In May 2015, following 6 months of intensive consultation, a consortium of museums and universities organized by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) European and Latin American and Caribbean Regional Alliances, submitted a project proposal to the European Commission Horizon2020 programme intended to look in depth at the roles of museums in relation to communities. By March 2016, the proposal was evaluated at 15/15 and invited to Grant Agreement. It is scheduled to commence on 01 September 2016 and run for 48 months. As a formal partner, ICOM will engage in strategic meetings of the project and showcase its progress and major achievements through the ICOM website and i-community.

 

EU contribution: EUR 2,422,406.50

Keywords: Community museology, sustainability, exhibiting migration and gender, technology and innovation.

Description of Project Objectives

The objective of the EU-LAC-MUSEUMS project is to directly meet the challenge of fostering EU-CELAC relations by studying the close connections between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in the field of community museology. To address this challenge, EU-LAC-MUSEUMS assembles a team of leading academics, museum professionals and policy makers nominated by the European and LAC Regional Alliances of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Together, we are committed to exploring the cultural, scientific and social dimensions of EU-LAC relations with a view to “supporting the process of EU-CELAC cooperation outlined by the EU-CELAC Action Plan 2013-2015 in defining a common vision for the years to come”. Through a series of thematic work packages, we will pursue the theme of “Museums and Community: Concepts, Experiences, and Sustainability in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean” to create a concerted bi-regional investigation. EU-LAC-MUSEUMS will create parity of esteem, sustainable dialogue and co-operation between academia, museums and communities in each region by pursuing work packages dealing with the cross cutting societal challenges of:

 

a) “Technology and Innovation for Bi-Regional Integration” (including the creation of an ambitious multi-media Web Portal designed by the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisbon);

b) “Museum Education for Social Inclusion and Cohesion” (including a bi-regional museum youth exchange Scotland/Costa Rica/Portugal, and research into the case study of the Austral region, Chile);

c) “Investment and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Museums” (including new innovative designs of integral management designed by the University of Valencia and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de peru);

d) “Exhibiting Migration and Gender” (including an international touring fine art exhibition led by the University of the West Indies).

Bi-regional research into case studies of best practice will be prescient for pushing forward the agenda of the EU-CELAC Action Plan in museum practice and theory.

Partners

University of St Andrews, Scotland (Coordinator: mgci@st-andrews.ac.uk)

Conseil International de Musées, France

Direcao Geral Do Patrimonio Cultural / MUSEU NACIONAL de ARQUEOLOGIA, Portugal

Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, Costa Rica

Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile

Universitat de Valencia, Spain

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Peru, Peru

University of the West Indies, Jamaica