The K?te Hamburger Center for Advanced Study in the Humanities "inherit. heritage in transformation" at Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin (HU) invites you to the public panel discussion "Heritage Urgencies: Perspectives from Research in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America" on Wednesday, 16 July 2025, from 6 to 8 pm.
The event will focus on the pressing challenges facing (cultural) heritage and heritage studies worldwide. Threats such as environmental crises, technological upheavals and geopolitical tensions are currently fundamentally changing the understanding of cultural heritage and the practical handling of it.
The directors of the Centre, Prof. Dr Eva Ehninger and Prof. Dr Sharon Macdonald, will be joined by international experts and advisory board members who will contribute perspectives from research contexts in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
The panel discussion is organised by inherit. heritage in transformation, a BMFTR-funded K?te Hamburger Kolleg at Humboldt-Universit?t, which deals with historical, present and future transformations in the field of heritage.
Heritage is a key issue of our time
Dealing with tangible and intangible heritage is one of the key issues of our time. What is considered worth preserving in a society? And who decides? The way in which the topic is dealt with provides information about the respective ideas of cultural identity, belonging and exclusion as well as how we want to live together in the future. These questions must be answered again and again against the backdrop of current global developments.
At a glance
When: 16 July 2025, 6 to 8 p.m.
Where: Festsaal, Luisenstra?e 56, 10117 Berlin
Programme and registration: The event will be held in English, please register for the event. Participation is free of charge. Programme and registration by e-mail: info-inherit? Please insert an @ at this point ?hu-berlin? Please insert a period at this pointde. A livestream is available on the event website .
Topics of the panel discussion
In India, Mahalakshmi Ramakrishnan (Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) examines how Sanskrit is gaining cultural significance - often at the expense of other spokespersons. The article shows how this development is linked to questions of political power and historical narratives.
Marija Dr?mait? Faculty of History, Vilnius University) deals with the question of how Lithuanian architects passed on their knowledge and cultural heritage in times of geopolitical crises, war and refugee situations (1939 to 1959) and how heritage and resilience can relate to each other.
In Mexico, Marisa Belausteguigoita Rius (School of Humanities, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) explores how imprisoned women use artistic practices to reflect on their life stories, experiences of violence and crime and their visions of the future and develop new forms of remembrance and self-understanding.
Paul Basu (Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford) asks how academia and the public deal with the desire for clear answers in the debate about the decolonisation of museums and collections. This desire often replaces cultural and historical ambiguities with apparent ethical certainties.
Shouyong Pan (Department of Archaeology and Museology, Shanghai University) will make a further contribution to the discussion. His research focus is on museum anthropology, tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as social and cultural change, also in connection with the digital, such as the development of the metaverse.
Further information
Event website and link for the live stream
Contact Dr Kristin Werner
Dr Kristin Werner
K?te Hamburger Centre for Advanced Study in the Humanities “inherit. heritage in transformation”
Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin
Research Coordinator
E-mail: kristin.werner? Please insert an @ at this point ?hu-berlin? Please insert a period at this pointde