International Conference

Heritage, Museums, Collections
Professionals’ Sharing of Skills between Africa and Europe
📍 Rome, Italy – September 24–26, 2025

Organised by:
ICOM Europe – ICOM Africa
In collaboration with: ICOM Arab, Italian Ministry of Culture DIVA, ICOM Italy, ICOFOM, SUSTAIN, MPR, AVICOM, ICOM WGD

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Call for Papers

Debates involving museums and decolonization practices are ongoing and evolving, taking into account the global consequences of colonialism in contemporary societies. These include social and economic inequalities, the marginalization of certain populations, ongoing threats to indigenous peoples and their traditional lands, institutional racism, and sexism in all its forms.

Decolonization, in its many uses by museums and curators, is a practice and an effort that sits within a continuum—one that looks different in various parts of the world. It addresses difficult histories related to political relations and the formation of empires, resulting in diverse and often experimental solutions.

At its core, “decolonization” is about questioning established systems, acknowledging the destruction they caused, and seeking remedy by confronting and telling the truth about these legacies. Restitution involves not only the material and legal return of colonial objects, but also a spiritual restoration of identity and knowledge. For those reclaiming their right to memory, restitution means reconnecting with history—an effort that requires collaboration with institutions holding colonial-era collections.

Through collaboration with African and Afro-descendant curators, artists, activists, and scholars, European museums are rewriting narratives, revising practices, and sharing knowledge to advance decolonization efforts.

This collaboration must also lead to the recognition of cultural diversity and to a new understanding of museums—not as fixed entities defined by Western historical models, but as institutions deeply connected to memory-making processes shaped by local, historical, anthropological, and sociological realities.

The presence – both in terms of quantity and significance – of tangible and intangible African heritage in European museums, religious institutions, universities, and scientific centers remains vast and still partially undocumented.

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Conference Focus

For collections not subject to restitution, museums face the long-term task of:

• Identifying and cataloguing works
• Verifying provenance
• Defining exhibition criteria
• Developing appropriate museological approaches (including interpretation, conservation, restoration, and education)

Interpretation challenges extend to all forms of art outside long-standing Western cultural systems. Studying other cultures helps us recover perspectives that enrich our understanding of our own heritage.

Therefore, the musealization of non-European objects in European museums cannot proceed without critical dialogue around the foundational concepts of heritage and the museum itself.

This conference offers a platform to exchange ideas and explore new ways of approaching African museum heritage within European contexts—by comparing perspectives from African and European thought and practice.

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Conference Structure

• Two in-depth conceptual sessions
  → Featuring four keynote speakers (two from Africa and two from Europe)
  → Followed by two panel discussions

• Three additional panels of comparative case studies
  → European and African museum professionals will present their collaborative experiences

• Final session
  → Summary of key insights, discussion of posters and submitted reports

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Thematic Panels

Submissions should correspond to one of the following areas:

1. Heritage and Museum
   Musealisation, conservation, digitization, restoration, research, study, and cataloguing.

2. Museum Displays
   New readings and new interpretations.

3. Heritage, Museums, Collections
   The role of communities.

The Scientific Committee will especially welcome contributions that highlight practical challenges—political, social, technological, managerial, organisational, and personnel-related—that African and European museum professionals face in working toward anti-colonial transformation.

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Submission Guidelines

🔹 Proposals must be submitted in English or French
🔹 Include:
– Title of presentation
– Abstract (max. 300 words)
– Preferred panel/theme
– Indication of whether the contribution is a lecture or a poster

🎤 Selected speakers will be required to attend the conference in person. Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered.

🖼️ Poster presentations may be sent digitally to the organisers and will be printed and displayed by the conference team. Please note that poster authors will not be reimbursed for travel and accommodation.

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🗓️ Submission Deadline: 25 May 2025

📧 Please send your proposal to: chair.icomeurope@gmail.com

⚠️ Proposals received after this date will not be considered.
🗞 Notifications of acceptance will be sent by June 10, 2025