ICOM 2010: half a century of changes and impasse

Half a century, from 1947 to 2010, is enough for us to take stock of the impact of the “ideology of Development” on Heritage. An ideology induced by UNESCO and by ICOM. What has changed and what is still in an impasse? What effects has this ideology had on Heritage? It is after making this assessment that we can better understand the extent to which the theme of this 22nd ICOM General Conference – Shangai 2010 is ultimately an obvious product of that influence.

Give or take: thoughts on museum collections as working tools and their connection with human beings

This paper proposes a look at museums from the perspective of sociomuseology, an area of research and practice under development in countries such as Portugal, Brazil and Spain. Sociomuseology was born from the Latin new museology tradition and is closely connected with the International Movement for a New Museology (MINOM/ICOM). The Lusofona University in Lisbon offers MA and PhD programmes in Sociomuseology. The University supports a research centre in Sociomuseology and publishes the journals Cadernos de Sociomuseologia, in Portuguese, and Sociomuseology, in English (for more information see http://tercud.ulusofona.pt.). Sociomuseology concerns the study of the social role of museums and of the continuous changes in society that frame their trajectories. The practice of sociomuseologists is based on their work with the different dimensions of social and community development from ecomuseums to networking and other ways of organizing social action in the 21st century in which heritage plays a strategic role.

Socio-cultural visions of interactivity within Museums

The ideas on which this paper is based are drawn from my thesis “Interactivity in Museums. A Relationship Building Perspective” written in 2007 for the fulfillment of the Master Degree in Museology at the Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam. The main arguments are that the notion of Interactivity conceptualized within a technological orientation coupled with the pedagogic approach of mere information transmission need to be reconsidered; that Interactivity in museums is a conception both misinterpreted and under-implemented; and that the problems of understanding Interactivity will resolve by identifying the aspects which define Interactivity and most importantly focus on why they matter in a broader socio-cultural context within museums. Without an intention to attribute all the developments and advances associated with new museological practice, in some deterministic way, solely to politics and economic change, I argue that the new strategies adopted by museums towards progression and broader accessibility –at least regarding interactivity, seem to be linked more with a dominant commercialization of culture and education, than with a belief towards an effect on social change through the promotion of social interaction within a pluralistic and multicultural society, acknowledging the diversity of nature, opinion and practices, which can be combined instead of contrasting each other.

Efficiency and social inclusion: implications for the museum profession

In the late 1980s Stephen Weil (1990) raised the question of the extent to which museum work could be considered a profession, the extent to which it had been professionalized, and in what ways this professionalization was facilitated or impeded by the changing circumstances of museum work, its organizational and governance context and its already multiplying roles vis-à-vis public culture and society at large. Although Weil‘s thoughts were situated in the American museum context of the mid-1980s, many of his thoughts apply to contexts beyond the US, and some of the questions he raised about the potential for professionalising museum work still resonate with the current situation of museum work. This paper tries to pose and approach a host of questions that, whilst in the main echoing Stephen Weil‘s mid-1980s reflections, are reconfigured in light of some sweeping changes in the nature of museum work, its mode of governance and its governing norms and values.

Museum Studies Borderlands: negotiating curriculum and competencies

Given ICTOP‘s work on revising the curriculum guide using the competencies approach (2000-2008), the author asks whether it is possible to reflect some of the issues and conceptual underpinnings that are at play in the discourse of museology/museum studies as a field of study and pedagogy when designing curriculum when taking the competencies approach. Until we address this question, ICTOP‘s work will have little relevance for the design of syllabi/curriculum by post-secondary institutions. This presentation lays out some of the professional issues underlying and the role for critical reflexive professionalism which can bridge theory and practice, competencies and epistemological knowledge and s how a way forward. Then it moves to address some of the territories where critical discussion is at work that would extend the curriculum discussions of ICTOP, while pointing to some developments that offer a museology of possibilities.

Museums as service providers

The present paper discusses the complex understanding of Museum as an entity that provides services. Indeed we are far from seeing museums fully acting as services since the rationale of the way they operate derives from the permanent concession of grants either from state budgets or from beneficent institutions. In order to do this, we use reflections presented in previous papers, where we considered these issues separately; we now believe they will gain some coherence when articulated with the reflection on museums seen in their possible, albeit inadequately assumed, condition as service providers.We shall consider some aspects of the introduction in museums of the new information and communication technologies (NICT) as part of this process. On the one hand, these technologies open doors, and some museums take good advantage of that; but on the other hand their being used in a limited way does not enable the realisation of the role they can play, with multiple benefits from the organisational point of view, fostering innovation and creating new service concepts that are more aware of the world we live in.

Response to Anwar Tlili‘s paper -Efficiency and social inclusion: implications for the museum profession

I have been asked to respond to Anwar Tlili‘s paper, and I propose to do this in four steps. I will follow Anwar‘s line of arguments closely. I will be dealing in turn withStep no. 1: Profession and ProfessionalizationStep no. 2: Social InclusionStep no. 3: ManagerialismStep no. 4: Museum Education and Training

The National Museum of Mongolia successful strategies and lessons learned

Enkhnaran will discuss issues for professional education raised by museums and tourism companies, which share similar objectives in the sense that each aim to provide their guests with quality information entertainment and a memorable experience. With limited budget capabilities, it is especially important for museums to co-operate with tourist companies in order to attract new and repeat visitors as well as generate important revenue.

Differentiation and coordination within a composite training policy providing efficient support namely to isolated museum professionals

In Portugal, namely in municipal museums, the reduced percentage of museum professionals that have a stable administrative position imposes a high degree of polyvalence allowing them to coordinate, often by themselves, the quotidian activities at the museum(s) they run.