From 3 to 5 September 2025, the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change” will hold a workshop entitled “Digital Restitution: Bridging Access, Conservation, and Ethical Challenges.”
Venue: Lecture Hall JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster
Registration: If you would like to attend, please register by 15 August 2025 at kfg.zugang@uni-muenster.de.
Programme: The programme will be available here shortly.
The workshop will engage in rethinking restitution in the digital age—where heritage, ethics, technology, and sustainability converge to shape the future of cultural preservation. It will bring together scholars, museum professionals, heritage practitioners, and digital technologists to participate in this interdisciplinary discourse on digital heritage preservation and the ethical dimensions of cultural digitization in the field of restitution policies.
The digitization of cultural heritage represents a transformative shift in how we document, access, and engage with the history of colonial collections and the responsibilities to return these to the originating communities. This workshop will explore the extent to which digital replicas can address restitution demands and offer practical strategies for improving access to displaced objects as a means of facilitating their physical repatriation. For decades, repatriation requests for looted and appropriated objects held in museums of the Global North have been met with institutional resistance or political indifference. In response, some source communities are now advocating for alternative restitution models – including virtual heritage archives, shared custodianship, and co-curation frameworks. This raises critical questions: can digital restitution meaningfully address historical injustices, or does it risk becoming a temporary substitute for material restitution? Through keynote lectures, case studies, and panel discussions, the workshop will examine both the opportunities and limitations of digital restitution, informed by international examples and collaborative heritage initiatives. Special attention will be given to the role of 3D scanning, digital twins, and immersive technologies in heritage conservation, as well as the ethical dimensions of digital reproduction, data sovereignty, and cultural sensitivity.
A further central concern of this workshop will be the impact of digital restitution on museums, source communities, and the global heritage discourse, along the legal and political dimensions of digital repatriation—including questions of copyright, data ownership, and the rights of source communities. However, discussions on digital restitution must not overlook the issue of sustainability. The ecological footprint of digital heritage preservation remains an often-overlooked concern. The carbon emissions associated with large-scale digital projects must be critically assessed, and institutions engaging in digital restitution should explore ways to implement environmentally sustainable technologies that mitigate these impacts.
Additionally, the issue of long-term preservation must be addressed. Unlike physical artifacts that have endured for centuries, digital files are susceptible to technological obsolescence, data corruption, and restricted access.
At the same time, unequal access to digital resources remains a pressing challenge. Many local communities lack the technical infrastructure and funding necessary to engage with restituted digital objects. This raises important concerns about whether digital restitution –if not accompanied by capacity-building initiatives – risks reinforcing a form of digital colonialism, in which European institutions maintain control over digital heritage assets much as they have historically controlled the physical originals.
Sessions
Key aspects will be addressed in the following sessions:
- Technological Innovations in Heritage Preservation
- Digital Restitution as Artistic Intervention
- Ethical Aspects in Digital Restitution
- The Role of Digitalization in Decolonizing Colonial Collections
- Digital Restitution and Legal Frameworks
- Panel Discussion: Accessibility in Source Communities and Digital Divides
Speakers
Agustina Andreoletti, University of Cologne
Dr. des. Mikael Assilkinga, Linden-Museum Stuttgart
Anaïs Bayrou, University of Geneva
Jim Chuchu, International Inventories Programme
Josina Dehn, University of Münster
Prof. Dr. Franziska Dübgen, University of Münster
Prof. Dr. Larissa Förster, Weltkulturenmuseum Frankfurt
Professor Dan Hicks, University of Oxford, Professor of Contemporary Archaeology and Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum
Dr. Isabel Hufschmidt, University of Münster
Melissa Kurkut, Milele Museum
Prof. Dr. Annette Löseke, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Braunschweig
Prof. Dr. Antoinette Maget Dominicé, University of Geneva
Prof. Dr. Katja Müller, Hochschule Merseburg
Dr. Tanja Pirsig-Marshall, LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur Münster
Renée Riedler, University Vienna and Weltmuseum Wien
Simon Rittmeier, International Inventories Programme
Jolanda Saal, University of Münster
Dr. Carlos Korassi Téwéché, University of Münster