COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMSCAM GENERAL PROGRAMME AND MEETING 2008
April 21 to 25, 2008 (To be confirmed)
Museums & Diversity
Part 1 – Museums in Pluralistic Societies
Part 2 – World Watch One: Biodiversity & Conservation
Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport
The National Museum of Guyana
Georgetown, Guyana
5 day Seminar plus Excursion to IWOKRAMA to follow for limited number of participants, April 26–30 (To be confirmed)
NOTE: The dates will be confirmed as soon as possible. It is expected that they will not vary significantly from the above but they might affect travel plans.
Museums & Diversity
As institutions of civil society, museums must take into account the increasingly complex natural, social and cultural environment in which we exist. Not least of this complexity are the multiplicity of ethnic, cultural, religious and economic variations within our larger societies and the task of contributing to healthy communities, inclusive societies and a healthy world. To ignore the role of museums in civil society and community is at best to be irrelevant and undermine our requests and rationale for public support and, at worst, to work against peace and harmony and the survival of humanity.
The task involves the values of the Commonwealth often expressed in the declarations from the Heads of Government meetings and elsewhere: democracy, rule of law, human rights, free press, education for all, and gender equity as well as encouragement of young peoples in all spheres. Many of these are also topics of the Millennium Goals and concerns of UNESCO.
It is no longer sufficient for museums to deal with only the traditional past through historical, archaeological, artistic objects and works of art in homogeneous contexts. Room must be made in publicly funded organizations for both tangible objects and intangible heritage from other cultures and societies relevant to our constituents. Museums as an assemblage exist to benefit society and exist as a part of civil society. If our task is the preservation of cultural and natural heritage according to our mandates, then it is important for us to remember that each part of that heritage whether it be in a science centre or technology museum, ethnology, history or art museum, zoo or aquarium, involves different cultural perspectives and a larger context of beliefs, ideas and heritage. Our method is through material evidence and sensory expressions of intangible heritage and our ultimate aim is knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our environment as well as of the specific artifacts and manifestations of heritage that are the focus of individual museums. Thus diversity in this programme encompasses how museums deal with differences within the museum and heritage community, differences in the societies we live in and interact with, differences in our natural heritage, and interaction among those differences.
Part 1: Museums in Pluralistic Societies
This session will deal with the issues and challenges of museums in civil societies which are diverse, how individual museums of all kinds find direction for their particular circumstances and mandates, what methods can be or have been successful in creating inclusive and healthy societies.
Part 2: World Watch One
This session is intended to be the first of a series dealing with the human and natural environment of museums in their broadest context – the global perspective. It is intended as an alert to issues which have huge impact not only on museums but on all other organizations, systems and networks of society. It features a day in which to focus on one or more related issues along with an opportunity to reflect on what Commonwealth museums can and should consider as high priority concerns.
Part 1 of the conference does address one of the most important global issues but World Watch will take into account other issues and in Guyana one associated with the environment. In World Watch One, the opportunity to visit Iwokrama, a unique international organization for the preservation of the rain forest and its biodiversity, allows us to see ourselves as part of a larger group of museums including natural history museums and allows us to consider the role of museums in protecting biodiversity and promoting conservation. By extension, climate change is a factor in maintaining biodiversity and conservation an ingredient in maintaining climate stability.
World Watch sessions will take place from time to time usually in conjunction with other CAM activities to identify and consider action on urgent issues affecting life on earth.
The meeting is open to all established members of the museum community world-wide and associates and partners. Travel assistance is open only to members from the Commonwealth developing countries. CAM will assist others as may be possible to tap alternative sources of funding.
Call for Papers
Papers are invited from participants in the meeting and will be selected according to specific criteria by the Programme Committee. They may be on any topic related to the programme description. A separate call for papers is being distributed but the CAM Secretariat may be contacted directly for further information in any case. (irvinel@fclc.com)
Information:
For further information and questions, please contact the Secretariat
Lois Irvine
Secretary General
Commonwealth Association of Museums
Tel & fax: 1-403-938-3190
email: irvinel@fclc.com