Futures of Participatory Memory Work (online via Zoom)

The POEM closing conference “Futures of Participatory Memory Work” will discuss fresh approaches to open, participatory and socially inclusive memory work in contemporary digital media environments. Opening a new chapter of participatory memory practices, the POEM European Training Network launches its transformation into a Community of Practice, a forum for practitioners, researchers, civil society organizations, memory organizations, social and cultural entrepreneurs as well as ordinary people who are interested in fostering participatory memory work.

Being aware of the fact that culture may cultivate integrative or disruptive forces, the POEM project started in 2018 with the intention of seeking concepts, strategies and media infrastructures to establish inclusive politics of heritage for envisioning possible futures. Contemporary debates address “difficult” and dissonant heritages that contest European public memory in respect to the representation of colonial legacies, immigration, multiculturalism and transnational history, diverse religious heritages, female heritages, or the inclusion of disadvantaged groups. Being part of public memory is important, because it acknowledges group histories, identities and belongings, and aids the envisioning of positive possible futures. It further supports certain group members’ eligibility claims for public support and redemption, the partaking in economic outcomes or clarifies ownership questions of cultural heritage resources. Another topic that dominates debates on socially inclusive public memory is the emergence of networked media infrastructures that are characteristic of mediatized and globally connected societies. Public memory institutions, like libraries, archives, and museums, have integrated digital media into their participatory memory work, which poses new questions of ownership, access and public engagement. Accordingly, the participatory turn in memory work, essential for a socially inclusive public memory, turns out to be far more difficult in practice.

After 36 months of research, conducted by 13 PhD fellows in 5 countries and 7 academic and non-academic institutions, we are pleased to discuss newly gained insights and ideas with a large network of people. The closing conference will elaborate on strategies and practices of public memory institutions as well as of individuals and groups, who take advantage of digital technologies and social media to connect publicly, share materials, and participate in remembering, commemorating, or celebrating events, people and ideas. How these memory practices can be woven together in participatory and forward-looking ways, is a central concern of the project’s final conference. We hope that these discussions will be the starting point to further develop and foster the opening-up of memory work towards socially inclusive futures across Europe and beyond.