The workshop “Shared Cultural Heritage: Multi-layered Places of Remembrance in the Urban Space – Recognising – Preserving – Communicating” was successfully held.
On October 10–11, 2025, the Department of Culture and Communication Studies at the Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences of the Turkish-German University (TGU) hosted an international workshop titled “Shared Cultural Heritage: Multi-layered Places of Remembrance in the Urban Space”, organized in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI, Istanbul) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
During the two-day workshop, the themes of recognizing, preserving, and communicating multi-layered cultural heritage in urban space were addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective. The language of the event was English, and the program featured scholars and researchers from Turkey, Germany, Palestine, and Switzerland.
The opening speeches were delivered under the moderation of Research Assistant Betül İset, who served as the moderator of the workshop, by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süreyya İlkılıç, Head of the Department of Culture and Communication Studies at TGU; Dr. Moritz Kinzel, Deputy Director of the Istanbul Department of the German Archaeological Institute; and Dr. Detlev Quintern, faculty member at TGU.
Throughout the program, the speakers presented on topics such as the preservation of cultural heritage, urban memory, the role of digital archives, and shared places of remembrance in Turkey and other regions of the world.
The first day of the workshop concluded with a visit to the Shoe Factory Museum at Beykoz Kundura. This field trip offered participants the opportunity to gain direct insights into Turkey’s social and industrial heritage.
On the second day, the event continued with panel sessions and field excursions held at the Istanbul Department of the German Archaeological Institute. Participants had the chance to experience Istanbul’s multi-layered cultural fabric through a visit to the Zeyrek district. Later sessions included international presentations on digital heritage, archives, the Gaza Archaeological Museum, and the symbolic significance of Bethlehem.
This workshop provided a productive platform for interdisciplinary discussions on how cultural heritage can be conveyed in public spaces and made a significant contribution to shaping the scientific foundations of future approaches to museology and heritage conservation.
