Assemblies

The Global Cultural Assembly 2025

In June 2025, around 80 delegates from different regions of the world gathered at the Humboldt Forum in Berlin for the Global Cultural Assembly 2025 (GCA 2025). The international meeting focused on global collaboration and the development of new forms of participatory institutional practice.

Curators, artists, scholars, museum professionals, and representatives of cultural institutions from countries such as Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Tanzania, Namibia, Brazil, and the USA, as well as delegates from the diaspora in Germany and Europe, discussed the needs and potential of future museum practices and institutional transformations. The Assembly was prepared and organized by the Preparatory Group (PG) together with staff from the Humboldt Forum Foundation, the Ethnologisches Museum, and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst. 

In plenary sessions as well as regional and thematic working groups, participants gathered ideas on and developed proposals for new forms of international networking, knowledge exchange, and equitable partnership. These discussions culminated in the “From Declaration to Action” declaration, intended to mark the transition from statements of intent to practical implementation.

At the conclusion of the Assembly, delegates in the different regional groups elected a seven-member Reference Group (RG), tasked with implementing the resolutions and goals outlined in the declaration. The RG is working on the development of fair and collaborative working and governance structures and is leading the transformation of the GCA into a Global Cultural Embassy (GCE), envisioned as a permanent body. The members of the Reference Group respond to North America, Latin America, Asia, Central Asia/Middle East, Africa, Oceania, and Diaspora/Europe’s Hubs.

The Assembly was also open to the interested public: through table discussions, presentations, and encounters, visitors gained insight into the diverse perspectives of international participants and the ongoing development of collaborative practices in the cultural sector.

The June 2025 gathering builds on the “Dignity – Transparency – Continuity” declaration of the Global Cultural Assembly 2022.

Humboldt Forum Opening 2022 and the Global Cultural Assembly 2022

The origins of the Global Cultural Assembly (GCA) trace back to September 2022, when the exhibitions of the Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst opened in their entirety at the Humboldt Forum. On this occasion, international and Indigenous partners – many of whom had contributed in various ways to the development of the exhibitions – gathered in Berlin for a week of exchange, celebration, and critical debate.

Out of this encounter emerged the declaration “Dignity – Transparency – Continuity”, a collective call to redefine the terms of international collaboration and to build relationships grounded in trust, accountability, and shared responsibility.

The 2022 declaration marks the starting point for a long-term commitment to rethinking institutional practice and establishing a permanent structure for participation – one that continues through the GCA and its global network.