Postcolonial Memory Practices in Marseille and Berlin. New Approaches from Research and Civil Society

June 03 | 18:00

In many European cities, the colonial past remains visible to this day — in street names, monuments, and urban landscapes — raising questions about how societies can engage with this legacy in a meaningful way.
This discussion round brings together actors from research and civil society in a Franco-German dialogue on how to address Europe’s colonial history today.

Two initiatives from Marseille and Berlin will serve as starting points to explore new approaches to plural memory cultures. The central focus will be on the question: how and by whom is colonial heritage remembered in both cities?

In Marseille, the digital platform Mars Imperium. Marseille Impériale (https://marsimperium.org/) was launched to develop innovative and sustainable formats for making (post)colonial urban history visible.
In Berlin, the Erinnerungskonzept Kolonialismus (Concept for Colonial Memory) was developed to draw attention to colonial heritage in public space through participatory projects.

Look forward to insights, discussion, and perspectives on collaborative strategies between research and civil society. Together, we will reflect on how transnational networks can contribute to making colonial history visible and advancing the decolonization of European cities.

With contributions from:
– Samia Chabani, Ancrages, Marseille
– Dr. Noa K. Ha, DeZIM-Institut
– Prof. Céline Regnard, Aix-Marseille Université / TELEMMe
– Renée Eloundou, Decolonize Berlin e.V.

Conception and Moderation: Dr. Daniel Tödt, Centre Marc Bloch

Participation: On-site & online | Free of charge ►Registration

The event will be held in French, with German subtitles provided on-site. Online participants will be able to activate automated subtitles in the language of their choice.

Organized by:
Centre Marc Bloch, Frankreichzentrum of Freie Universität Berlin, and the Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam (ZZF)

The Franco-German Colloquium (DfK) is a joint series organized by the Centre Marc Bloch, the Frankreichzentrum at Freie Universität Berlin, and the Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam. It presents current topics, projects, and publications of scholarly interest from Franco-German perspectives and is aimed at students and researchers in Berlin/Potsdam as well as a broader (digital) public.

Contact

Daniel Tödt
daniel.toedt  ( at )  cmb.hu-berlin.de

Partners

TELEMMe – Temps, espaces, langages, Europe méridionale, Méditerranée

Location