From Closure to Sharing: Exploring Research Data on the
Heritage of Afghanistan and Neighbouring Territories
Second French–Italian Summer School
Paris, 15–19 June 2026
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
The increasing phenomenon of restricted access to field sites and research data in countries
around the world has required Social Sciences and Humanities communities to readjust their
methodologies, research questions, and disciplinary approaches. Remote investigation strategies
are multiplying in an effort to overcome limitations to conducting fieldwork. The (re)discovery of
existing, underexplored archival holdings is one such strategy.
In the case of Afghanistan and its neighbouring territories, the security context has long
constrained the organization of field missions; a situation that has worsened since 2021 in
Afghanistan, making field research almost impossible. However, access restrictions need not
render research in the humanities and social sciences in the region defunct. Maintaining high-level
international expertise and research, training new generations of specialists, and preserving links
with scholars and professionals on the ground are more important than ever. The second French–
Italian summer school is guided by this imperative.
Organised in partnership with the Huma-Num Distam consortium (Digital Studies Africa, Asia,
Middle East), this summer school aims to showcase, support, and accompany multidisciplinary
research on the heritage of Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries (notably, in Iran, Central
Asia, and South Asia).
The goal is to highlight the diversity of available archival collections (documentary, manuscripts,
photographic, visual, material, sound, etc.) and their multiple uses as sources for research. The
summer school will therefore present recent research on the written, material, visual, and sound
heritage of Afghanistan and its neighbouring territories.
A further aim is to ensure that research data are shared between international and domestic
researchers and interested audiences through digital means. The objective is to introduce and
support participants through the lifecycle of their research data. This training will provide an
introduction to the theoretical, ethical, and security framework for data management, its use,
digital access, and dissemination according to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible,
Interoperable, Reusable). The summer school will include hands-on workshops on tools for
processing manuscript, visual, spatial and/or sound data as well.
The summer school will take place in Paris from Monday 15 June to Friday 19 June 2026.
Activities will include keynote lectures and roundtables; presentations of institutions specialising
in research on Afghanistan and neighbouring territories and their archival holdings, via onsite
visits to heritage institutions in Paris and formal lectures; presentations of research programmes
using data on Afghanistan or neighbouring territories; and workshops on methods and tools for
every stage of the data management lifecycle. Participants may work using their own data or
datasets provided.
Languages of the summer school: English primarily (French or Italian secondarily)
Organisers:
This summer school is organised by ISMEO and the Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”,
in partnership with Inalco for the Chair “Arts and Heritage of Afghanistan,” the Délégation
archéologique française en Afghanistan (DAFA), and the Huma-Num Distam consortium (Digital
Studies Africa, Asia and the Middle East), with the participation of GIS MOMM and GIS Asie.
See the application form attached.
