National Meeting of Ethnographic Museologists in Sopron

The National Meeting of Ethnographic Museologists will be held in Sopron, Hungary from 8 to 10 October 2025, with this year's central theme being ‘Sensitive Objects, Sensitive Stories’. The event is organised by the Museum of Ethnography and the Hungarian Ethnographic Society.

Participants in this professional event will examine how museums can display objects and stories that are associated with personal, community, or social trauma, sensitive memories, and difficult legacies. "Just like books, objects preserved in museums have their own destiny. The stories associated with them contribute to the formation of our individual and community identities, helping us understand where we come from, what values and traditions we have inherited, and how these have shaped our present," said Dr. László Szende, head of the Public Collections Department at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, who also emphasized that "The National Meeting of Ethnographic Museologists is one of the most important forums in the profession, where museologist colleagues can learn about each other's latest research results and methodological approaches. We are grateful to the organizers for ensuring that the event takes place every year."

The conference aims to strengthen dialogue between different museological, anthropological and social science approaches and to initiate new professional reflections on museum responsibility, empathy and ethical issues. "For the Museum of Ethnography, uncovering and communicating the sensitive stories hidden in its collections is not only a scientific task, but also a social responsibility. Today, it is not enough for museologists to preserve material heritage: they must also understand the human destinies, traumas and experiences behind it and communicate them in a way that is easy to understand. The meeting in Sopron promotes precisely this common thinking," said Dr. Lajos Kemecsi, Director General of the Museum of Ethnography.

Sensitive objects and stories in collections

The conference will begin with flash presentations using specific examples – from war prayer objects to peasant textiles – to show how collection items carry traumas, confessions and layers of memory. This will be followed by a joint analysis by psychologists, historians and sociologists on how we can talk about transgenerational traumas and the social imprint of memory in museums.

The “dark heritage” of museums and the responsibility of researchers

This year's meeting will also devote a special section to the institutional past and internal heritage of museums. The panel discussion entitled ‘The dark heritage of museums’ will seek answers to the question of how the burdens of the past – loyalty, limited freedom, hierarchies – can be reinterpreted in the museology of the present and the future. The workshop series will also reflect on the psychological burden of researchers working in the field, as well as issues of burnout and empathy.

Historical traumas, ethnic identities and religious rituals in collections

On the second day of the programme, participants will explore museum tools for processing traumatic pasts: from Holocaust remembrance to issues of Gypsy/Roma representation to memories of losing one's home and forced deportations. The section entitled ‘Religion, Magic, Ritual’ presents the challenges of representing faith and spirituality in museums, from objects related to Afro-Cuban cults to Hungarian places of worship.

Professional cooperation, community experience

The conference addresses the entire professional community of ethnographic museology. In addition to the Museum of Ethnography, participants include experts from the The Hungarian Open Air Museum in Szentendre, the Savaria Museum, the Palóc Museum, the Holocaust Memorial Centre and numerous county and city museums. The event will also feature guided tours, city walks and community programmes, including an alternative walk entitled ‘Witchcraft Neighbourhood’ in the historic city centre of Sopron. "The National Meeting of Ethnographic Museologists is one of the most important forums in the profession, where museologist colleagues can learn about each other's latest research results and methodological approaches. We are grateful to the organisers for ensuring that the event takes place every year," said Dr László Szende in his welcoming speech.

Joint reflection on the future of museums

The National Meeting of Ethnographic Museologists is traditionally one of the most important annual events in the profession. This time, the Sopron conference focused on how museums can be a space for dialogue, empathy and social sensitivity – a place for understanding the past and shared healing. As Director General Lajos Kemecsi said in his welcoming speech: "Every museum collection reflects the values and limitations of a given society, and thus collection policy also expresses what is considered marginal and alternative in a given socio-political environment. Recognising and raising awareness of social utility can now be considered the basis for the survival and development of institutions both internationally and in our country."​

Date: 8–10 October 2025
Venue: Sopron
Main organiser: Museum of Ethnography, Hungarian Ethnographic Society
Theme: Sensitive objects, sensitive stories