Call for Papers: “Museums Between Facts and Fiction” Conference, 12 and 13 October 2026

11.03.2026
Museum Europäischer Kulturen

In collaboration with the Museum Europäischer Kulturen (MEK, Museum of European Cultures) the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Bundesinstitut für Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa (BKGE, Federal Institute for the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe) is organising a conference on the topic of “Museen zwischen Fakten und Fiktion: Fake News, KI und die Vermittlung von Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa” (Museums Between Facts and Fiction: Fake News, AI and the Communication of the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe) on 12 and 13 October 2026. The event will take place at the Museum Europäischer Kulturen in Berlin-Dahlem. Proposals for papers may be submitted until 10 April 2026.

Date: 12 and 13 October 2026
Location: Museum Europäischer Kulturen, Arnimallee 25, 14195 Berlin
Organiser: Bundesinstitut für Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa (Oldenburg) in collaboration with the Museum Europäischer Kulturen – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Conference languages: German and English

Museums are places for preserving, interpreting and presenting (im)material cultural assets. They provide spaces for education and play a central role in the transfer of knowledge and collective memory. This transfer no longer takes place solely through collection objects and exhibitions, but increasingly also via digital platforms, participatory formats and transcultural networks.

How can museums integrate the potential of new technologies in a meaningful and considered way? A wide range of new forms of interaction and participation are available for this purpose: Digital technologies – from artificial intelligence (AI) to virtual reality (VR) – are expanding the possibilities for innovative and accessibility-friendly outreach.

At the same time, the digital public sphere presents new challenges: The virtual space is also a breeding ground for fake news, AI-generated images and other forms of disinformation. As institutions of knowledge with high social standing, museums bear a special responsibility. As active members of an open society, they raise awareness of these dangers and can help prevent social division..

Conference on “Museums Between Facts and Fiction” at the MEK

The conference, “Museums Between Facts and Fiction: Fake News, AI and the Communication of the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe”, aims to explore the multifaceted dimensions of conveying knowledge and collective memory in museums against the backdrop of new digital technologies and AI-supported educational formats, and to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives on this complex field.

The focus will be on the culture and history of the Germans in Eastern Europe, a subject area within Germany’s remembrance culture that also concerns the centuries-long history of entanglement between Germany and its eastern neighbours. This includes the Shoah and the war of extermination launched by Germany in the East, as well as the resulting flight, expulsion and resettlement of Germans from autumn 1944 onwards. The international perspective is central to a shared, forward-looking process of coming to terms with the past and conveying it to current and future generations.

Possible Questions

• How can perspectives and exhibition narratives be adapted to make museums more appealing to different social groups and generations in the (post-) digital age?
• How can museums address historical and political manipulation and memory gaps?
• What has been the experience of museums so far with the use of digital technologies and AI in education and outreach? Where do added benefits emerge, and where do problems arise? Where would additional resources be required?
• Which ethical and practical challenges and risks are associated with the use of digital technologies, for instance, AI assistants?
• What role do eyewitness accounts play, and how can digital technologies contribute to the presentation of such accounts?
• How can digital technologies and AI help bring new voices into discourses on remembrance? Which participatory, digital formats can stimulate dialogue with visitors – even across generations and borders?
• Which AI media literacy training projects exist at museums – both in-house and external ones?
• What opportunities do digital infrastructures and AI-supported tools offer for international collaboration and a multi-voiced, multiperspectival reappraisal of the past?

We welcome contributions on new methodological and theoretical approaches, as well as proposals exploring the interplay between museums, remembrance and social change from the perspective of museum practice.

Call for Papers

Please email an abstract (max. 600 words) and a brief CV to bkge[at]bkge.bund.de by 10 April 2026.

Selected contributions will be presented as talks (20 minutes). Shorter contributions in the form of case studies are also possible (10-minute presentation and 15-minute discussion).

Travel and accommodation costs for speakers will be covered by the organisers, subject to the availability of budgetary funds.