In 2021, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin was awarded a Europeana Research Grant under the theme ‘Crowdsourcing and Research’. Find out more about what the funded project achieved.
The ‘Museum für Naturkunde Berlin – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science’ is an integrated research- based museum established in 1810 and now part of the Leibniz Association, which connects a hundred research institutions throughout Germany. The museum can be considered one of the most important research institutions worldwide in the areas of biological and geological evolution and biodiversity. It pays particular attention to Citizen Science.
The project funded by the Europeana Research Grants Programme built upon a series of three workshops (in digital and hybrid formats) with professionals working on archives and cultural heritage collections; scholars focusing on the Anthropocene (the ‘Age of Humankind’); and experts in digital and participatory practices.The workshops explored the challenges of transdisciplinary, digital and participatory work with ‘anthropocenic objects’, bridging the gap between natural and cultural heritage.
The workshops addressed questions while exploring the challenges of transdisciplinary, digital and participatory work with ‘anthropocenic objects’. They discussed:
What is an anthropocenic object?
How can it be collected and who collects (and owns) it?
How can it be stored and saved?
What could future collection practices and archives of the Anthropocene look like?
The workshops provided a comprehensive interdisciplinary overview of the current discussions on the Anthropocene and museum practices. The results converged into a report published on RIO | Research Ideas and Outcomes platform. This piece could be used by anyone to approach and explore the topic of the Anthropocene and cultural heritage, and to reflect on their own work from this point of view. It also provides ideas for further collaborations.
You can download an abridged version of the report below.