Brussels, where the web was born?

KIKK, Horizon 50-200 & Mundaneum partnering Wallonia-Brussels International, ULB, Beci, Pilen and the Royal Museums of Art and History, invite you to a journey to the origins of the world wide web to (re)discover this essential part of Belgian scientific and cultural heritage.

Did you know that the Cinquantenaire in Brussels hosted the very first ancestor of the Internet? Established from 1910 to 1930 in the current “Auto World”, the “Palais mondial – Mundaneum” was a World Center of Science and a Museum of knowledge. It was envisioned by its founders inspired by book sciences as the “Museum of the Future” that would ensure universal access to knowledge from around the world.

80 years ago, the Belgian Internet visionary Paul Otlet (1868-1944) passed away. Co-founder of the “Palais mondial – Mundaneum”, now recognized as one of the early thinkers of the world wide web and modern information sciences, its enterprise for knowledge fell into oblivion for more than half a century, remembered only by a small coterie of library scientists and academic specialists.

That changed in June 2008, when an investigation titled « The web that time forgot » was published in the New York Times. The article was written by a journalist named Alex Wright, who came specifically from Brooklyn to discover the Mundaneum or what remained of this great Belgian cultural and scientific enterprise from the late 19th century.

Today located in Mons, the Mundaneum and its 6 km of archives are recognized as « Memory of the World Heritage » by UNESCO and « European Heritage Label » by European commission.

The talk will be facilitated by Laurent Hublet, author of « Bruxelles mondiale, from Paul Otlet to the Present Day » and Delphine Jenart, project manager at KIKK.

Alex Wright (New-York, USA) is a prominent figure in the field of User Experience design and research. He is known for his work as both an industry practitioner and historian of the networked ages. Wright has authored two books and more than 100 articles (NY Times, The Atlantic, Salon.com, among others) that explore the intersection of technology, culture, and design, including “Cataloging the world: Paul Otlet and the birth of the information age” (Oxford University Press, 2014) and “Informatica: mastering information through the ages” (Cornell University Press, 2023). His insights have influenced both practitioners and academics, making him a respected voice in the tech community (SxSW, O’Reilly, Gartner Group conferences). He lives in Brooklyn, NY, and holds a PhD in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

On the occasion of the visit to Belgium during the KIKK festival by Dr. Alex Wright (New-York, USA), Horizon 50/200, KIKK, Mundaneum partnering Wallonia-Brussels International, ULB, Beci, Pilen and the Royal Museums of Art and History, invite you to a journey to the origins of the world wide web to (re)discover this essential part of the history of Belgium and our scientific and cultural heritage.