CONGRESSES OF MUSEUMS AND MUSEUM PROFESSIONALS
Journal Title: Muzealnictwo - Year 2015, Vol 56, Issue
Abstract
Studies on the history of museums from antiquity until the end of the 17th century indicate that museums were institutions of a research and educational nature. Thus, the natural forms of disputes were meetings, conferences, seminars and even congresses. At Croton – the Pythagoreanism centre in the 4th century BC – a ‘musaeum’ meant a place for the daily collective meals of young aspiring philosophers, and thus deliberations were a ‘statutory’ activity. In modern Europe, the Mannheim Conference of Museum Professionals organised in 1903 is considered to have been the first international Congress of European Museums organised under the title of ‘How can we enhance the effect of museums on society?’. It was a summit for experienced museum professionals, and for many years the topics discussed there were the starting point for numerous important issues, such as museum pedagogy, extra-curricular teaching or helping disabled children. At that time, Alfred Lichtwark gave a famous speech on museums as key places of public education. The Museum Journal Monthly, published by the British Museums Association, is where we find information on similar meetings and summits held at the end of the 19th century and organised by the British Museums Association, which was founded in 1889. The most important meeting in the first half of the 20th century was the founding of the International Museum Office (IMO) in 1926 by a decision of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, which was part of the League of Nations. The IMO in turn created national branches, whereas the Greek branch of the IMO organised one of the most important international congresses, known as the Conference of Museum Offices in Athens, which was held from 21st to 30th October 1931. The fruit of this conference was the so-called Athens Charter. The IMO contributed to a big summit in 1934 in Madrid devoted to museology and trends in reforming museums. On the basis of this congress, after WWII the world’s biggest museum organisation was established – the International Council of Museums (UN, UNESCO) in November 1946 (Poland has been a member since 1949). The essence of ICOM’s activity is organising annual congresses and numerous conferences, which at present (2014) attract 33,000 museum professionals working in 172 committees, including 117 national ones, 31 specialised committees, 5 regional unions (committees of regions) and 20 affiliated organisations. In Poland each Polish Culture Congress (1910, 1936, 1966, 1981, 2000, 2009) has included a ‘chapter’ devoted to museums. Six years after the last Polish Culture Congress, the First Congress of Polish Museum Professionals is to be held on 23-25 April 2015, convened at the initiative of non-governmental organisations and associations: the Polish Association of Museum Professionals, the Polish National Committee of ICOM and the Association of Open-Air Museums, in association with and under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Authors and Affiliations
Dorota Folga-Januszewska
Keywords
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