A Cross-border Meuse Conference in Limburg

From 19 June until 1 July 2022, 180 participants joined in a conference, film and excursion program on the river Meuse, its history and its future.

Building on early initiatives – notably The 2019 Biography of the Meuse Conference –, this Meuse event took place in Maastricht and Maaseik. It zoomed in on the longue durée of the human-river relationship including scholarly, professional, and journalistic perspectives. Some highlights: the opening keynote by UM’s Dr Christian Ernsten on River Love, challenged the audience to rethink our river knowledge in context of the crisis of the Anthropocene. Prof Tim Soens of University of Antwerp argued urgently for strengthening of a collective memory of river disasters, especially in the light of the human desire for the river “technofix”. Prof Dr Nico Randeraad and Dr Joris Roosen explored the meaning of river stewardship through time. The Tree of Life project by the American artist Mark Dion commissioned by Z33 was part of the excursion program and Fank Holthuizen of the Limburgs Museum showed parts of the 1996 documentary “De Waterwolf of Itteren” by Hans Heijnen.

The event was organized by the UM, SHCL, LGOG, RivierPark Maasvallei and the Province of Limburg in Belgium and was funded by Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, Rijkswaterstaat, Regionaal Landschap Kempen Maasland, Provincie Nederlands Limburg, Provincie Belgisch Limburg, Universiteit Maastricht (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences). Kon. LGOG, Universiteitsfonds SWOL, RivierPark Maasvallei, Stad Maaseik, MACCH, Provinciaal Centrum voor Cultureel Erfgoed (Prov.Belgisch Limburg). The conference papers will partly be published in the “Maaslandse Monografieën”.