***New "ICOM Resolution on Community and Sustainable Museums"***

A message from Karen Brown 2019, 09, 09

Dear colleagues, we are pleased to report that the below Resolution concerning community museums and ecomuseums was approved and voted in to be adopted at the ICOM General Assembly in Kyoto this week. Thank you to the ecomuseum forum for reviewing the document before submission. Please note that the ICOM Resolutions committee edited the document down just before the conference, to fit their word count. I'll try to send a link when there is one. The Japan Ecomuseum Forum tour 8-10 September was unfortunately cancelled due to Typhoon 15. However, the workshop joint with ICOM's regional museum committee on 5th September near Osaka was a great success. The other main news to report is that a decision on proposed new ICOM Definition of a Museum was postponed - a decision also voted by the vast majority.

All the very best, Karen

The proposal was approved in the 2019 ICOM GC of Kyoto with this final text:

"

Reconsidering of the Declaration of Santiago de Chile (UNESCO, 1973), re-confirming ICOM’s Resolutions relating to communities, sustainability and cultural landscapes, and noting that the ICOM Resolution concerning the “extended museum” adopted in Milan in 2016 underlined that museums are more than traditional buildings, collections and established curatorial practices, having value for social, cultural, environmental and economic development, thereby furthering the aims of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we recommend ICOM to:

· provide greater recognition of, and support for, the vast number of community-led organisations that do not currently fulfil the ICOM Definition of a Museum (2007) but that further the goals of safeguarding and promoting access to natural, cultural and intangible heritages and their sustainable use for environmental, social and economic development of communities, towards achievement of the UN 2030 goals and climate justice;

· remain sensitive to local and regional differences, and demonstrate awareness of the geo-political dimension of the concept of the Museum, especially relating to the resource needs of community-based museums in lower to middle income countries;

· recognize the value of community-based museums for the promotion of ICOM, UNESCO and international charter instruments and their values of human rights and peace, and sustainable community development in general, especially in the contexts of indigenous and ethnic minority communities, and in the face of the challenges posed by migration;

· encourage collaborative work with and between community-based museums on national and bi-regional levels;

· contribute to building the capacity of community-based museums and ecomuseums in their transformative approaches towards sustainable living communities and territorial development and the protection and enhancement of cultural landscapes;

· strengthen, enable and mobilise ICOM National and International Committees, as well as Regional Alliances and Affiliated Organisations, to act as mediators for cultural understanding at the community level and between regions to achieve the above goals.

"

At the beginning of the 2019, DROPS asked ecomuseums and community museums for suggestions about the original text proposed by EU LAC Museums Project:

[ENG]

Museums, Communities and Sustainability. The ICOM General Conference will take place in Japan (Kyoto) in September 2019. Some events, currently being organized by Japanese colleagues, will bring together ecomuseums and community museums from around the world, and most likely from the Asia AND Pacific regions. Karen Brown, the head of the EU-LAC international program for cooperation between community museums in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, is preparing a draft Recommendation or Declaration which she would like to submit to the widest possible discussion before present it at the Kyoto Conference. We reproduce below his draft, currently only in English, already amended by several members and experts of EU-LAC Steering Committee. Please send feedback and suggestions in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese to Karen Brown at keb23@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Deadline for feedback: 28 February 2019

>>More informations and translations about the resolution.

>>More informations about EU-LAC project.

[FRA]

Musées, communautés et durabilité. La Conférence générale de l'ICOM se tiendra au Japon (Kyoto) en septembre 2019. Certaines manifestations, actuellement en cours d'organisation par les collègues japonais, rassembleront les écomusées et musées communautaires du Monde entier, et surtout sans doute de la région Asie-Pacifique. La responsable du programme international EU-LAC pour une coopération entre musées communautaires d'Amérique Latine, des Caraïbes et d'Europe, prépare actuellement un projet de Recommandation ou de Déclaration qu'elle souhaiterait soumettre à la discussion la plus large possible, avant de la présenter à la Conférence de Kyoto. Je reproduis ci-joint son projet, actuellement seulement en version anglaise, déjà amendé par plusieurs des membres et experts de EU-LAC. Les réactions et suggestions sont demandées, en anglais, français, espagnol ou portugais, à l'adresse de Karen Brown: keb23@st-andrews.ac.uk .

Deadline for feedback: 28 February 2019

>> Plus d'informations et de traductions sur la résolution.

>> Plus d'informations sur le projet EU-LAC.

[ITA]

Musei, comunità e sostenibilità. La conferenza generale di ICOM si svolgerà in Giappone (Kyoto) nel settembre 2019. Alcuni eventi, attualmente organizzati da colleghi giapponesi, riuniranno ecomusei e musei comunitari provenienti da tutto il mondo, e molto probabilmente dalla regione asiatica e pacifica. Il responsabile del programma internazionale EU-LAC per la cooperazione tra i musei della comunità in America Latina, nei Caraibi e in Europa sta preparando una proposta di raccomandazione o dichiarazione che vorrebbe sottoporre alla più ampia discussione possibile prima presentarlo alla Conferenza Generale ICOM di Kyoto. Riproduciamo qui di seguito la sua bozza, attualmente solo in inglese, già modificata da diversi membri ed esperti di EU-LAC. Feedback e suggerimenti vanno inviati in inglese, francese, spagnolo o portoghese a Karen Brown all'indirizzo keb23@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Termine per osservazioni: 28 febbraio 2019

>> Altre informazioni e traduzioni sulla risoluzione:

La raccomandazione da presentare alla conferenza generale del Giappone chiede al Consiglio esecutivo di ICOM di:

(a) Fornire maggiore riconoscimento e sostegno al vasto numero di organizzazioni a guida di comunità che non soddisfano l'attuale Definizione di Museo di ICOM, ma che promuovono ulteriormente gli obiettivi di salvaguardia e cura del e promozione dell'accesso al patrimonio naturale, culturale e immateriale e il loro uso sostenibile per lo sviluppo ambientale, sociale ed economico delle comunità, il raggiungimento degli obiettivi dell'ONU 2030 e della giustizia climatica.

