Harry Verwayen

Harry Verwayen is General Director of the Europeana Foundation, which leads the common European data space for cultural heritage. His work focuses on how cultural heritage, data governance, and AI intersect. At Europeana, he works with museums, libraries, archives, policymakers, and technologists across Europe to support digital transformation and to ensure that digitised cultural collections remain accessible and reusable as public resources. A central concern in his work is how AI reshapes collective memory, knowledge production, and cultural plurality, and what it means to treat information as a public good rather than a proprietary asset. Harry previously worked as a consultant at the Amsterdam-based think tank Kennisland and spent over a decade in academic publishing. He holds a Master’s degree in History from Leiden University. Harry has served on various governing boards and advisory groups, including AI4LAM, Time Machine Organisation, IIIF, the Competence Centre for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, the European Heritage Awards, and the Khalili Foundation.