A message from Emma Nardi,
President of the International Council of Museums – ICOM.
Every year on 18 May, museums around the world come together to celebrate International Museum Day.
This year’s International Museum Day theme, “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities,” also sets the stage for the ICOM General Conference taking place this November. For the first time, it will take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, in Dubai. The word to be emphasised from the theme is community. The new museum definition voted on at the previous ICOM General Conference in Prague in 2022 reaffirmed all the historical responsibilities of museums, including acquisition, conservation and research, but also gave space for the need for museums to confront themselves openly and with equality with the communities that they represent both historically and geographically.
In this view, the museum is no longer just a place for specialists, but an element of communication and progress for all citizens. Museums exhibit collections, but also establish a dialogue on sustainable development, preserve tradition, and open new debates regarding diversity and decolonisation.
Around the world, we see countless examples of how museums are working to build bridges within and between communities. In places once marked by division, museums are increasingly becoming spaces of reconciliation, participation, and shared identity. They serve as powerful symbols of the role culture can play in healing and uniting.
As President of ICOM, I am proud to witness how museums everywhere are embracing this mission. My hope is that these efforts will continue to grow, and that in a world where violent conflicts persist, museums will stand as beacons of what we aspire to create—dialogue, understanding, and peace.
I wish you all a wonderful International Museum Day.