challenging Documents

    2. Lightning Talks

      Panel 5 · Archival Transformations

      Bridging the Gap between Hidden Records and Public Access

    3. Lightning Talks

      Panel 6 · The Human Element

      Collaborative Ecosystems in HTR and Research

  7. 15:00 – 16:30

    Posters

    Poster Pitch & Poster Presentations

    18 posters

  8. 16:30 – 16:45

    Break

  9. 16:45 – 17:45

    1. Round Table

      Towards a "living" HTR Evaluation Platform

    2. Round Table

      Who needs structure?

  10. from 19:00

    Social

    Conference Dinner

    4-hour Danube cruise with dinner and networking.

Wednesday

23 September 2026

  1. 09:00 – 11:00

    1. Scholarship Presentation

      Panel 1 · Minority Scripts, Rare Languages, and the Limits of Generic Models

    2. Scholarship Presentation

      Panel 2 · Specialised Models, Scalability, and the Methodology of HTR

    3. Scholarship Presentation

      Panel 3 · Archives, Research, and Society

      Transcription with an Impact

  2. 11:00 – 11:30

    Break

  3. 11:30 – 12:45

    1. Round Table

      Round Table 1 — Title Missing

    2. Round Table

      Abandon All Consistency?

      Navigating the Methodological Hell of Transcription Standards

  4. 12:45 – 13:45

    Lunch

  5. 13:45 – 15:00

    1. Lightning Talks

      Panel 7 · Teaching Machines, Teaching Humans

      HTR Literacy, Ethics, and Creative Practice

    2. Lightning Talks

      Panel 8 · Beyond the Transcription

      Named Entity Recognition, Semantic Enrichment, and Digital Editing

  6. 15:00 – 15:30

    Closing Session

    The Road Ahead

    Hosted by the READ-COOP Board

  7. 15:30 – 16:00

    Break

  8. 16:00 – 17:30

    Meeting

    READ-COOP Members' Meeting

    Open to READ-COOP members only.

Browse by Track

Track

Lightning Talks

8 panels of short, focused presentations

Track

Scholarship Presentations

3 panels of in-depth presentations

Join us in Passau this September

Early bird tickets are available now. Secure your spot and be part of the conversation about the future of AI and historical text recognition.

Get your tickets