The UNESCO World Heritage Site Lorsch Abbey (Germany) will host the 2026 Congress of International Agricultural Museums (CIMA).

Intangible Cultural Heritage in a Museum Context:

The Role of Agricultural Museums, Living History Sites and Archaeological Open-Air Museums

5-8 March 2026

We are happy to announce our first Keynote-Speaker for the upcoming CIMA 2026 in Lorsch: 

Alexander Langlands 

Dr Alex Langlands is an archaeologist, historian and Associate Professor at Swansea University. He was a presenter and producer in the BBC’s hugely popular Victorian Farm series and follow-up Edwardian and Wartime Farms. He has published widely on the subject of historical farming – co-authoring a Sunday Times Bestseller – and his book Cræft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts has won critical acclaim in the USA. His academic publications include studies of medieval landscapes, cultural heritage and place-making, and he is passionate about how past farming practices may hold some of the answers to food production in an uncertain future.  

Make sure you become part of this unique opportunity to talk about Intangible Cultural Heritage in Agricultural Museums, Living History Sites and Archaeological Open-Air Museums.

Information about CIMA 2026 you will find here:
Congress of International Agricultural Museums 2026 (CIMA) – UNESCO WELTERBE KLOSTER LORSCH 

A direct link to the registration here: 

Registration Form – UNESCO WELTERBE KLOSTER LORSCH

Please note, that the conference can only host a limited amount of people, so you should register soon before we are booked out!

Venue: UNESCO World Heritage Site Lorsch Abbey, Lauresham Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology, Lorsch, Germany

“Intangible Cultural Heritage in a Museum Context” will include keynotes, field trips, workshops, working groups, a scientific program and the general assembly of the International Association of Agricultural Museums (AIMA). Participants will participate in a field day with various agricultural demonstrations at the Lauresham Open-Air Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology.

We invite you to take part in AIMA’s triennial Congress during AIMA’s 60th year. Join us as we renew professional connections and engage directly with those who collect, preserve and interpret intangible cultural heritage. Further information will be published soon. Please check: www.agriculturalmuseums.org

Schedule

4 March (Wednesday) Arrival Day

5 March (Thursday) Field Trips

6 March (Friday) AIMA General Assembly; Working Group Meetings

7 March (Saturday) Intangible Cultural Heritage in Agricultural Museums, Living History Sites and Archaeological Open-Air Museums: Sessions; Keynotes; Evening Reception with Exhibition Opening

8 March (Sunday) Celebrating Intangible Cultural Heritages at the Field Day and Spring Event at the Open-Air Laboratory Lauresham

9 March (Monday) Departure

ICH in a Museum Context

In 2003, the UNESCO General Conference in Paris adopted a convention for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is extremely broad in this context and includes customs, festivals, traditional craft techniques, as well as music and natural sciences. Since joining in 2013, the Federal Republic of Germany has also committed itself to this task under the motto “Knowledge. Skills. Passing on.” Museum institutions can play a key role in this, as they can cover a particularly wide range of areas at the intersection of the public, research and education. Many of the crafts practiced there are already recognized as intangible cultural heritage, and many other techniques that have already been lost are waiting to be rediscovered through comprehensive research. At the same time, numerous collaborations and international networking beyond national borders can be used by museums to highlight connections, similarities, and differences between individual traditions.

This international workshop will bring together both museum professionals as well as practitioners to talk about:

• Best practice examples for ICH documentation, preservation and research
• New initiatives for the recognition of ICH both on a national and international level
• Development of strategies to strengthen the role of museum institutions in the context of ICH
• Creation of networking possibilities and synergy effects for associations and institutions

Please consult the Call for Papers HERE for submission details. Call for Papers — Was due 31 October 2025

AIMA Working Groups

We now want to invite all of you to send in proposals for the Working Group meetings for Friday, March 6th. AIMA’s Congress will include AIMA Working Group sessions to discuss specific topics/challenges that are essential to our work in agricultural museums. The working group meetings will each last about 2-2,5 hours on March 6th. Participants will have the chance to participate in at least two of the meetings. Each working group meeting consists of short presentations from group members and is then followed by discussions about those presentations and topic thoughts. Each working group chooses a speaker to summarize its topics to the general assembly. All participants of CIMA therefore get a full insight in all the important issues and challenges of its members. Please consult the Call for Working Group Sessions HERE for further information. Call for Working Group Sessions — Was due 31 October 2025. This call is of course not limited to AIMA members but to all possible participants of the CIMA.