Q3 2025
completedPreliminary working consultations with representatives of the three largest diaspora organisations — mapping digitisation potential
Otwieramy archiwum…
I·06Phase: Concept❦Culture◈AI◇Digitisation
Polonia Memoriae
Mobile reconstruction studio for Polish diaspora archives
Concept phase — discussions in progress with Wspólnota Polska as strategic partner. Recommended first mission: Chicago or London (largest centres, densest parish archives).
Problem
The Polish diaspora — an estimated 10–12 million people in the five largest centres (USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia) — holds the largest historical-memory resources outside the country: 19th-century archives of Polish-American parishes, documents of veterans' associations, August and Warsaw Uprising mementoes held by émigré families, private photographic collections of the wartime generations. Most of these resources are scattered across private homes, digitally unprotected, and at risk of disappearing with the passing of the oldest generation of witnesses. Central Polish archives currently have no systematic way of reaching them.
Approach
A mobile reconstruction studio in the form of a complete, transportable kit (high-resolution 600 DPI scanner, audio recording station for interviews, offline AI terminal, OCR toolkit for 19th–20th-century handwriting) travels cyclically to centres of the Polish diaspora. On the ground a local team — in partnership with the Wspólnota Polska association, Polish Institutes and parishes — organises a 5–10-day digitisation session. A two-way model: digital originals and curated metadata return to Polish central archives (NAC, IPN); paper copies remain with the family owners. Biographical oral-history interviews are recorded in Polish and the host country's language — transcribed by AI models, verified by diaspora curators.
Specifications
Missions / year (target)
4–6
Mission duration
5–10 days
Language coverage
PL + 4 host-country languages
Output
Digital + paper copy returned to owners
Strategic partnerships
Wspólnota Polska · Polish Institutes · Senate · NAC
Technology stack
Mobile scanner kit 600 DPIWhisper PL+EN+DE+FR interview transcriptionDDColor + Clarity-SR (archival colour restoration)Handwritten OCR (Transkribus / custom models)Multilingual metadata (PL / EN / DE / FR / ES)OAI-PMH sync with the National Digital ArchivesIIIF Image Server (public access)
What is already done·Facts
Concrete milestones already delivered
Q4 2025
completedFive priority centres identified (USA-Chicago, UK-London, DE-Berlin/Hamburg, FR-Paris, AU-Sydney) based on density analysis of archival resources
Q1 2026
completedMobile scanner kit concept approved — must travel as hand luggage, 8h battery power, offline AI (no data transfer beyond mission territory)
Roadmap
Milestones of the initiative
Q3 2026
Formal framework agreement with a strategic partner on the diaspora side (recommended: Wspólnota Polska)
Q4 2026
Specification of the mobile scanner kit + mission procedure + oral-history questionnaire package
Q2 2027
First international mission — recommended: Chicago or London
Q4 2027
Post-mission report + data integration with NAC (pilot)
2028
Full cycle of 4–6 missions per year + expansion to Germany / France
2029
Synchronisation with NAC as standard workflow + public Polonia Memoriae database online
Partners we are looking for
Who we want to work with
Wspólnota Polska Association
Main framework partner — Polish diaspora network in 30+ countries
Senate of the Republic of Poland
Statutory funding under care of the Polish diaspora
Polish Institutes abroad
Local operational support of missions (24 institutes worldwide)
Polish-diaspora parishes
Most common diaspora archives — sacramental registers, parish documents
Polish museums and libraries abroad
Polish Museum in America (Chicago), Polish Library in Paris, Sikorski Institute in London
National Digital Archives (NAC)
Central integration of resources + metadata standard
Institute of National Remembrance (IPN)
For post-combatant and Solidarity-era emigration archives
Who this is for
Polish-diaspora parishes, diaspora associations (Polish Association in Germany, PNA, ZHP abroad), diaspora archives (Polish Museum in America, Polish Library in Paris, Sikorski Institute), émigré families across generations
Get involved
Your institution could be the first.
First partners co-create the initiative through feedback and tests. They receive full support from the foundation's team at pilot pricing, and their contribution feeds into the public reference package.
FTI · KRS 0001049849
