Museums and the idea of historical progress : ICMAH – COMCOL 2012 annual conference, in conjunction with ICOM-South Africa.

Synopsis: The conference examined the following issues:_x000D_ Can utopias be recognised in the history of our museum and its collections? Did museums documented utopias of the past? If so, how?_x000D_ Should museums be forums for reflecting the intellectual promises of the utopian world and the actually existing conditions? Do museums have a responsibility to discuss the issues as mentioned above? How can this be implemented in the collection profile of the museum and in collecting and exhibition policies?_x000D_ Does the promise of new utopias require an international ethical reconsideration of the existing distribution of museum collections? How could this look like in practice?_x000D_ Do museums of the South have any new or innovative insights?