Changing Approaches Towards Restitution and Return of Colonial Heritage
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Taking responsibility concerning colonial heritage and restitution is a pressing issue for countries and museums worldwide. On 23 and 24 May, a Leiden University interdisciplinary symposium will explore new perspectives as a basis for policies
One of the shortcomings of existing approaches to restitution and return is that they remain largely centered on national/domestic perspectives, while paying limited attention to the broader transnational dimensions of restitution policies. The purpose of this conference is to look beyond individual country approaches/ethical policies to explore what comparative lessons can be learned from different contexts regarding the treatment of cultural objects and/or human remains. Our discussions will focus on a number of themes:
- De-colonial approaches towards ownership and ontologies of objects
- Fresh engagement with semantics and epistemic frames
- Processes of re-connecting objects
- Experiences with digitization
- New forms of collaboration between museums and heritage communities.