Pharmacy objects and European heritage: Call for Papers now open for the 2nd AIS Annual Forum 2026

Over time, pharmacy objects have been acknowledged as essential sources for understanding Europe’s medico-pharmaceutical traditions, as well as the ethnographic heritage embedded in professional practices, uses and forms of expertise. In recent years, this reflection has increasingly developed on a European scale, encouraging comparative perspectives across countries and fostering dialogue between research, collections and heritage interpretation. Instruments, containers, archives and museum collections thus emerge as tangible mediators connecting historical inquiry with contemporary approaches to preservation and public dissemination.

Within this growing academic and institutional framework, Aromas Itinerarium Salutis (AIS) announces the opening of the Call for Papers for the 2nd AIS Annual Forum, to be held on 16–17 April 2026 in Kaunas, Lithuania. The Forum is dedicated to the theme “Pharmacy objects: an international bridge for science, culture, studies and the dissemination of scientific and humanistic knowledge”.

Pharmacy objects as cultural heritage of scientific knowledge

The second edition of the Forum will explore pharmacy objects as expressions of a shared European heritage, shaped by long-term exchanges of knowledge and scientific practices across different cultural contexts. Approached as ethnographic heritage, these objects provide material evidence of professional practices, skills and traditions related to the making, keeping and circulation of medico-pharmaceutical knowledge.

Objects of pharmacy between research, memory and heritage interpretation

By focusing on objects, collections and documentary materials, the Forum promotes an interdisciplinary dialogue connecting history of pharmacy, museology, heritage studies and scientific communication. Pharmacy objects are addressed as tangible links between memory, research and public dissemination, contributing to a deeper understanding of Europe’s scientific and cultural history.

A European framework for interdisciplinary academic cooperation

The Forum provides a European platform for cooperation among scholars, researchers, heritage professionals, museums and universities. It aims to foster comparative approaches, shared methodologies and transnational perspectives, bringing together participants from more than twelve countries within a structured and recognised European context.

Abstract submissions are open until 15 January 2026. Selected authors will be notified by 2 February 2026. The programme will include plenary sessions, oral presentations, poster sessions and thematic working groups.

Full details on the Call for Papers and submission guidelines are available on the official event webpage: https://aromassalutis.eu/en/ais-annual-forum-2026-kaunas/