Considering that:

-ICOM, the International Council of Museums, the only worldwide organization representing museums and museum professionals, has since 1946 assisted the community of museums in their mission to preserve, conserve and share cultural heritage.

-ICOM Europe, the Regional Alliance of the International Council of Museums, the most representative organization of Museums and Professionals of Museums in the entire continent and immediate regions, assembling National Committees from fifty countries (from Atlantic to Urals and Caucasus, from the Arctic Ocean to the Mediterranean) and almost thirty thousand individual and institutional members (representing about four fifths of the total ICOM worldwide membership), is profoundly committed to the promotion of museums in general, developing their missions and social goals, which are, according to the ICOM´s definition, “the service of society and its development… for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment”.

-The recent annual Conference of ICOM Europe on the theme of “National Museums”, organized in Lisbon, November 28-29, 2016 with the participation of more than one hundred museum professionals from about twenty European countries, decided to underline the need for states authorities to support and develop National Museums, as autonomous heritage institutions promoting citizenship and acting as forums for elaborating contested issues and establishing bridge-building narratives

– The investment in National Museums has to be considered as a key strategic option for the European countries.

-The difficult financial situation of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo, conducted to its closure to the public for several years and its reopening in an extremely still difficult situation.

It is recommended to the competent national and local authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to:

– Make all possible efforts to solve the financial problems in order to guarantee the good functioning of the National Museum of Bosnia ans Herzegovina, as well as the continuing of the important work achieved by the museum’s professionals, whose devotion is recognized by the entire community of museum all around the world.

– Strengthen the role of the National Museum as a Europe’s ‘cultural glue’, contributing to the appropriate attitudes helping communities to meet a future of sustainable and inclusive growth.

-Elaborate a strategic plan for the renovation of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the development of its activities in the service of society.

ICOM Europe Board, Lisbon, December, 1, 2016