On 12 May, CIfA's Board of Directors and the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte e.V (DGUF) signalled their intention to formally sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) designed to permanently regulate the cooperation between the two associations.
The MoU recognises that both organisations have a commitment to the promotion of archaeology, care for our cultural heritage and good practice in archaeology for the benefit of archaeological research, heritage and practice, the social valuing of archaeology and our societies. It formalises a partnership between DGUF and CIfA (Deutschland) and will ensure that they will
- seek to strengthen its relationship with the other
- consider working in partnership where corporate objectives and priorities coincide
- take care not to compete with the other
- encourage German archaeologists to engage with CIfA (Deutschland) and DGUF
- seek to cooperate with the other on advocacy where policy or interests are common to both
- seek to promote the other’s events, including through sharing of member discounts for conferences, and other services for members, where appropriate
- recognise the distinct yet complementary roles of DGUF as an NGO and a learned society and CIfA as an NGO and professional association.
At the current time, the following areas have been identified for cooperation
- promotion of shared statements on the value of archaeology in Germany
- promoting and strengthening CIfA as a professional association in Germany via CIfA Deutschland
- promoting and strengthening DGUF as an NGO and learned society in Germany
- DGUF publishing and disseminating relevant information on CIfA Deutschland via the DGUF-Newsletter, at least until CIfA Deutschland has adequate publications of its own. The selection of topics and the final editing of texts, whether provided by CIfA Deutschland or others, rests with the Newsletter editor
- promotion of membership of CIfA and DGUF
- promotion of each other’s events
- where suitable, offering opportunities at conferences for the partner organisation to host smaller events and meetings
- providing copy on recent activities for each other’s publications
- cooperating on influencing into the sphere of politics, parliaments and legislation related to archaeology and cultural heritage, with a focus on the profession of Archaeology in Germany.
The 'initialing' of the document took place at the first CIfA Deutschland AGM where the Group's officers were also formally elected: Michaela Schauer was elected president, Sebastian Sommer was elected Secretary, and Jan Schneider was elected treasurer. The MoU will be formally signed in the coming days.
