Does preserving Amst elpark’s heritage support or hinder efforts to give all life a voic e and work towards multispecies justice? And could a broader understa nding of immaterial and living heritage and that moves beyond the div isions between culture and nature offer new ways of bringing heritage and the Zoöp together? Join us on the October 8th to explore these questions and celebrate one year of Zoöp Amstelpark.
[Another upcoming event this Friday October 2nd by Zone2Source here! ]
On October 2025, Amstelpark became the first public Zoöp, a governance model that seeks to actively rep resent the interests of all living beings in decision-making. You can learn more about Zoöp here.
Amstelpark was originally des igned for the international horticultural exhibition Floriade 1972. M uch of the original structure of the exhibition remains in place, and in 2022 the park was granted monumental status.
The transition from horticultural exhibition site and monument to public Zoöp rais es questions about how heritage and ecological transformation can coe xist. Now, one year after, this special symposium will explore what i t means for Amstelpark to be both a heritage site and a Zoöp, and wh ether these two designations can offer new perspectives on the ecolog ical challenges of our time. During the symposium, speakers will consider what it means when a heritage site becomes a Zoöp (or when a Zoöp is also a heritage site).
The symposium, Livin g Heritage in and beyond Amstelpark, is organised by Zone2Source in collaboratio n with the Environmental Humanities Center Amsterdam and UvA Critical Heritage Ecologies. We will be there representing VU Amsterdam as a knowledge partner of Zoöp Amstelpark, alongside Yuverta MBO.
D oes the desire to preserve the park's heritage support or hinder effo rts to give all life a voice and work towards multispecies justice? A nd could a broader understanding of heritage — one that includes im material and living heritage and sees heritage as a process of collec tive meaning-making beyond divisions between culture and nature — o ffer new ways of bringing these two designations together?
The central question of the symposium is whether the heritage of Amstelpa rk, as the former location of the 1972 Floriade, can become a learning ground for the ecological issues of our time.
< p>The symposium brings together researchers, landscape professionals, artists and participants in the Zoöp Amstelpark to reflect on the r elationship between heritage, ecological change and multispecies pers pectives.Speakers include Imke van Hellemondt , Joost Emmerik, Elyze Storms-Smeets, Janna oud Ammerveld, Theun Karelse and Anne Jesuina de Andrade. The symposium is mod erated by Marilena Mela of the Environmental Humanit ies Center at VU and Colin Sterling, whose work focu ses on critical heritage ecologies at the University of Amsterdam.
For more information and the full symposium details, visit the Environmental Humanities Center Amsterdam.
DESCRIPTION: Does preserving Amstelpark’s heritage support or hinder efforts to give all life a voice and work towards multispecies justi ce? And could a broader understanding of immaterial and living herita ge and that moves beyond the divisions between culture and nature off er new ways of bringing heritage and the Zoöp together? Join us on t he October 8th to explore these questions and celebrate one year of Z oöp Amstelpark. [