NEMO discussed museums and social transformation at CULTUROPOLIS

 This photograph shows five people sitting on a stage. They are wearing headphones and one of them is talking while looking at the audience. In the background presentation slides are projected.

On 18 November 2022, NEMO Secretary General contributed to the panel discussion “Democratisation of Cultural Institutions: What is the Way Forward?” which was part of the conference CULTUROPOLIS in Barcelona, Spain.

Julia Pagel talked about what museums need, as well as what they need to do, to support social transformation. She said that museums also should be about somebody rather than only about something. By connecting and collecting, museums may make their collections more relevant and interesting for their communities.

The aim of the panel discussion was to reflect on the steps needed for cultural institutions to exercise more democratic participation and to understand the role of each stakeholder in terms of the conflict between multiculturalism, decolonisation and cultural hegemony. The panellists also explored the ideal conditions for cultural institutions to approach cultural democracy, in terms of internal decision-making and in practices. Pagel was joined by Pedro Jiménez Álvarez, Laia Forné, Sara Brighenti and Jorge Luis Marzo moderated the panel.  

CULTUROPOLIS took place from 16-19 November with the aim of reflecting on and discussing cultural rights, thinking about how they are defined and imagining and finding mechanisms that promote and guarantee that they are respected.