Marko Scholze

Dr. Marko Scholze is an academic staff member at Goethe University Frankfurt's Faculty of Social & Cultural Anthropology, specializing in the anthropology of tourism and cultural heritage in West and North Africa, particularly Niger, Mali, and Morocco. He serves as Coordinator for the Program Point Sud and VW-Initiative “Knowledge for Tomorrow.” His research focuses on Tuareg communities, desert tourism dynamics, UNESCO heritage politics, and multi-sited ethnography in transnational contexts.

His work critically examines how cultural heritage is negotiated through tourism development, with a focus on marginalized groups like the Tuareg. Key themes include economic entrepreneurship among nomadic populations, the impact of UNESCO World Heritage listings, and the interplay between global forces and local cultural practices. Recent studies explore the Festival de l’Air in Niger as a site of cultural performance and heritage assertion.

Scholze has presented widely on topics such as Saharan tourism economics, heritage politics, and the role of anthropologists in tourism management. His interdisciplinary approach bridges field research with academic and policy-oriented outputs, emphasizing equitable scientific collaboration through initiatives like the Program Point Sud.