Lucrezia Milillo is an anthropologist specialised in Andean material culture, with a particular focus on the past and present social role of khipus (knotted string devices for record-keeping) and their constituting materials. In her doctoral research she combines her ethnographic fieldwork in Peru, the study of archival documents for the reconstruction of object biography, with the laboratory analysis of fibres and dyes of khipus in European collections. Her research agenda covers topics such as the inclusion of campesino and Indigenous voices in debates on heritage justice for inclusive development and the production of decolonial knowledge.

I strongly believe in academic research as a mean to expand knowledge. However, I also think academia has an ethical responsibility to step out of its ivory tower and make knowledge accessible, fostering an open dialogue with society.