Who gets to tell the story?
Exploring Narrative Justice and Cultural Rights │ Workshop │ December 2025
Whose stories shape the way we understand difficult heritage? And how easy is it to truly listen to the narratives of others?
These questions guided a participative workshop during the Contact Zone in Practice conference, where professionals working with heritage reflected on how personal memories and experiences influence the stories we tell. Through guided exercises, participants explored the challenges of stepping outside their own perspectives and engaging with the narratives of others.
The workshop was led by Roberto Gómez de la Iglesia (Conexiones improbables) and Lars Ebert (Culture Action Europe), who invited participants to explore questions of narrative justice and personal storytelling.
A particularly playful moment came with the “improbable cubes” exercise, where unexpected elements were combined to create new — sometimes absurd — stories. The activity encouraged participants to question their own narratives, reflect on the emotions and assumptions behind them, and experiment with assembling alternative ways of telling stories.
Through shared memories, imagination, and attentive listening, the workshop opened a space to reflect on how narratives are formed, shared, and sometimes challenged.
From personal stories to cultural rights
In the second part of the workshop led by Roberto Gómez de la Iglesia (Conexiones improbables) and Lars Ebert (Culture Action Europe) at the TCZ Final Conference (December 2025), participants moved from personal storytelling to a broader reflection: how can societies ensure that many different stories can coexist?
After experiencing in the first session how challenging it can be to step into someone else’s narrative, the discussion turned to the concept of Cultural Rights — a framework that supports the recognition of diverse voices and perspectives in cultural life.
Participants were introduced to this perspective through a short lecture by Jazmín Beirak, Director of Cultural Rights at the Spanish Ministry of Culture, followed by an open exchange of questions and reflections.
