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Humboldt-Forum
The next few years will see the creation of the Humboldt Forum – one of Germany’s most important cultural construction projects – on Berlin’s Schlossplatz (Palace Square). But the Humboldt Forum is more just a palace, more than just a museum! The Stiftung Zukunft Berlin supports the project through a number of working groups and regular events and advocates designing the building in such a way as to offer multiple use options.
"We must not allow the Humboldt-Forum to become just another museum. Instead, it must be a platform for intercultural dialogue on the future challenges facing the global community." - Klaus Brake
The Purpose of the Humboldt Forum
The Berlin State Museums’ non-European collections will find a new home in the building being erected behind the reconstructed facades of the Berlin City Palace, along with the Humboldt University’s scientific collections and sections of the Central and Regional Library Berlin. With a new approach to presentation, the future Humboldt Forum will provide a meeting place for the world’s different cultures.
The idea is to create a place of encounter and exchange, a place where people from all over the world can join together to seek answers to current problems. We see this Forum, which is named after the brothers Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, as a great opportunity for Germany to make an unprecedented contribution to the peaceful co-existence of the world’s cultures.
That, at least, is the plan, but how does it tally with the facts? The Humboldt Forum is like some sort of foreign body gradually emerging at its future site on the Schlossplatz. So far, this grand opportunity has gone practically unnoticed: the project has been neglected by the Berlin Senate and is perceived by the general public as the reconstruction of the City Palace.
Our Seven-Point Paper
Together with well-known representatives of Berlin’s cultural life, we have drawn up a seven-point paper containing recommendations for the Humboldt Forum. We believe that the Humboldt Forum should arouse people’s interest in what is special or unique about different cultures. The Humboldt Forum should make use of all artistic forms of expression, all types of media and any methods that serve this purpose.
It is essential that the required players – in Berlin, in Germany and across the world – be involved from the start in the creation of the Humboldt Forum. The Humboldt Forum is more than just a collection of different institutions: it brings together a wide variety of independent contributors acting in the service of an important common purpose. That is why there must be a single agency in charge of its organization.
Voices of Cultures
The Stiftung Zukunft Berlin’s HUMBOLDT FORUM Initiative kicked off the series of events entitled “Voices of Cultures” in autumn 2008 by asking the question: What does the world expect of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin? Prominent representatives of different cultures such as the Japanese cultural philosopher Ryosuke Ohashi, former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and the Malian historian and ethnologist Mamadou Diawara outlined their expectations of the future Humboldt Forum.
Changing Perspective with Alfred Biolek
Instead of just fixing its gaze on far-off places, the HUMBOLDT FORUM Initiative asked people from Berlin to talk about their life and experience living “between cultures”. The event, which was moderated by Alfred Biolek, evolved into a discussion of how different cultures and ethnic backgrounds shape our everyday lives. The guests were Christiane Milian Escobar, Emine Sevgi Özdamar, Olayinka Shitu and Galsan Tschinag.
Further information on the work of the Initiative HUMBOLDT-FORUM:
www.initiative-humboldt-forum.eu