Over the years, the Culture in Crisis Programme has convened a number of major international conferences, bringing together an interdisciplinary field of global professionals to discuss key issues and debates relating to the protection of heritage. These meetings afford us the opportunity to 'think big' about emerging questions within the field and bring voices together to promote collaborative working, both within and beyond the heritage sector.
INTO Dundee – Heritage Now: Relevance & Community (2022)
In October 2022, the Culture in Crisis Programme in partnership with the International National Trusts Organisation, the National Trust for Scotland and V&A Dundee convened a major international conference, in Dundee, Scotland.
INTO Dundee: Heritage Now: Relevance & Community highlighted the importance of both people and purpose within heritage preservation, taking an encompassing look at tangible and intangible heritage, as well as the preservation of landscapes where nature and heritage co-exist. The conference explored key ideas such as how relevance is perceived, shaped and adapted within heritage, and how organisations can engage communities and (re)present narratives.
As the heritage sector faces ongoing evolving challenges, now more than ever organisations are recognising the importance of future-focused strategies. The conference provided an important forum for sharing experiences and developing best practices, with specific consideration to work relating to communities and the relevance heritage holds for them.
The event drew together a global audience of heritage professionals and those working in associated sectors, providing a rich opportunity for sharing international experiences and case studies.
Industrial Heritage Summit (2019)
In July 2019, Culture in Crisis hosted the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Industrial Heritage, convening the first-ever national summit to promote the value of the UK’s industrial heritage. The summit drew on the expertise of academics, developers, conservationists and archaeologists to explore best practice, exemplar case studies, and strategies, considering how best to draw on the UK’s industrial past and harness it for our economic future. Themes for discussion included: reuse of industrial buildings; presenting industrial heritage to the public; skilling the sector; public engagement; and tackling industrial heritage at risk. Based on the findings from this conference, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Industrial Heritage has been tasked with drawing up an action plan outlining practical next steps on how to harness potential and address challenges in the sector, which we will publish here in due course.
Cross-disciplinary learning opportunities for natural and cultural heritage preservation (2018)
In October 2018, Culture in Crisis partnered with Yale's Global Cultural Heritage Initiatives and the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, to convene a major international conference in collaboration with University of Pretoria, South Africa. The event had a unique focus on the benefits of both Wildlife and Heritage Conservation. The conference served to highlight the value of these two parallel branches of conservation; demonstrating that through their adoption successful sustainable development on national and international level can be achieved.
The practical applications of digital reproduction in heritage preservation (2017)
During December 2017, the V&A's Culture in Crisis Programme, partnered with Yale Global Cultural Heritage Initiatives, presented a conference and workshop event to address the practical applications of digital reproduction in heritage preservation.
Cultural heritage and wildlife conservation; cross-disciplinary learning (Kigali workshop) (2016)
During August 2016, the V&A's Culture in Crisis Programme and the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the National Museums of Rwanda and the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, organised a conference, held in Kigali, Rwanda, exploring the benefits of both cultural heritage and wildlife conservation practices within the post-conflict recovery of a nation. Looking at the social and economic benefits of these activities, the output of this conference will be the creation of 'road maps to recovery', which could be applied within more contemporaneous conflict zones.
Culture in Crisis II (Yale, 2016)
In April 2016, the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Yale University, in collaboration with the V&A's Culture in Crisis Programme, under the patronage of UNESCO, hosted a satellite event to the UN Global Colloquium of University Presidents at Yale University. This conference focused on the ongoing destruction and loss of cultural heritage in North Africa and the Middle East, which is a cause for worldwide concern and condemnation, as well as the perceived impact of the exodus of people and talent from some parts of the region, resulting in the loss of cultural knowledge as well as local arts and crafts.
Conflict and Cultural Heritage Conference (2015)
The V&A's Culture in Crisis Programme supported the Conflict and Cultural Heritage Conference at St John's College Auditorium, Oxford University in October 2015. This conference aimed to raise public awareness and develop an understanding of the issues surrounding the protection of cultural heritage at risk from armed conflict.
Culture in Crisis I (V&A, 2015)
On 14 April 2015 the V&A's Culture in Crisis Programme, in collaboration with Yale University's Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and under the patronage of UNESCO, hosted an international conference to discuss the issue of 'Culture in Crisis'.