First meeting of the SPK International Advisory Board in Berlin
News from 03/20/2026
On 18 March, the International Advisory Board of the SPK met to agree on fundamental principles of cooperation and key topics. SPK President Marion Ackermann welcomed the members in Berlin
The International Advisory Board will advise and support the SPK’s management on key social and cultural policy issues. With its international and diverse membership, the Advisory Board reflects the SPK network’s new direction: alongside the various fields of culture and academia, voices representing socio-political priorities such as the history of Nazism or relations with Central and Eastern Europe are now represented for the first time.
The experts on the SPK Advisory Board are:
• Laurence des Cars, former President of the Musée du Louvre and internationally renowned museum
expert• Didier Houénoudé, art historian at the Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Benin, and holder of the UNESCO Chair in ‘Returns and Restitutions of African Cultural
Heritage’• Richard Kurin, Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador at Large at the Smithsonian Institution with extensive experience in the field of cultural heritage and international cultural
policy• Glenn D. Lowry, former Director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), an expert in contemporary art with particular expertise in fundraising•
Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, former State Secretary of the Federal Government and the State of Berlin with valuable expertise in the field of major
projects• Dirk Messner, President of the Federal Environment Agency and an expert in sustainability and science
management• Christoph Möllers, legal scholar and future Rector of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin•
Richard Ovenden, Head of Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) at the University of Oxford•
Barbara Plankensteiner, Director of the Museum am Rothenbaum – Cultures and Arts of the World (MARKK) and an expert on colonial contexts and
decolonisation practices• Sandra Richter, Director of the German Literature Archive in Marbach and an expert in the fields of literature and libraries•
Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska, Director of the German Historical Institute in Warsaw with extensive expertise in the history of Eastern and
Central Europe• Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, artist, environmental activist and spokesperson for the Global Cultural Assembly at the Humboldt Forum•
Mirjam Zadoff, Director of the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism and a highly experienced expert in remembrance work
On 18 March, SPK President Marion Ackermann welcomed the members to Berlin for the first time. The meeting in Berlin laid an important foundation for the SPK’s strategic reorientation in terms of content and for dialogue with society, the academic community and the culturally interested public. The starting point for the joint discussion was the concepts of resilience, relevance and reliability. The Advisory
Board meeting also featured a varied programme at various SPK locations, including a behind-the-scenes look at the construction site at the Pergamon Museum and a preview of the Brancusi exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie. This combined the discussion on major challenges with an impression of the SPK’s international influence.
An executive committee for the Advisory Board was also elected. The chairmanship was handed over to Christoph Möllers, with Laurence des Cars as first deputy chair and Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska as second deputy chair. With these three outstanding figures, an ideal line-up has been found that reflects the Advisory Board’s in-depth understanding of the German and international cultural landscape as well as the academic world.
An executive board was also elected for the advisory board. The chairmanship was handed over to Christoph Möllers; Laurence des Cars was elected first vice-chair, and Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska was elected second vice-chair. With these three outstanding individuals, an ideal team has been assembled that reflects the advisory board’s deep understanding of the German and international cultural landscape as well as the academic world.