The Heritage of Minorities, Fringe Groups and People Without a Lobby

22 October 2024

The European Heritage Year 1975 motto was “A future for our past.” Fifty years later, given the consequences of globalisation, migration, communication technology revolutions, and civil and human rights activism, the question arises of who is meant by “us.”

The interdisciplinary conference “A Future for whose Past? The Heritage of Minorities, Fringe Groups and People Without a Lobby” is dedicated to this and other questions.

It will take place in Ascona (Switzerland) from 22 to 24 October 2025, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the European Architectural Heritage Year.

The ICOMOS working group “Architectural Heritage Year 2025,” ETH Zurich and EPFL, and the National Information Centre for Cultural Heritage (NIKE) jointly organised the conference. It aims to promote a more profound exchange between science and practice and to create a wide range of networking opportunities between the two areas. The conference venue is the Congressi Stefano Franscini Conference Centre in Monte Verità.

Call for Papers

The organisation invites researchers and practitioners from the fields of architectural and archaeological heritage preservation, heritage studies, social anthropology, history and social sciences, architecture and art history, representatives of minorities, and persons working in the integration sector to apply for a contribution.

(Source and further information: A Future for whose Past?)