Sustainable Development
Museums are perfectly positioned to be agents of sustainable development as they are able to work with communities to raise public awareness, support research and knowledge creation to contribute to the well-being of the planet and societies for future generations.
As representative of the global museum community, the vision of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a world where the importance of serving people, protecting the planet, promoting peace, ensuring prosperity and building partnerships is universally valued. ICOM strives to ensure that sustainability –through all its forms: social, economic and environmental- is included in its mission and values, as well as in specific activities.
ICOM AWARD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE IN MUSEUMS
The ICOM Award for Sustainable Development Practice in Museums was launched in 2023 and is the first global award that recognises innovative initiatives and exemplary museum practices in sustainable development. The award ceremony took place at the 27th ICOM General Conference, featuring the five finalists, and awarding the Shared Island Stories Between Scotland and the Caribbean: Transnational Youth Exchange submitted by the Barbados Museum and Historical Society.
Through this initiative, ICOM, as a global organisation, aims to demonstrate the various ways in which the museum sector contributes to sustainable development; and inspire museums and museum professionals everywhere in the world to begin or strengthen their efforts for sustainable development in practice.
Having received entries from 130 eligible projects, the Jury carried out a selection of 25 projects called the shortlist. This selection combines projects submitted across the five award categories reflecting the dimensions of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, namely the 5 P’s: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership.
Find out more about the ICOM Award
ICOM ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Designed as a framework to be appropriated by ICOM International and National Committees, the 2030 Action Plan, developed by the ICOM Working Group on Sustainability was approved at the 172nd session of the Executive Board.
ICOM SUSTAIN
In 2023, the ICOM International Committee on Museums and Sustainable Development (ICOM SUSTAIN) was created following a recommendation from the ICOM Working Group on Sustainability. The recommendation was endorsed by the Executive Board and received the support of ICOM members.
The mission of ICOM SUSTAIN is to assist ICOM in achieving a sustainable and resilient pathway to the future through implementation of ICOM´s Framework Sustainable Development Action Plan; supporting existing, and fostering new sustainable development initiatives across ICOM and its membership founded on the 5Ps of the UN´s Agenda 2030, People, Planet, Property, Peace and Partnership, and communicating them to the members as they address their own pathways to a sustainable future.
WORKING GROUP ON SUSTAINABILITY (2018-2023)
In 2015, both the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement were adopted. Even with these measures, the world’s population is currently consuming the equivalent of 1.6 planets a year – a state of affairs that cannot continue. The nature of this global challenge requires a collective response across all sectors and scales. In this context, and to contribute constructively to the discussions on Sustainability, ICOM established a Working Group on Sustainability (WGS) in September 2018. Their mission is to help ICOM consider how to mainstream sustainability, both within ICOM and for its individual and institutional members. They are also examining the role of a possible International Committee on Sustainability.
On September 7, 2019 the 34th General Assembly of ICOM held in Kyoto, Japan, adopted the following two resolutions on sustainability :
- On sustainability and the implementation of Agenda 2030, Transforming our World
- Museums, Communities and Sustainability
You can find the full text of the Resolutions below:
34th General Assemby Resolutions full text
OECD/ICOM GUIDE “CULTURE AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT: MAXIMISING THE IMPACT”
In December 2018, ICOM and OECD joined forces to launch Culture and Local Development: Maximising the Impact – Guide for Local Governments, Communities and Museums, introduced in Venice by ICOM’s Director General Peter Keller and OECD’s Secretary General Angel Gurria.
This joint instrument aims at supporting and inspiring local government representatives, museums and civil society organisations to find innovative ways and jointly define a local development agenda that promotes a more sustainable future.
After further improvements to the content, ICOM and the OECD have completed the final version of the Guide and it was presented at the ICOM-OECD panel session on Local Development and Museums during ICOM’s 25th General Conference in Kyoto.
Download the Guide (English version)
Please download the flyer for more information and to discover how you can contribute to this initiative: Hyperlink to the flyer.
- ICOM / OECD Guide in other languages: French (coming soon) / Spanish / Italian
- ICOM / OECD Flyer in other languages: French / Japanese / Spanish
EU-LAC-MUSEUMS
Launched in October 2016, “EU-LAC-MUSEUMS: Museums and Community: Concepts, Experiences, and Sustainability in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean” was a research project aiming at providing a better understanding of the cultural, scientific and social dimension of the relationship between the EU and LAC, approached from the perspective of community museology.
To address this challenge, EU-LAC-MUSEUMS assembled a team of leading academics, museum professionals and policy makers working in Scotland, Portugal, Spain, France, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica and the West Indies, coordinated by the University of St Andrews in Scotland. The project, which ran until 2020, was conceived under the auspices of ICOM and funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme under the Call INT12 (2015) “The cultural, scientific and social dimension of EU-LAC relations.”