MPI for Social Anthropology Celebrates 25th Anniversary
On 3 June 2024, past and present Institute members and guests from science and politics convened at the MPI for Social Anthropology in Halle to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its founding. Opening the festivities, Head of Research Group Christoph Brumann und Director Ursula Rao took the audience through an entertaining retrospective of the past 25 years. The afternoon was dedicated to a panel discussion on the question “Does Transformation Need Science?” featuring Minister Armin Willingmann and Mayor Egbert Geier along with Ursula Rao, Christine Sattler of the Freiwilligen-Agentur Halle, and Professor Patrick Jahn from MLU Halle.
Looking Back – 25 Years of Institute History
Anniversaries are an occasion to review our history and remember our beginnings – at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the MPI on 3 June, original members of the Institute came together with those who joined it in the years that followed to reminisce and learn about the foundation of the Institute and its subsequent development. Guests included members of the committee that developed the concept for the new institute, members of the current Board of Trustees, professors from the neighbouring Martin Luther University, Institute alumni – and of course the two founding Directors Chris Hann and Günther Schlee. Head of Research Group Christoph Brumann and Director Ursula Rao served as masters of ceremonies for the two-hour event, adroitly guiding the audience through the history of the Institute with humour and skill. Along with the founding Directors, staff and researchers who had been with the Institute from the start took the stage to share anecdotes and stories about the early years.
Looking Ahead at Research and Society: Does Transformation Need Science?
But anniversaries are not just about celebrating past achievements, but also a time to look to the future and consider our place and our role in a rapidly changing society. How can anthropology – and science in general – help us to master the challenges that the world is facing today? To this end, representatives of politics, science, and civil society came together for a panel discussion on the question “Does Transformation Need Science?”. With moderation by Florian Felix Weyh, the panellists Ursula Rao, Science Minister Armin Willingmann, Mayor Egbert Geier, Christine Sattler from the volunteer agency, and Patrick Jahn, Professor for Health Service Research at MLU Halle-Wittenberg, tackled questions about the relevance of research and how scientists, policy-makers, and the public can work together more effectively. “As part of our anniversary, we wanted to reaffirm and strengthen our networks with other institutions and civil society organizations in Halle”, notes MPI Director Ursula Rao. “Thus, it was an opportunity to continue dialogues that developed during Halle’s successful bid to host the Future Centre for German Unity and European Transformation.” As the discussion following the panel demonstrated, these are questions that engaged many members of the audience as well, and many of the guests stayed afterwards to attend the reception in the garden and continue the conversations inspired by the panel.