Museums for Europe Summit
Arrival: 9 March 2025 | Departure: 11 March evening / 12 March morning
How can city museums strengthen democratic culture and resilience in European cities? (10–11 March 2027)
Europe’s future is closely connected to the future of democracy. Democratic resilience depends not only on political institutions, legislation and elections, but also on the social and cultural infrastructure in which democratic life takes place. Cities are spaces where diverse communities meet and where questions of belonging, identity, memory and the future are negotiated.
City museums are part of this infrastructure. They are places where histories and memories are interpreted, but can also become spaces for participation, dialogue, learning and community engagement.
The Bratislava Summit will explore what this means in practice: what can city museums contribute to democratic culture and resilience, what do museums need to change or develop within their institutions, and what can we learn from one another?
Nina de Gelder
Bratislava City Museum
nina.degelder@mmb.sk
Two days of exchange, reflection and collective work
Call for Practice Contributions
Museums in Practice: Experiences, Experiments and Dilemmas
Have you tried something new? Are you facing a dilemma? Did an experiment work – or fail? Are you currently searching for an answer? We invite Museums for Europe partners to share a short contribution from their current practice — a project, experiment, new approach, institutional change, difficult experience, dilemma or question they are working through. We are interested not only in successful or transferable practices, but also in uncertainties, challenges and things that did not work as expected. If you are considering contributing, please let us know by 31 October 2026. This is an informal expression of interest to help us plan the session; it is not a commitment or a formal submission.
Detailed information on the format and submission requirements will be shared in early October.
Deadline for practice contribution proposals: 30 November 2026
Museums for Europe is a European initiative bringing together city museums and other interested museum organisations to explore how museums can contribute to democratic culture and resilient cities through cooperation, exchange and shared learning.
The initiative is based on shared values of openness, dialogue, participation, diversity and mutual support, and remains open to new partners interested in joining the conversation and contributing to its development.
Museums for Europe emerged from a conference organised by the Museum of Kraków on 1–2 May 2024, marking the 20th anniversary of the accession of ten countries to the European Union. The meeting brought together museums from across Europe and highlighted a shared conviction that museums have an important role to play in shaping Europe’s future.
Following the conference, participants decided to continue the dialogue and develop a regular platform for exchange and cooperation. The first Museums for Europe meeting took place in Krakow in December 2025, further developing the initiative and its objectives.
The next Museums for Europe meeting will take place in Bratislava in March 2027, where we look forward to continuing the conversation, strengthening cooperation and exploring opportunities for joint action among European museums.