Museums are democratising and inclusive spaces that encourage critical dialogue about the past to better understand our present and futures. They are not for profit and work in partnership with diverse communities to research, collect, preserve, conserve and interpret tangible and intangible heritage, taking into account ethical and professional standards, human dignity and global equality.
The word museum traces its roots back to the ancient Greek muzeion and Latin museeum, both of which refer to places where works of art are displayed. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, museums grew from private collections into public institutions that aimed to capture the full range of humanity’s cultural legacy. As these institutions evolved, the emphasis on building grew less prominent—open-air museums such as the ones in Senegal or Japan, ecomuseums that offer comprehensive interpretation of natural and cultural environments and virtual museums that exist online are just some examples.
Some museums take on a more economic role, serving as tourist attractions and revitalizing postindustrial cities like Bilbao. Many museums also seek to communicate overtly ideological concepts, whether through promoting civic pride or nationalistic endeavor or through displays of artworks that evoke specific historical moments and emotions.
Despite their diversity in purpose, design, and function, the vast majority of museums share the same fundamental goal: preserving and interpreting material evidence of the past. These objects provide the raw material for learning and understanding human culture. Museums are able to transmit the significance of these objects in ways that other media cannot.
But while museums may be able to connect people with the past, they are often guilty of failing in their responsibility to represent it fairly. For example, museums frequently display objects with dubious origins and discuss pieces from non-western cultures through a western lens, and they are often accused of failing to address the consequences of colonialism in their collections.
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, museum professionals must embrace a new definition of their institution’s mission in order to respond more effectively to the challenges they face. The new definition adopted today by the International Council of Museums (Icom) reflects a shift in focus from building relationships within local communities to fostering the global community through a common set of principles and values.
The new Icom definition of a museum emphasizes that museums are not just buildings but are organisations that “research, collect, preserve, conserve, and interpret the primary tangible evidence of our world’s cultural and natural heritage” in partnership with communities. In doing so, museums foster the understanding of our shared cultural heritage and contribute to the fulfilment of human dignity and social justice, as well as planetary sustainability. The definition is a milestone in Icom’s long history of promoting and strengthening the global museum profession. It was developed after a process of extensive outreach and consultation, including over 125 different national committees and more than 50,000 individual museum representatives around the world. This was the largest outreach and consultation project in Icom’s history.