Manon Blanchette, Ph.D.

Message from the President of ICOM Canada

News from ICOM Canada

Dear friends,

The annual meeting of ICOM International was held in Paris from June 4 to 8. As president, I was present at all meetings.

Apart from the points generally raised on the advisory committee agendas, such as the approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, certain points stood out for me concerning the enrichment of the network of museums in general and committees in particular.

• ICOM now has 29,528 active members.
• Members originate from 134 countries.
• Participation from developing countries is on the rise; Africa increased the number of its members by 15% and Latin America by 10%.
• ICOM has just introduced a new collaborative Internet platform called ICOMMUNITY, which is based on 4 themes to broaden our skills and knowledge:
  • News and Events will encompass ICOM activities and major events of the international museum community;
  • Resources will provide a list of documents on the operations of ICOM, thematic files, and professional training and upgrading videos;
  • Content can be presented with links to with other organizations or individual members;
  • Certain texts, video or photographs can be used to prompt discussions, questions or sharing of information.

 

Triennial Conference in Rio de Janeiro, 2013

A report was presented on the status of the preparations for next year’s general meeting. I had the opportunity to have lunch with Carlos Roberto F. Brandão, President of ICOM Brazil and the initiator of the Brazilian project. In addition, AVICOM received confirmation of the agreement from the Chair of CECA (Education and Cultural Action), regarding the joint presentation of a portion of our conferences in Rio. The theme of the Rio Triennial is Museums (memory + creativity = social change).

 

2016 Triennial

After a vote from delegates, Milan was chosen as the next host of the Triennial in 2016. ICOM Canada delegates, myself included, showed solidarity. Proxy voting was employed.

 

Discussions

Three discussion groups met for over an hour. I moderated one of these groups and made the public report. The theme was “museum management in the current economic context.” Some fifty people took part in the discussion, which could take place in French, English or Spanish. One of the issues raised was the skills that are now required by museum directors.  This question was an interesting one, since it provided a profile of the challenges faced by directors. Here is a summary of the main aptitudes required:

 

1. Financial skills, ability to meet fundraising challenges; executive skills; strong advocacy skills; development and communications skills; understanding of human resources issues
2. Understanding of diversity issues both inside the specific museum and outside, as pertains to the museum community as a whole
3. Understanding of museums as cultural and heritage institutions

 

Discussions also related to the means ICOM should employ in fostering the development of these skills. This subject is of interest to all museums, including those of Montreal and Quebec,  since it involves possible courses of action to be taken by ICOM worldwide, which are equally applicable regionally.

 

1. Case studies could be featured regularly on ICOMMUNITY for subsequent use by museums for their own training purposes
2. Mentoring programmes and short-term residential workshops developed by the Secretariat within the network
3. Strengthen collaboration/communication between National and International Committees
4. Promote the Code of Ethics through more translations; encourage the sharing of publications, resource documents and museum management tools
5. Take countries’ specificities into account
6. Motivate ICOM members as stakeholders
7. Homogenization of accounting procedures
8. Motivate young people to participate, become involved in the network

 

A text on the international ICOM website provides further details on these exchanges.

 

International Committees and Recommendations

This meeting involving all specialized committees was an opportunity to discuss exchange practices that could serve to better develop common projects. In this regard, ICOMMUNITY is seen as a new platform for professional content, considering how difficult it is for museologists to travel abroad to initiate new projects.

New procedures for presenting financial statements were also announced, which will give ICOM a clearer overall view of  its financial resources. This followed a request from the French auditor. 

 

Achievements during this trip

• The Director General of ICOM will be in Montreal from October 9 to 12.
• Meeting with Sami, the developer of the Google Art Project, and David Assouline to see about having one of their representatives attend the Montreal conference, in order to ensure that Canadian museums are part of the new platform. As of June 12, no Canadian museum appeared in the database. Since then, AGO in Toronto has been integrated.

 

Manon Blanchette Ph.D.
President
ICOM Canada