Mission Statement for ICOM-Europe

Draft, November 2006

Preamble

Europe on the verge of the 21st century is characterized by strong, but ambiguous attempts to determine its destiny and future role in the world. Together with other European cultural institutions and active members of the civil society its museums can contribute to this process in a very profound way.

As places of individual, social and cultural memory museums in Europe can participate in reflecting the past for the benefit of the present and the future. To thrive for peace, regarding the long record of European warfare, by dealing with its causes, by commemorating its victims and by giving the survivors a chance to reflect their experiences for the coming generations is an essential and ongoing commitment of European museums.

Throughout the last decades migration has shaped the European society in a new way. More and more countries and people in Europe and throughout the world see Europe as a sign of hope for their future. Therefore European museums must acknowledge the importance of migration for its cultural identity. Only by approaching the stranger among us with empathy, museums in Europe can engage in the dialogue of cultures and people for the benefit of understanding.

To be characterized as a European museum means to enforce the engagement for the sake of freedom and human rights in the world, it means to recognize, that individual or national identities can only be formed by mutual acceptance of the other and it means to foster individuality as a precondition for creativity and cultural diversity.

ICOM-Europe supports all activities of European museums, that improve the international exchange with other regions of the world in order to achieve common agreements on the above mentioned issues.

 

 

 

Mission

The mission of ICOM-Europe is to:

– Provide a forum for the exchange of information, activities, cooperation and good practice between the National Committees of the region and the Regional Organisation in order to bring ICOM members together on a cross-border basis.

 

 Aims

The aims of ICOM-Europe are to:

Internally

– Assist National Committees, sub-regional organisations and other bodies of ICOM in their activities in the region

– Advise ICOM on the development and implementation of its programme, with reference to the needs of the region

– Stimulate membership of ICOM (National Committees, institutional and individual membership) in the region

– Co-operate with other Regional Organisations of ICOM

 

 Externally

– Raise the profile and promote the unique qualities of museums in the region

– Improve access for visitors through joint activities of museums in the region

– Support transcultural learning in the museums of the region

– Contribute to a democratic culture, respecting cultural diversity, ethnic minorities and the cultural heritage of the region

 

 

Activities

ICOM-Europe will endeavour to achieve its aims by:

– Acting as an ambassador for museums in the region

– Fostering international relationships with relevant governmental and inter-governmental organisations, including the European Union and the Council of Europe, in the region

– Joining for activities with international bodies representing other cultural fields, such as visual and performing arts and the heritage, in the region

– Building relationships with foundations that support cultural activities in the region

– Connecting with national and international institutions dealing with the analysis of museum development in the region in order to encourage the dissemination of information and statistics about the museums of the region

– Facilitating the international exchange of professional good practice both within the region and beyond

– Assisting in the co-ordination of advice to museums in response to damage by war or severe natural disasters through the development of a network of expertise across the region

– Contributing to the reflection of historical and contemporary cultural, religious and philosophical traditions of the region