(b) Rimanere sensibili alle differenze regionali e dimostrare consapevolezza della dimensione geopolitica del concetto di Museo, in particolare per quanto riguarda le esigenze di risorse dei musei delle comunità nei paesi a reddito medio-basso.

(c) Riconoscere il valore dei musei comunitari per la promozione dei valori di ICOM, di UNESCO e della Carta internazionale dei diritti umani e della pace, specialmente nei contesti delle comunità indigene e delle minoranze etniche e nel contesto della migrazione e dello sviluppo sostenibile della comunità in generale.

(d) Incoraggiare il lavoro collaborativo con e tra i musei della comunità a livello nazionale e regionale.

(e) Rafforzare, abilitare e mobilitare i Comitati internazionali e le Alleanze regionali di ICOM come mediatori per la comprensione culturale a livello di comunità e tra regioni per raggiungere gli obiettivi di cui sopra.

>> Maggiori informazioni sul progetto EU-LAC.

[ESP]

Resolución: Museos, Comunidades y Sostenibilidad

Fecha límite para comentarios: 28 de febrero de 2019

Las Alianzas Regionales de ICOM Europa e ICOM LAC recomiendan, del 1 al 7 de septiembre de 2019 en Kyoto, Japón, que el Consejo Ejecutivo:

(a) Brindar mayor reconocimiento y apoyo a la gran cantidad de organizaciones lideradas por comunidades que actualmente no cumplen con la definición actual de ICOM de un museo pero que promueven los objetivos de salvaguardar, cuidar y promover el acceso al patrimonio natural, cultural e intangible, y su uso sostenible para el desarrollo ambiental, social y económico de las comunidades, el logro de los objetivos de la ONU 2030 y la justicia climática.

(b) Permanecer sensible a las diferencias regionales y demostrar conocimiento de la dimensión geopolítica del concepto del Museo, especialmente en relación con las necesidades de recursos de los museos comunitarios en países de ingresos bajos a medios.

(c) Reconocer el valor de los museos comunitarios para la promoción de los valores, fomentados por ICOM, la UNESCO y diversas cartas internacionales, de derechos humanos y de paz, especialmente en los contextos de las comunidades indígenas y de minorías étnicas, y en el contexto de la migración y el desarrollo comunitario sostenible, en general.

(d) Fomentar el trabajo colaborativo con y entre los museos de la comunidad a nivel nacional y birregional.

(e) Fortalecer, habilitar y movilizar a los Comités Internacionales y Alianzas Regionales de ICOM para que actúen como mediadores para la comprensión cultural a nivel comunitario y entre regiones para lograr los objetivos mencionados.

>> Spanish text

Draft Recommendation to ICOM 32nd General Assembly of ICOM – Kyoto, 2018

Deadline for feedback: 28 February 2019

Resolution: Museums, Communities and Sustainability

A reconsideration of the Round Table of Santiago de Chile of 1972, published as the Declaration of Santiago de Chile by UNESCO in 1973, suggests it is opportune, in a world of global inequalities, for the international museum community to recognize the significance of the integral museum concept as a means of assisting communities and their heritages.

Noting that the Recommendation concerning the Protection and Promotion of Museums and Collections, their Diversity and their Role in Society, (UNESCO, 2015) confirms the significance and contemporary relevance of the 1973 Declaration, and,

Acknowledging that since 1973, museums have evolved to adopt different concepts and practices that have recognised community museology and promoted greater awareness of the social role of museums, and,

Reviewing ICOM Resolutions relating to communities, sustainability and cultural landscapes, and noting that the 2016 ICOM Resolution concerning the “extended museum” adopted in Milan, 2016, underlined that museums are more than traditional buildings, collections and established curatorial techniques and conservation priorities, having value for social, cultural, environmental and economic development, thereby furthering the aims of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and,

Recognising community museums as vital actors for social, environmental and cultural inclusion and sustainability in the 21st Century draws attention to the fact that although communities may have meaningful autonomy over decision making in their museums, they often lack adequate recognition and professional and economic support needed to be effective, or even in extreme cases, survive, and,

Recognising the effective approach, research methods and shared values deployed in the Horizon 2020 EU-LAC-MUSEUMS project (Grant Agreement number 693669) towards supporting community museums at local and bilateral levels for regional and bi-regional integration,

It is recommended by the Regional Alliances of ICOM Europe and ICOM LAC, 1-7 September 2019 in Kyoto, Japan, that the Executive Council:

(a) Provide greater recognition of, and support for, the vast number of community-led organisations that do not fulfil the current ICOM Definition of a Museum but that further the goals of safeguarding, caring for and promoting access to natural, cultural and intangible heritages, and their sustainable use for environmental, social and economic development of communities, the achievement of the UN 2030 goals and climate justice.

(b) Remain sensitive to regional differences, and demonstrate awareness of the geo-political dimension of the concept of the Museum, especially relating to the resource needs of community museums in lower to middle income countries.

(c) Recognize the value of community museums for the promotion of ICOM, UNESCO and international charter values of human rights and peace, especially in the contexts of indigenous and ethnic minority communities, and in the context of migration, and sustainable community development in general.

(d) Encourage collaborative work with and between community museums on national and bi-regional levels.

(e) Strengthen, enable and mobilise ICOM International Committees and Regional Alliances to act as mediators for cultural understanding at the community level and between regions to achieve the above goals.