Contact Zones in Practice │ Conference

Name: Contact Zones in Practice │ Conference
Start: 2025-12-03T09:00:00+02:00
Location: Goethe-Institut Bucuresti

Schedule

Wed, 03 Dec, 2025 at 09:00 am

UTC+02:00

Location

Goethe-Institut Bucuresti | Bucharest, BU

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞
𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲, 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞
📍 Goethe-Institut Bucharest, Calea Dorobanți 32
Training for the Contact Zone (TCZ) is a European project dedicated to rethinking adult education, with a special focus on museums and heritage learning.
This event invites practitioners, policymakers, artists and mediators, cultural workers to explore how arts, culture, and heritage spaces can function as Contact Zones: not as places where differences are erased, but as spaces where they are acknowledged, engaged and transformed into something shared.
📅 2 December 2025
🔲 Talk 🔲
𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬: 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 📌 18:00 - 19:00

📅 3 December 2025
🔲 Conference 🔲 📌 9:00 - 17:30
𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
Across Europe, societies are facing major challenges: increasing political polarisation, shrinking civic and cultural spaces, and growing distrust in democratic processes. In this context, cultural and heritage work—carried out by institutions, educators, artists, cultural practitioners, and policymakers—plays a vital role in shaping shared and liveable realities.
“𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞” – 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
How can we create spaces that foster reflection, dialogue, and collective agency, even in the face of conflicting perspectives or contested histories?
🔲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 🔲
The conference introduces the Contact Zone as a framework for navigating these complexities. A Contact Zone is any physical, social, or symbolic space where people with different experiences, identities, and worldviews come together. Such encounters can be difficult, but they open the door to mutual understanding, shared agency, and collective sense-making/ meaning-making.

🔲 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 🔲
𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥:
🔲 Reflect on the rise of polarisation and anti-democratic shifts across Europe and their relationship with culture and heritage.
Explore the TCZ curriculum as a tested framework for inclusive and participatory practices.
🔲 Discuss how TCZ tools can strengthen cultural democracy, civic engagement in local realities and intercultural exchange.
🔲 Consider how methodologies developed in the TCZ can inform cultural policies and contribute to structural changes.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
More than a metaphor, the Contact Zone challenges us to rethink how we engage with difference, heritage, and power structures. By equipping practitioners and institutions with critical, creative, and participatory tools, the TCZ project contributes to a more inclusive and responsive cultural governance.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.
🔲 It shares insights from a year of cross-border collaboration in which the TCZ approach was developed, tested, and refined.
🔲 It opens new space for dialogue, connecting experience with advocacy to shape future policies and practices.

🔲 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🔲

Registration Form click here 🗒 https://tinyurl.com/69e8yfdb
Participation in the conference is free of charge and open to all interested professionals working in the fields of arts, culture, education, heritage, and community engagement.

📌 Spaces are limited, so we encourage early registration to ensure your participation.

🔵 Training for the Contact Zone is co-funded by the European Union within the framework of Erasmus+ Adult Education.

Organisations part of the Training for the Contact Zone project team:

🔹 Culture Action Europe (BE) – lead for networking and knowledge sharing;
🔹 Conexiones improbables (ES) – lead for curriculum development and pilot in Vitoria;
🔹 Etz Hayyim Synagogue (GR) – lead for the training on interculturality;
🔹 Goethe-Institut (RO) – lead for communication and pilot in Bucharest;
🔹 Humán Platform (HU) – lead for the training on post-communism;
🔹 PELE (PT) – lead for training and training on post-colonialism;
🔹 Herengracht 401 (NL) – lead for project management and pilot in Amsterdam.