Bridging Cultures: Moving towards new perspectives in museums

The role of museums is changing rapidly. In 2015, the UNESCO  Recommendation concerning museums recognized their "intrinsic value as custodians of heritage, and that they also play an ever-increasing role in stimulating creativity, [...] thus contributing to the material and spiritual well-being of citizens across the world". The historic MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration also called on all UNESCO Member States to invest in museum's educational as well as social functions within societies. 

The open discussion will invite museums, communities and stakeholders to share current museum practices. The panelists will underscore the importance of museums in the ethical return and restitution of cultural objects, inclusion in the field of museology, and acknowledging, in particular, the need for increased involvement of indigenous and diaspora communities.

The central thread of the day is museums as a vital space to shape social and historical narratives as well as to celebrate diversity. In particular, the presence and contributions of Afro-descendant cultures in museums will be recognized, against the backdrop of the 30th anniversary of UNESCO's “Routes of Enslaved Peoples” programme.

It will focus on three key themes:

• The involvement of communities in the return and restitution of cultural property

• The representation of the African diaspora in museum collections

• Collective cultural rights in the context of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032)

   

This event is supported by the Permanent Delegation of Brazil to UNESCO.

To attend the event in-person: https://forms.office.com/e/wSiQanFaRd (registration is possible until Tuesday 21 May at 10:00am)