From August 20 to 28, 2022 local time, the 26th Congress of the International Council of Museums was successfully held in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic .

[For the first time , ICOM organizes the conference in a mixed mode of online and offline ]

The scene of Prague Congress Center (Photo by Zhao Ou)

On the morning of August 22, the conference officially kicked off at the Prague Congress Center. ICOM President Alberto Grandini, ICOM Czech National Committee President Gina Renotière, UNESCO Assistant Director Ernesto Ottone , the director of the Czech National Museum, Michal Lukeš, delivered speeches. An Laishun, vice-chairman of ICOM and vice-chairman of the Chinese Museums Association, and Zhao Feng, representative of the China National Committee of ICOM and director of the China Silk Museum, attended the opening ceremony of the conference.

With the theme of "The Power of Museums", this year's Prague Congress brought together nearly 3,300 museum professionals from 124 countries and regions around the world, and nearly 30 Chinese representatives attended the conference to discuss and exchange the challenges and challenges faced by museums today. Opportunities, including the function and social status of museums in society, the resilience of museums from the perspective of sustainable development, museum leadership in the transformation of new models such as physical and digital integration, and the potential of new technologies.

[The meeting adopted the latest definition of museum]

On the afternoon of August 24, local time, the ICOM held its 37th General Assembly both on-site and online in Prague. The newly revised definition of museum was confirmed by votes of representatives of various national committees, international committees and regional alliances at the meeting. Professional scholars from more than 100 countries, including China, contributed to the revision of the definition.

Museum Definition :

A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.

[Zhao Feng was elected as a member of the Executive Committee]

As the most important agenda of this conference, the conference finally announced the election results of the new ICOM Executive Committee (2022-2025). Recommended by the Chinese Museums Association (ICOM China National Committee), Zhao Feng, executive director of the Chinese Museums Association and honorary director of the China National Silk Museum, was elected as a member of the executive committee with the highest number of votes.

(Photo by Li Jinfang)

[An Laishun was elected as the chairman of the Asia Pacific Regional Alliance of ICOM]

During the conference, the ICOM Asia-Pacific Regional Alliance Conference was held both on-site and online in Prague. Liu Shuguang, Chairman of the China National Committee of ICOM and Chairman of the Chinese Museums Association, An Laishun, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Museums Associationand Professor of Shanghai University, and other Chinese participants attended the conference online and offline respectively. At the meeting, the election results of the new council (2022-2025) were announced, and Professor An Laishun was elected as the chairman of the Asia Pacific Alliance with a high vote.

[Chinese museums show on the international stage and actively express the voice of China]

The keynote report of the 26th ICOM Prague Congress revolved around the four themes of "Museum and Society", "Museum and Sustainable Development", "Museum and Leadership" and "Museum and New Technology". There were 21 scholars and museum professionals. By expressing new views and raising new questions, Chinese museum scholars actively participated in the discussion, further stepped into the international stage, made a Chinese voice, and played an active role in the development and governance of the international cultural field.

Museums and Society

Professor Zhao Feng delivered a speech (Photo by Li Jinfang)

As public cultural institutions, museums have key social responsibilities. Chinese scholars have published the functions, responsibilities and values of museums in relation to society in various special committee forums of the Prague Congress. Wang Chunfa, director of the National Museum of China, delivered a speech of "Discussion on the Openness and Collaboration of Museums in Economic and Social Development" at the meeting of the Museum Management Committee (INTERCOM) . He took the National Museum of China as an example. The digital aspect emphasizes the important era value of museums' openness and collaboration, as well as the indispensable influence of museums on social and cultural development; Zhao Feng, director of the China National Silk Museum, made a speech in the roundtable forum of the Museum Professional Ethics Committee (ETHCOM) "Intangible Culture". Heritage Protection”report; Zheng Yi, Director of Fudan University Museum, published “Chinese Museums Tell the Story of the COVID-19 in the Name of Social Collective Memory”at the Asia-Pacific Alliance Conference; Gan Yayun of Sichuan Museum at the Committee of Archaeology and History Museums (ICMAH) "Women's Image: The Women's Perspective of China's Sichuan Museum" was published on 2018; Jia Xia of Datong Museum published "Constructing a Convergent Museum - Taking the 'General Branch' of Datong City Museum as an Example" at the Committee of Ethnographic Museums and Collections (ICME). ".

Museums and Sustainability

Wang Siyi released the work report of the sustainable development working group (photographed by Song Hanze)

Assistant Professor Wang Siyi of Shanghai University, as a member of the ICOM Sustainable Development Working Group, reported the group's work results to the chairmen of the international committees on the 21st, and introduced the framework and template of the sustainable development action plan. At the same time, Chinese scholars have successively published the contributions made by the Chinese museum community in sustainable development in numerous committee meetings. Wen Huainan and Li Keke of the National Museum of China published "Culture Sharing: Sustainable Development of Regional Museums in China", summarizing the Summarizing the development status of the concept of sustainable development in the Chinese museum industry, Huang Lei of Hunan Provincial Museum published "The Practice of Sustainable Tourism in Chinese Museums" and so on.

Museums and Leadership

Group photo of ICOM-IMREC Management Committee (Photo by Song Hanze)

Museums around the world are facing the challenges of accelerating change and the COVID-19 pandemic. More than ever, museum departments need exceptional leadership from museum decision-making levels. The ICOM International Museum Research and Exchange Center (ICOM-IMREC) located in Shanghai University is currently the only global museum think tank under ICOM, and it is also the promotion of talent training, leadership training and scientific research in the field of museology by Shanghai University in recent years. Research important initiatives for internationalization.

On August 23, 2022, the ICOM-IMREC Management Committee held the second plenary meeting in the form of a combination of online and offline at the Prague Congress. ICOM-IMREC will actively promote various research and exchange programs, including ICOM's targeted research on public funding of museums, the International Symposium on Museums and Decolonization, etc.

Museums and New Technologies

Professor An Laishun delivered the keynote report (Photo by Song Hanze)

In recent years, the development and application of museum digital technology has gradually become an important factor in participating in the construction of museums, influencing the development of museums, and guiding and restricting the reform of museums. At this conference, Chinese scholars gave China's digital plan in various sub-forums. An Laishun, vice chairman of the Chinese Museums Association and professor of Shanghai University, published Keynote report of "The practice of digital development of Chinese museums under the new crown epidemic" at the Asia-Pacific Alliance Conference.Hu Yuqiao from the School of Museums, University of Leicester published "Guaishou's 'Town Youth' Audience Engagement: Opportunities and Challenges for Chinese Museums on Emerging Social Media Platforms" at the Audiovisual, New Technology and Social Media Committee (AVICOM).

Source of information: Chinese Museums Association