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FOCUS ON CONSERVATION 2025 – ROUTES TO RESILIENCE Online Conference December 2025

November 8 2025

**Pictured:** Leibniz Focus on Conservation Dec 2025

FOCUS ON CONSERVATION 2025 –

ROUTES TO RESILIENCE

ONLINE CONFERENCE

DECEMBER 2–5, 2025

13:00 - 17:00 CET each day

FREE PARTICIPATION, REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Museums, as stewards of cultural heritage, face increasing challenges in safeguarding their collections. Changes in our physical, societal, and economic environments all pose risks to the preservation and conservation of cultural objects and the institutions that care for them.

Continuing the "Focus on Conservation" conference series, this online event will explore how cultural heritage professionals and institutions can build resilience in the face of these pressures.

Focus on Conservation 2025 – Routes to Resilience will explore strategies and approaches that strengthen the long-term sustainability of collections, conservation practices, and the institutions that support them.

Over four days, the conference will examine diverse pathways to enhancing the resilience of cultural heritage. As stewards of these vital assets, museums and related institutions face increasing challenges in sustaining their core activities. This year’s gathering brings together practitioners from across disciplines and regions to share experiences, exchange ideas, and analyse the many facets of building resilience in conservation.

Conference Outline

Day 1 – Resilient Collections & Spaces [Tueday 2 December 2025]

Day One focuses on the museum envelope and collection storage—areas where environmental parameters are crucial to maintaining the physical integrity of museum objects. As institutions face increasing challenges from fluctuating weather patterns and rising energy costs, the day will explore how resilience can be achieved through adaptive strategies. Discussions will address approaches such as relaxing climate parameters, optimising energy consumption, and rethinking the building envelope of museums to ensure sustainable preservation practices for the future.

Confirmed Speakers: Kathleen Ferrier; Pil Rasmussen; Heidi Sobol; Brian Coyle; Ralf Kilian; Christof Ziegert; Morten Ryhl-Svendsen; Simon Lambert

Day 2 – Resilient Conservation Practice [Wednesday 3 December 2025]

Day Two examines how conservation practices themselves can become more resilient. Topics include training the next generation of conservators, adapting workflows to climatic and financial constraints, and finding innovative ways to meet conservation demands in an increasingly resource-limited environment.

Confirmed Speakers: Claire Betelu; Nasir Al Darmaki; Anwar Sabik ; Mariana Valdez and Federico Tamborenea; Celiwe Dlamini; Camila Carmagos ; Cecil K. Andersen; Ayesha Fuentes; Lian The

Day 3 – Resilient Resources & Partnerships [Thursday 4 December 2025]

Day Three turns to the question of resources and funding. Museums worldwide share the challenge of limited financial capacity, often resulting in deferred conservation efforts. Presentations and dialogues will explore strategies for post-crisis recovery, sustainable funding models, and community engagement as a means to strengthen financial resilience.

Confirmed Speakers: Elke Selter; Medea Ekner ; José Luiz Pederzoli ; Henry McGhie; Young Hee Sung; Catherine Snel, Ayesha Hendricks ; Juergen Vervoorst; Tom Learner; Lori Wong

Day 4 – Resilient Futures [Friday 5 December 2025]

Day Four looks ahead to the future of museum and collection resilience. Through a mix of forward-looking topics—including biomimetic approaches, digitisation, and the integration of AI in building management and collection care—this day will explore innovative solutions that prepare museums to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Confirmed Speakers: Emma Jhita ; Hanna Hölling ; Johanna Leissner; Lisa Swedberg; Johanna Eiramo; Annette Kühlem; Hilke Berger; Thomas Speck; Birgitte Aga

Registration Information

Registration for Focus on Conservation 2025 – Routes to Resilience is now open.
Please register by completing the online form at the following link:
Registration Form: https://forms.gle/AMQTDQB2M5Pq6zz57

Contact info: FoC2025@mfn.berlin

On behalf of the organising team: Kate Seymour, ICOM CC, Marisa Pamplona, Deutsches Museum; Dawn Rogala, Smithsonian; Melissa Miller, Smithsonian, Kim Krazon KI Culture, Peter Giere, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin; Piotr Swiatek, Deutsches Bergbaumuseum

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FOCUS ON CONSERVATION 2025 – ROUTES TO RESILIENCE Online Conference December 2025

FOCUS ON CONSERVATION 2025 –

ROUTES TO RESILIENCE

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