Dear members and friends of the museum community,
Every 18th of May since 1978, the international museum community comes together to engage with their public and highlight the importance of the role of museums as institutions that serve society and its development. It is a celebration that was established by ICOM with the objective of raising awareness of the fact that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures, development of mutual understanding, cooperation, and peace among peoples. Today, this objective is as relevant as ever.
The theme of International Museum Day 2022 is “The Power of Museums” and it focuses on three ways in which they can transform the world around them: the power of fostering sustainability and climate justice; the power of innovating on digitization and accessibility; and the power of community building through education. So far, we have registered nearly 5,000 activities organised by museums around the world to mark this special occasion and unleash their transformative power.
However, the celebrations do not end on May 18: the global museum community will come together again, this time in August, for the 26th ICOM General Conference in Prague. Also under the banner of The Power of Museums and for the first time in a hybrid format, this international summit will mark the direction of the museum sector for the next three years.
I invite you all to join ICOM and its network of nearly 50,000 members in celebrating the transformative power of museums both on International Museum Day and in ICOM Prague 2022!
THE POWER OF MUSEUMS: ICOM PRAGUE 2022
The Power of Museums will also be the topic of the next ICOM General Conference: ICOM Prague 2022. Now at its 26th edition, the triennial General Conference is one of the most significant global events dedicated to museums and its professionals. Since 1948, an ever-growing number of participants from all continents have been gathering to discuss and share ideas related to the topical issues facing museums. For the first time in ICOM’s history, ICOM Prague 2022 will explore a new hybrid conference format, providing participants from all over the world full remote access to the scientific programme of ICOM Prague 2022.