The ICMEMOHRI 25th Anniversary Conference marks a milestone for ICOM’s International Committee for Memorial and Human Rights Museums. It will bring together museum professionals, scholars, human rights advocates, and memory workers to explore how sites of memory transform personal and collective remembrance into sustainable public memorialization. As first-hand witnesses fade, ethical and meaningful representation becomes ever more urgent, especially in times of shrinking civic space and rising authoritarianism.
In Vienna, reflections will include the city’s anti-fascist struggles, Jewish exile, Roma and Sinti persecution, forced displacement, concentration camps, and Austria’s complicity in Nazi crimes. The conference will also engage with sites and institutions addressing contemporary human rights issues, including places dedicated to the documentation of state violence, alongside global examples such as the Spanish Civil War and the International Brigades. These histories remind us that memorial museums must preserve memory while actively defending human dignity and human rights today.
The conference is organized around a new format with visits to memorials in the morning, followed by papers, panel discussions, and/or workshops in the afternoon. Each day will be centered around a different thematic focus emerging from the conference framework and selected contributions.