On-line Programmes
MOOC – Creating Meaningful and Inclusive Museum Practices
In 2021, ICOM developed a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about “Creating Meaningful and Inclusive Museum Practices”.
This course explores different means of inclusion and methodologies that museums around the world are using to meaningfully engage with those living on the margins of society to better address their needs and to become spaces of social inclusion and community building. Making use of representative case studies and discussions with practitioners, academics, and community members this course will dive into an exploration of a series of methodologies and strategies, such as co-curation, oral history, community collecting, inclusive design, and conflict resolution, to illustrate a vibrant and evolving museum practice taking place in different corners around the globe.
The main objective of this course is to present different strategies and methodologies from around the world that have served to successfully engage with and to include historically marginalized communities in museum work as well as the challenges faced by institutions and practitioners so that participants can assess them, adapt them and implement them into their local contexts.
Webinars
ICOM has also organised a series of webinars that are available to everyone. These online discussions have the goal of promoting dialogue and exchange of knowledge between museum professionals from different countries and developing a forum that promotes reflection and allows professionals to exchange ideas on topics of wide importance for the museums of today.
The content of the different webinar projects is available below, together with the link to access the recordings.
ICOM 2030 Sustainability Action Plan, 21 April 2023
Designed as a framework to be appropriated by ICOM national and international committees, the Action Plan provides the means for committees to take up the challenge of addressing the climate emergency and supporting sustainable development through knowledge sharing, networks, commitment, and concrete action.
Watch ICOM 2030 Sustainability Action Plan
Earth Day Webinar: Museums and Sustainability, 20 May 2021
On the occasion of Earth Day 2021, this ICOM webinar covered issues related to sustainability and museums. Bringing together museum professionals from four different regions, the panel discussion included what sustainability means in different parts of the world, with a focus on how partnerships and communication can empower success.
Watch Earth Day Webinar: Museums and Sustainability
Museums, Sustainable Cities and Communities, 28 September 2021
As part of a series of 6 webinars promoted by the ICOM Sustainability Working Group to address Agenda 2030, and in collaboration with CAMOC, the International Committee for the Collections and Activities of Museums of Cities, this webinar gathered museum professionals from different countries to discuss how museums can and are contributing to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
Watch Museums, Sustainable Cities and Communities
Stimulating employment in museums, 18/11/2020
This webinar was focused on the consequences of the pandemic for museum professionals, proposing new models for dealing with the crisis. This session presented the results of a second survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, an overview of emerging professions, and highlighted the role that museums can play as promoters of local development after the crisis.
Watch Stimulating employment in museums
Emergency Management (Focus: Lebanon), 4/11/2020
The session brought together experts and museum professionals to discuss a subject of the utmost importance and more topical than ever: the management of emergency situations. The fundamentals of emergency planning, including preparedness, identification of key players, risk assessment, collection prioritization and other preparations were discussed. Special attention was given to the situation in Beirut, Lebanon, whose museums were severely affected by the double explosion on 4 August.
Watch Emergency Management (Focus: Lebanon)
Digital transformation for museums in the time of COVID-19, 21/10/2020
The discussion was focused on strategies and skills that enable museums and professionals to harness the power of digital media. This session presented good practices on how to foster continuous learning, reach out to our communities at a distance and generate additional revenue to address the lack of on-site visitors.
Watch Digital transformation for museums in the time of COVID-19
New challenges for collections and storage areas, 7/10/2020
Many museums were completely closed for several months, exposing their storage areas to numerous risks to the collections. In the future, the shortage of manpower and funds for the maintenance of collections will be a challenge. It is in this context that the expert group developed a discussion on: best practices in collection preservation; access to collections in storage; and risk management for collections.
Watch New challenges for collections and storage areas
Preparing for the Reopening of Museums, 24/06/2020
An ICOM survey estimated that 95% of museums around the world remained closed during the confinements related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The discussion evaluated the global impact of the current pandemic on cultural institutions – with its short-term and long-term consequences on museums – while also focusing on the delicate actions to be undertaken during the upcoming phase of reopening. Drawing on their vast professional experience, the participants provided the audience with examples of museums’ initiatives which have proven their effectiveness in the current context.
Watch Preparing for the Reopening of Museums
