Conference Program

Contemporary societies are marked by systemic complexity, instability, ecological transitions, technological acceleration and intensified globalisation that reshape economic, cultural and symbolic relations. In this interconnected environment, citizenship cannot be reduced to legal status or informed participation; it must be understood as an ongoing practice of interpretation, responsibility and anticipation. Becoming an anticipatory citizen requires developing critical, future-oriented reflexive capacities that enable individuals to recognise global interdependencies, question dominant narratives and contribute to sustainable democratic futures.

Within this framework, adult learning represents a cornerstone of deep democracy. It goes beyond transmitting knowledge to foster conscious and transformative action. Adult education creates spaces for developing systemic awareness and interpretive competencies needed to navigate a globalised world characterised by plural memories, identities and symbolic systems. Rather than adapting passively to change, individuals are encouraged to engage critically with complexity and assume responsibility within it.

From this perspective, the museum is not neutral but operates as a cultural and political device. It selects, organises and legitimises narratives, establishes hierarchies of value and determines what deserves remembrance and what may be marginalised. The museum does not simply preserve and display heritage; it symbolically produces it, shaping regimes of visibility and shared horizons of meaning. In doing so, it contributes to the construction of collective imaginaries and public discourse.

In a globalised society, this role becomes particularly significant. Museums bring histories, cultures and heritages from diverse contexts into dialogue, revealing connections that might otherwise remain unseen. They may reinforce identity closures or foster mutual understanding, consolidate singular narratives or open spaces for plural interpretations. Every curatorial decision is an act of cultural politics: to include or exclude, contextualise or naturalise, juxtapose or isolate is to construct a specific discursive framework. Within this symbolic power lies the museum’s transformative potential.

The embodied dimension of museum experience further reinforces this responsibility. Spatial arrangements, objects and exhibition strategies shape interpretive pathways and influence perception. Museum experience engages not only cognition but also the body, emotions and encounters with otherness. Through this interplay of symbolic and experiential dimensions, museums become environments for cultural exchange, adult learning and civic formation.

This perspective envisions a future museum aware of its cultural and democratic responsibilities: relational and dialogic, recognising visitors as co-interpreters; communicative and critically conscious of its semiotic strategies; adaptable to spaces, contents and diverse audiences; interconnected, capable of linking different heritages without reducing them to simplified narratives. Museum design therefore relies on an integrated semiotic and pedagogical approach, conceiving narratives as structures of meaning that generate questions and foster transformation.

Within this framework, digital technology plays an instrumental role. It functions as a mediating tool that articulates narrative layers, broadens access and encourages interaction without replacing the cultural project. Innovation lies in using digital media to deepen understanding and sustain participation rather than create spectacle.

Conceived in this way, the museum becomes a dynamic cultural device that produces meaning, shapes interpretation and supports democratic engagement, contributing to the formation of citizens capable of navigating the complexities of global society.