The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania is celebrating its 105th anniversary and is hosting an international conference MEMORY INSTITUTIONS AND THE STATE: Connecting History, Understanding the Present, and Building a Future on November 7-8 2024. Hosted by the library’s Statehood Centre, this event aims to explore the dynamic relationship between memory institutions, the nation and its government through various historical and contemporary perspectives.
The conference invites scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to submit an abstract for presentation. Specific questions addressed in the presentations may include, but are not limited to:
- What is/was/has been the connection between memory institutions and the state (regional, historical perspective)?
- What role do memory institutions play in shaping national identity and collective memory?
- What is the direction of cultural policy in shaping the preservation of memory?
- What is the relationship between memory institutions and politics of memory? How do memory institutions contribute (or can contribute) to the making of state memory policy? Should they try to contribute to the making of this policy?
- What impact does the presence or absence of interconnections between institutional and community initiatives have on the preservation of memory?
- What is the convergence between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and memory institutions in preserving and promoting cultural heritage? How do NGOs influence memory institutions, and what are the implications of these collaborations?
- What is the future of memory institutions in the face of technological and societal changes? How can memory institutions innovate to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world? Stories of success and challenges.
- How are memory institutions contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? What specific activities are being undertaken to support these goals?
- What are the best practices for implementing educational and dissemination activities within memory institutions to ensure effectiveness and broad accessibility?
- What is the role of memory institutions in strengthening democracy, in the current geopolitical context?
- What are the key research directions in the field of memory institutions?
- How do memory institutions navigate the influence of political agendas? What is the role of memory institution managers/staff in navigating among different political agendas?
- How does state funding shape the priorities of cultural heritage projects? What are the implications of funding cuts and budget constraints on the sustainability and autonomy of memory institutions within the state?
The conference will be held on-site in Vilnius, Lithuania. The working language of the conference is English. There is no participation or registration fee; the deadline to submit the abstract is 22nd July 2024 - more info here