The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is an international organization of museums and museum professionals which is committed to the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.

 

Created in 1946, ICOM is a non-governmental organization maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council.

 

As the National Committee for ICOM in Canada, ICOM Canada exists:

 

• To further the primary aims and objectives of ICOM as the international body which represents museums, to the Canadian public;
• To collaborate in the research, study and exchange of ideas in the field of museology with other organizations whose aims are similar to those of ICOM, and especially with UNESCO;
• To encourage the participation of Canadian museums, and of all Canadian museum professionals, in the research, protection, conservation, interpretation and circulation of museum collections;
• To act, within Canada, as an advisor on and a reference centre for information of an international nature that may be of interest to Canadian museums and the Canadian public;
• To increase the awareness of the Canadian public about the existence of museums in Canada and to further the understanding of their role in culture and society; and
• To foster co-operation, mutual assistance and the exchange of information among its members.