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Weekend Tips: What to Do This Weekend in Berlin
June 26 to 28, 2026: Events, festivals, exhibitions and more things to do for your perfect weekend in Berlin. more
Being Related
Shared Language, Shared Knowledge?
Nlabephee Kefas Othaniel (rechts) und Pa Kanawa Musa (links) während einer Recording Session in Kwangkah village of Dza
© Hammanson Sule (Fotograf)
The family is often considered the smallest but most important building block of society - all over the world. Family and kinship determine social relationships and affiliation through birth, marriage or adoption. They shape social roles and expectations. People help each other and work together. They are responsible for each other and share resources. Kinship relationships influence how larger groups are formed, how property and traditions are passed on and how tasks and duties are distributed.
It is in the family that children first learn to communicate, speak and understand the norms and values that govern daily life. Within the family, language and ways of life are passed on from one generation to the next - be it through stories, celebrations, admonitions and rules or simple everyday habits. In this way, the family keeps language and culture alive.
State measures and political pressure - such as forced assimilation or discriminatory laws - restrict family members from passing on their language and cultural heritage. Migration and displacement weaken ties within and between families and communities and affect the transmission of language and knowledge between generations. Globalization reinforces these dynamics. As dominant world languages become more common in education, at work and in the media, local and minority languages often become less important. Together, these developments threaten cultural identity. For many communities, it is difficult to preserve their languages and cultures in an increasingly globalized world.
In the films in the exhibition, you will meet people from indigenous communities who are documenting their language and culture before it is too late. In collaboration with the Endangered Languages Documentation Program and the Endangered Languages Archive, they archive their material and use it to create picture books and learning and teaching materials for their communities. For this exhibition, they have recorded their views on the role of the family and the importance of kinship. They describe their way of life and the changes they are currently experiencing in their communities.
Curators
The exhibition was curated by Ute Schüren, Curator of American Archaeology, Mesoamerican Collection, Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Mandana Seyfeddinipur, Director Endangered Languages Archive & Endangered Languages Documentation Program, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
The exhibition takes place as part of the cluster "Beziehungsweise Familie" at the Humboldt Forum.
A temporary exhibition of the Humboldt Forum Foundation (SHF) in the Berlin Palace and the Ethnological Museum of the National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage in cooperation with the Endangered Languages Archive & Endangered Languages Documentation Program of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
It is in the family that children first learn to communicate, speak and understand the norms and values that govern daily life. Within the family, language and ways of life are passed on from one generation to the next - be it through stories, celebrations, admonitions and rules or simple everyday habits. In this way, the family keeps language and culture alive.
State measures and political pressure - such as forced assimilation or discriminatory laws - restrict family members from passing on their language and cultural heritage. Migration and displacement weaken ties within and between families and communities and affect the transmission of language and knowledge between generations. Globalization reinforces these dynamics. As dominant world languages become more common in education, at work and in the media, local and minority languages often become less important. Together, these developments threaten cultural identity. For many communities, it is difficult to preserve their languages and cultures in an increasingly globalized world.
In the films in the exhibition, you will meet people from indigenous communities who are documenting their language and culture before it is too late. In collaboration with the Endangered Languages Documentation Program and the Endangered Languages Archive, they archive their material and use it to create picture books and learning and teaching materials for their communities. For this exhibition, they have recorded their views on the role of the family and the importance of kinship. They describe their way of life and the changes they are currently experiencing in their communities.
Curators
The exhibition was curated by Ute Schüren, Curator of American Archaeology, Mesoamerican Collection, Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Mandana Seyfeddinipur, Director Endangered Languages Archive & Endangered Languages Documentation Program, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
The exhibition takes place as part of the cluster "Beziehungsweise Familie" at the Humboldt Forum.
A temporary exhibition of the Humboldt Forum Foundation (SHF) in the Berlin Palace and the Ethnological Museum of the National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage in cooperation with the Endangered Languages Archive & Endangered Languages Documentation Program of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Runtime: from October 2025
Price info: from 13.7.2026: regular 9 EUR, Note: An exhibition ticket for the Ethnologische Sammlungen und Asiatische Kunst is required.
Price: €14.00
Reduced price: €7.00
Price: €14.00
Reduced price: €7.00
Takes place here:
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