At Work Package 5 - led by Breda University of Applied Sciences - we’re on a mission to bring together artificial intelligence, sustainability, and cultural heritage to shape a more connected and responsible European future. We’re proud to share that we have successfully delivered our first task and assembled a great team of experts from partner institutions who are exploring how to make AI not only smart and efficient, but also ethical, sustainable, and meaningful. This network brings together a diverse group of specialists from fields such as AI, sustainability, history, ethics, anthropology and more, and aims to build long-term partnerships!

The expert team meets monthly to discuss relevant developments and emerging knowledge related to smart sustainability and cultural heritage. Since November 2025, each organisation has been responsible for presenting a case study to the expert group. These case studies aim to spark inspiration and meaningful dialogue about how each example approaches AI ethics and advances systemic change in sustainability and cultural heritage.

If you are interested in joining one of the monthly expert meetings, you are very welcome! Please reach out to the WP5 coordinator, Roberta Jablonskyte, at jablonskyte.r@buas.nl.

The expert team is also continuously sharing relevant articles and reports, contributing to a growing knowledge library that helps us collectively explore new insights at the intersection of AI, sustainability, and cultural heritage. Drawing on both the case study presentations and this shared knowledge base, the expert group aims to refine the developed whitepaper by integrating real-world insights and practitioner challenges, develop a more grounded framework with evidence-based guidelines that reflect actual implementation experiences, and inform our think tank approach by creating practical tools and methodologies that support ethical and sustainable AI by design.

We also have an exciting series of activities planned for 2026,  so keep an eye out!
The team is planning to organise five hackathons and a thematic summer school throughout the year:

• Hackathon 1: University of South Bohemia (USB), České Budějovice, Czech Republic, March 10–12, 2026, Theme: “Smart Archives – Unlocking Knowledge with AI”
• Hackathon 2: Valahia University of Targoviste (VUT), Romania,  May 26–28, 2026
• Hackathon 3: University of Camerino (UNICAM), Italy, June 2026 (dates TBC)
• Thematic Summer School: Breda University of Applied Sciences,  October 19–24, 2026
• Hackathon 4: Breda University of Applied Sciences,  October 22–23, 2026
• Final Hackathon: Trnava University, TUT, Slovakia, November 2026 (dates TBC).