The ICOM-IMREC Museums and Sustainability Conference held from July 2-3, 2024, at the National Folk Museum of Korea in Seoul, was a great success, attracting more than 2000 participants. Bringing together museum professionals, sustainability advocates, and policymakers from around the world, the event highlighted the pivotal role museums play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030.
Impressive Participation and Engagement
The pre-conference workshop on July 1 at the National Hangeul Museum set the stage with 78 attendees diving deep into critical issues:
- Changing Climate Management Strategies: Sustainable Collection Environments and Monitoring Objects Response.
- ICOM’s Framework Sustainability Action Plan.
The main conference saw an overwhelming response, with a total attendance of 2026 participants. Among these, 312 were present in person, while the remainder joined virtually, demonstrating the global reach and impact of the hybrid event.
Key Highlights and Insights
The conference, structured around the five pillars of sustainable development—Partnership, People, Planet, Prosperity, and Peace—featured a diverse array of keynote addresses, panel discussions, and collaborative workshops.
Highlights included:
- Jaeseung Jeong’s keynote on “Homo Sapiens, Uncovering the Future in Museums”, exploring scientific evidence of museums’positive impact on visitors’ and how they can serve not merely as vaults of past achievements but as dynamic forums for fostering sustainability.
- Henry McGhie’s keynote on “Museums and Sustainable Development: taking action to ‘do more good’ and ‘do less harm’,” offering practical strategies for museums to align with the SDGs and referring to the ICOM award.
Outcomes and Future Directions
A special session on the second day was dedicated to formulating actionable recommendations to enhance the integration of museums into the SDG framework, in the form of a conversation between Dr. Robert Janes (Founder, Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice) and ICOM Sustain Vice Chair Lucimara Letelier moderated by Carol Scott, Chair of the Academic and Programming Board of ICOM-IMREC.
Access the Conference Content
Watch the full conference recordings here:
Day 1
Day 2
Download the YouTube timeline of the conference here to easily find the sessions that interest you!
The Museums and the Sustainable Development Goals – Towards 2030 conference was the result of a collaboration between ICOM-IMREC (a partnership between Shanghai University and ICOM) and ICOM Korea. The conference was hosted by the National Folk Museum of Korea.