Constitutive Assembly of ICOM

Musée du Louvre, Paris, France, 16 to 20 November 1946

The first series of meetings of the newly-created International Council of Museums was held in Paris in November 1946.

Delegates were present from 14 nations (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America), from the United Nations Organization, from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, from the International Museum Office, the French Foreign Office, and the Swedish Legation in Paris.

In addition, letters of support announcing cooperation and the formation of National Committees were received from: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Haiti, India, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey.

At the first meeting of the Council, Mr Chauncey J. Hamlin, Buffalo Museum of Science, USA, was appointed temporary Chairman, and Mr Olbrechts temporary Secretary, and a formal resolution was passed creating a provisional ICOM until such time as a Constitution and By-laws were determined.

A committee of 11 members was set up to consider a draft Constitution and By-laws, which met on 16 November and produced an unanimous report.

On 18 November, the Council considered the revised draft Constitution and By-laws in detail, and these, with certain modifications were approved unanimously.

On 19 and 20 November, the Council considered in some detail the broad lines of future policy and it was decided to set up Committees as follows: Science Museums and Planetaria, Museums of Art and Applied Arts, Museums of Natural History, Museums of History of Science and Technology, Museums of Archaeology and History and Historical Sites, Museums of Ethnography (including folk art and culture), Zoological Gardens, Botanical Gardens, National Parks and Forests and Nature Reserves and Trailside Museums.

As a general line of policy it was agreed that priority should be given to the training and exchange of students and curators, and National Committees were asked to report on training facilities within their own regions.