We are pleased to present the final program of the Museums and Communities conference

This conference Museums and Communities. The heritage of belonging focuses on the interaction between museums and communities. In times of mobility and change, history museums play an important role in societal questions of social cohesion, identity and belonging. In search of their roots, people turn to heritage. History is popular as never before and it surfaces in all contemporary media. At the same time, the communication era offers new possibilities to form communities, based on common interests and preferences or popular and corporate culture. 

Museums in general, as part of the public sphere, are an important tool in this dynamic process of heritage formation and the performance of community.  

To address these questions related to museums and communities, the Erasmus University Rotterdam organises an international conference in Rotterdam in November 2012. The conference features two keynote speakers. Richard Sandell will explore what happens when museums move away from the impartial narrative and adopt a more activist approach. Kevin Moore will present a paper on the complex relationship between museums and sports and its potential role in community building. In addition, several international experts from the field of museum studies will present fresh insights and new research results on how to engage communities in museums. 

We happily invite you to join the discussion! 

To register, send a mail with your name and affiliation to Hélène Verreyke at verreyke@eshcc.eur.nl. 

Conference Program 

9th of November  

Session 1: The heritage of belonging (9:30-13:30) 

Hélène Verreyke - Public participation in the museum. When practice creates meaning 

Luciana Aenasoaie  - Let the Walls of History Speak: Constructing European Heritage through the Restoration of Neamt Fortress, Romania 

Louise Anne D. Marcelino - Making a Shoe Last: Reprogramming the Marikina Shoe Museum and the 

Historic House of Don Laureano Guevara 

An Lombaerts & Nadia Babazia - The Red Star Line connecting past and present 

Session 2: Questioning belonging (13:30-15:00) 

Susan Hogervorst - Musealization of memory. Survivor communities, camp sites and the re- negotiation of the past 

Robin Ostow - Museums as entrepreneurs in community building. Warsawʼs New Jewish Museum: Building a new history and a twenty-first century democracy 

Maloe Sniekers and Stijn Reijnders - In the Grip of Dutroux. Heritage that Doesnʼt Want to Belong  

KEYNOTE LECTURE (15:15-16:15): Richard Sandell - Activism and the museum 

10th of November 

Session 3: New heritage communities & New media (13:30-11:45) 

Dorus Hoebink - The museum and the performance of community 

Jennifer A. Scott & Elissa Blount Moorhead - Building a Community Museum: Using Social Media to Engage Communities at Weeksville Heritage Center in New York 

Marie Van Cranenbroeck - Social network websites, museums and audiences. From ʻpassiveʼ visitor to ʻactiveʼ co-creator of cultural heritage? 

Session 4: How public heritage participation changes the museum (11:45-14:00) 

Jacqueline Van Leeuwen & Hildegarde Van Genechten - “Tell me, what did you gain?” How to assess the creation of value in co-creative museum projects 

Philippe Dubé - Museum governance model 

Ciara Canning - Out in the Open or Out of our Depth? A case study of a museum project working with homeless people 

KEYNOTE LECTURE (14:00-15:00): Kevin Moore - Museums and sport: the heritage of belonging? 

The organising committee 

Prof. dr. Marlite Halbertsma, Prof. dr. Paul van de Laar, Dr. Stijn Reijnders, Dr. Hélène Verreyke, Dorus Hoebink MA. 

This conference concludes the Community Museums Past and Present project, which is part of the 

NWO programme Cultural Dynamics (http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOA_6J8FRJ_Eng). 

The Community Museums Past and Present project is financed by the VSB foundation. 

If you have any questions concerning the conference, accommodation or transport please do not hesitate to contact Hélène Verreyke: verreyke@eshcc.eur.nl