Archief en documentatiecentrum voor het Vlaams-nationalisme

The Archief en documentatiecentrum voor het Vlaams-nationalisme (ADVN) was founded in 1984 in Flanders, as a private independent scientific institute. It is recognized by decree and funded by the Flemish Community.

The ADVN is an archive and research centre that focuses on nationalism and national movements in general, and Flemish nationalism and the Flemish movement in particular. It collects, preserves and describes all sorts of historical sources related to these subjects (archives, books, periodicals, photographs, films, tapes a.s.o.). These are made available, general and specific regulations permitting, for research in its reading room. These sources are also used for publications, exhibitions and media purposes (newspapers, periodicals, television, radio). The institute carries out scientific research on all theoretical, general and specialised topics in the field of nationalism. It also partakes in a number of state-funded database projects, like ODIS (a database on Flemish intermediary structures: www.odis.be) and Archiefbank Vlaanderen (the archival database for private archives in Flanders: www.archiefbank.be). The ADVN publishes the results of its research through conferences, exhibitions and publications. It also produces Wetenschappelijke tijdingen, the leading scientific journal on the history of the Flemish movement.

The core collection of the ADVN consists of archives and collections created by and from the national movements in Flanders in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries: Flemish nationalism, the cultural, political and socio-economic sections of the Flemish movement, and the historically related Greater and Whole Netherlands movements. The core collection contains material concerned with, for example, the earliest language struggles in the 19th century; the Front movement and activism; mass mobilization and radicalization in the interwar period; collaboration and repression; post-war party formation; state reforms; and institutionalisation since the 1970s. The collection therefore focuses on more than just the political aspects of nationalism; it also considers the cultural, social, economic and ecological aspects of national movements and national identity formation in Flanders.

The complementary collections of the ADVN are primarily made up of material originating from or created by various social projects and movements that have had historical links with the national movements in Flanders. As a result, the ADVN holds thematic sub-collections on federalism, pacifism, the Daensist movement and Flemish folk art, and four thematic sub-collections grouped in the radical/controversial cluster based on the themes of racism, negationism, fascism and right-wing radicalism.

The ADVN collection is spread over and is managed by three departments:

• the archive department

• the image & sound department

• the library department

Archive All unpublished documents, both paper and digital, are stored in this department. Specifically, it concerns correspondence, reports, accounting, notes, diaries, personal notes, etc. These documents are described in transfer lists or inventories that can only be consulted internally. An overview of all archives is available online. As the collections held by the ADVN have differing access restrictions, requests view them are subject to a preliminary examination of the conditions for consultation.

Image & Sound All unpublished and published documents held by the Image & Sound department require specific storage according to their format or material origin. Specifically, the department is responsible for conserving films, video cassettes, photos, glass negatives, slides, sound cassettes, sound tapes, compact discs, floppy disks, gramophone records, posters, wall papers, prints, picture cards, license plates, stickers, plans and cards, paintings, drawings, menus, stamps, shields, banners, text signs, bas-reliefs, death masks, flags, banners and pennants, uniforms etc. These pieces are formally and substantively described in a database that can be consulted online at: https://advn.be/nl/zoeken

The published documents held by the Image & Sound department are, in principle, freely and immediately available for consultation. As with documents held by the Archives department, requests for unpublished material (e.g. photos and interviews) are subject to a preliminary examination of the conditions for consultation (response after a maximum of five days). The documents that have been digitised are, in principle, not removed from storage.

Library All published publications, both of paper and digital origin, are held by the Library. The Library’s collection includes books; brochures; newspapers; magazines; and other various forms of documentation (clippings, pamphlets and leaflets, music scores, prayer cards and obituaries). These publications are described in a database that can be consulted online. The books, periodicals and documentation are, in principle, freely and immediately available for consultation.