OBMIN Conference: Culture versus Disinformation – A Cultural Guardians Debate
Event date: 09/18/2026 - 09/18/2026
Location: Humboldt Forum
BY REGISTRATION ONLY
Disinformation has long been part of hybrid warfare, which specifically targets the cultural sector and museums in order to undermine social cohesion. Museums play a key role in this regard: they strengthen democratic resilience through fact-based narratives and open discussions. To further expand this protective shield, the OBMIN Foundation is hosting an international expert exchange in Berlin.
At the panel discussion entitled ‘Culture versus Disinformation – A Cultural Guardians Debate’ (in German, English and Ukrainian), participants at the Humboldt Forum will discuss the defence of cultural heritage.
Programme
Languages: German, English, Ukrainian
9.30 – 9.45 | Part I: Opening & Welcome
● Hartmut Dorgerloh, Director-General of the Humboldt Forum
● Małgorzata Ławrowska-von Thadden, Chair of the OBMIN Foundation
● Gero Dimter, Vice-President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
9.45 – 10.15 | Part II: Keynote
● Dr Magnus Hjort, Director-General of the Psychological Defence Agency
10.15 – 11.45 | Part III: ‘How do you build trust? Museums in the age of hybrid warfare’ – featuring experts from Ukraine, Poland and Germany discussing how culture can
strengthen societal resilience against modern hybrid threats. Featuring, amongst others:
● Kathrin Grotz, Deputy Director of the Institute for Museum Research, Germany
● Jolanta Gumula, Deputy Director of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw
● Dr Yurii Savchuk, Director of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine during the Second World War in Kyiv, Ukraine
● Olha Soshnikova, Director of the M.F. Sumtsov Historical Museum in Kharkiv, Ukraine
● Dr Magnus Hjort, Director-General of the Agency for Psychological Defence, Sweden
Moderator: Dr Łukasz Galusek, Director of the Silesian Museum in Katowice
11.45 am – 1.00 pm | Part IV: Open discussion & networking
The programme is made possible by a broad network of partners. These include the Agency for International Museum Cooperation, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Ukraine Reconstruction Platform, the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Foundation ‘Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future’ (EVZ), the Ukrainian Institute in Germany, the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation and Europa Nostra.
Time and venue
- Friday, 18 September 2026
- Start: 9.30 am
- Humboldt Forum, Hall 3
Further links
- Register at https://forms.gle/eT5y8f5hqNhGrrXd6