Theme: Heritage in the Digital Age – An Exploration of Indigenous Knowledge and Technology
Dates: 23–26 July 2025
Locations: National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi and SOAS, Lagos
About our work in Cultural Heritage
The British Council’s work in Cultural Heritage centers on collaboration with communities to protect, value, discover and share Cultural Heritage with all. Working with and through partners our programmes contribute to the understanding of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Protection and supports innovative projects that increase access to skills, networks and knowledge of the communities we work with in ways that develop tangible opportunities that create economic and social growth.
Learn more about the Cultural Protection Fund, the Braid Fund and our work with African Digital Heritage.
Previous editions
The Culture Grows symposium creates an opportunity for sharing insights, engaging in dialogue and strengthening networks of cultural heritage practitioners and interested stakeholders.
Previous themes include
- 2020: Culture Grows: Between Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
- 2022: Decolonisation and Cultural Heritage
- 2022–2024: Tamaduni Conversations in Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru
The 2025 edition builds on these dialogues, with a focus on digital innovation, indigenous knowledge and inclusion.
Heritage in the digital age: an exploration of indigenous knowledge and technology
The third edition of the Cultural Heritage Symposium is a hybrid event that takes place as part of the UK/Kenya Season 2025, discovering the intersection of cultural heritage and digital technology.
This hybrid event will bring together community representatives, policy makers, researchers, students, practitioners and general audiences from Kenya, the Global South & the UK in the creative and technology sectors to share knowledge and strengthen their networks. Through presentations and panel discussion partners will explore existing and potential intersections between cultural heritage, contemporary culture, creative technology and their potential to respond to global challenges.
Join us online or in person for a dynamic programme that includes panels, keynotes, exhibitions and a special Night at the Museum on 25 July in Nairobi.
For the 1st time, a full day programme of events will happen in Lagos Nigeria led by our partners x on the 25th of July. We also have a 3rd offer connected to the theme delivered in collaboration with the Africa Centre in London on the 9th of September. We will share more on this event in the coming weeks.
Sub-themes
This edition focuses on how communities and practitioners are engaging with technology to document, preserve, and reinterpret cultural heritage. The symposium will consider ethical, social and policy dimensions of this work across the creative, academic and heritage sectors.
Discussion areas include:
- Role of AI in cultural documentation
- Digital tools for audience development and storytelling
- Ethical considerations in digital access and ownership
- Community rights in the digital space
- Identity, narratives and the influence of social media