Just as in many other ethnographic museums all around the world, it is necessary for the Weltmuseum Wien to take a critical look into its own past in order to shape its future. Over the course of the last few centuries, some of what can today be admired in our exhibitions was collected under somewhat questionable circumstances. It is, therefore, all the more important for us to have an open dialogue, to be self-critical and see ourselves as a forum in which as many voices as possible should be heard. The highlights of the Museum represent more than 500 years of high-quality collecting activities on the part of the Habsburgs – among them objects from the Cabinet of Curiosities of Emperor Rudolf II, the unique Mexican feather headdress »Penacho«, the world-famous collection of James Cook, and objects from the voyages of discovery and research of the 19th century.