STICHTING NATIONAAL MUSEUM VAN WERELDCULTUREN

Their core work

The National Museum of World Cultures (Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen) is a Dutch museum institution managing ethnographic and world culture collections across multiple sites including Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden. Their research focuses on how cultural heritage is constructed, contested, and represented in European societies, with particular expertise in Islamic civilisation and the digitisation of cultural archives. They contribute museum-based knowledge on curation, exhibitions, and public engagement to interdisciplinary research consortia studying heritage politics and religion in a globalised world.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

With only three projects spanning 2016–2023, the evolution is modest but discernible. The earlier projects (CoHERE and CHEurope, both starting 2016) centred on European heritage identity, museum practice, and heritage policy. The later project (MIDA, starting 2019) shifted toward Islamic studies, religion, and the intersection of digitisation with globalisation — suggesting a broadening from European-centric heritage toward global and digital cultural perspectives.

They appear to be moving from traditional European heritage studies toward digital humanities and the study of non-Western cultural narratives in a globalised context.

How they like to work

This organisation exclusively participates as a partner or third party — never as a coordinator — suggesting they serve as a specialist contributor bringing museum expertise and cultural collections to research-led consortia. With 60 unique partners across 17 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, highly international consortia. Their role is that of a domain expert (museums, exhibitions, collections) embedded in broader interdisciplinary teams rather than a project driver.

Despite only three projects, they have connected with 60 unique partners across 17 countries, reflecting participation in large pan-European consortia. Their network spans widely across EU member states with no single dominant geographic cluster.

What sets them apart

As a national museum institution rather than a university, they bring real-world collections, exhibition infrastructure, and direct public audiences that academic partners typically lack. Their combination of ethnographic collections, curatorial practice, and research on heritage politics makes them a rare bridge between academic cultural studies and public-facing heritage work. For consortium builders, they offer both research capacity and a ready-made dissemination channel through their museum visitors.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CoHERE
  Their only directly funded project (EUR 79,742), investigating how European identities are performed and represented through heritage — directly aligned with their museum mission.
• MIDA
  Marks an expansion into Islamic digital studies and religion-technology intersections, a thematic departure from their earlier European heritage focus.