ICOM Define Methodology (2020-2022)

ICOM approves a new museum definition

On August 24th, the ICOM Extraordinary General Assembly approved a new museum definition. The vote is the culmination of an 18-month participatory process that involved hundreds of museum professionals from 126 National Committees from all over the world.
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“A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”
New definition of museum approved during ICOM Prague 2022 

 Subject: Invitation to the ICOM Extraordinary General Assembly (24 August 2022, hybrid, 12:30 to 14:00, CEST)

June 24, 2022
Dear ICOM Member,

The ICOM Standing Committee for the Museum Definition (ICOM Define), lead by the Co-Chairs, Lauran Bonilla-Merchav and Bruno Brulon, have been working tirelessly over almost two years, with you the members, through four extensive and detailed consultation processes, to create a museum definition that encapsulates the vital role that museums play in our society today. The new, inclusive process, developed by ICOM Define for the consultations with members, is an excellent blueprint for us to work together in the future. I would like to thank all members for their contributions, without you, this process would not have been possible.

At the 91st Session of the Advisory Council on 19-20 May 2022, the Chairs of the National and International Committees, Regional Alliances and Affiliated Organisations selected the museum definition proposal to present to the Executive Board at the 161st Session on 9-10 June, who expressed their unanimous support for the selected proposal and recommended, in accordance with Article 10 – Section 3 of the ICOM Statutes, that I convene an Extraordinary General Assembly, so that members can consider, debate and vote on the proposal to amend the current definition, as set out in Article 3 – Section 1 of the Statutes.

Therefore, I am pleased to invite you to the Extraordinary General Assembly which will be held in person at the 26th ICOM General Conference in Prague and via the online platform Agora on 24 August 2022 from 12:30 to 14:00 (CEST), in accordance with Articles 10 and 25 of the ICOM Statutes.

The Agora platform allows you to access working documents and meetings online, as well as to vote for those who have been appointed by their Chair. The agenda for this Extraordinary General Assembly and the working document with the report by ICOM Define including the proposal for a new definition of ‘museum’ can be found there in English, French and Spanish. Agora can be accessed by using the following link: https://agora.icom.museum/. Your username and password for Agora are the same as for the ICOM Member Space. If you have any difficulties, contact: [email protected].

Please note that:

• Any questions regarding the agenda should be sent to the Secretariat at [email protected] before 10 August 2022 (23:59, CEST);
• Any questions relating to the working document should be sent to the Chair or Secretary of your National or International Committee, Regional Alliance or Affiliated Organisation, who will be responsible of forwarding them to the ICOM Secretariat before 10 August 2022 (23:59, CEST).
• Voting at this Extraordinary General Assembly will take place online. In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that only the voting members appointed by the National and International Committees (up to 5 voting members), Regional Alliances (up to 3 voting members) and Affiliated Organisations (up to 2 voting members) will have the right to vote (Article 7 of the ICOM Statutes) from the day the voting platform opens until a few minutes before the end of the Extraordinary General Assembly. The Chair of each Committee/Regional Alliance/Affiliated Organisation must register their voting members before 10 August 2022 (23:59, CEST).
• For ecological and sanitary reasons, printed working documents will not be provided at the statutory meetings. Members wishing to have these documents in paper version are invited to print them themselves.

As the organisation of this meeting poses a real challenge from a technical point of view, considering the very large number of ICOM members (more than 49,000 members worldwide), and in accordance with Article 25 - Section 1 of the Statutes, we will follow the process that has been in place since 2020, one Member per Committee/Regional Alliance/Affiliated Organisation (appointed by its Chair) shall act as a representative and may take the floor at the meeting venue in Prague or join the videoconferencing platform where he/she will be able to speak on behalf of his/her Committee/Regional Alliance/Affiliated Organisation. The representative shall also represent the other voting members of that Committee, Regional Alliance or Affiliated Organisation to determine the quorum. All other ICOM members can attend in person or watch the meeting live via webcast (the link to access it will be available on Agora in due course).

The meeting will be recorded for documentation purposes and the recording will also be available for members to watch for a limited time after the meeting has taken place. Due to technical constraints, English will be the main language used during the meeting and simultaneous interpretation in French and Spanish will be provided throughout the meeting.

Finally, as you may know, the Working Group on Statutes and Rules (WGSR) has been reviewing the ICOM Statutes with a view to updating them to better meet the needs of our organisation. Following the discussions at the Advisory Council, the Executive Board requested that the WGSR carries out an information campaign and participatory consultation process beginning immediately, so that the ICOM Committees have the opportunity to study the proposals and to provide initial feedback at the Roundtable Session which will take place in person and online on 21 August 2022 from 14:45 – 15:45 at the General Conference in Prague. I hope many of you will join us to discuss this important topic.

I would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation, and I look forward to seeing you in Prague.

Yours sincerely,
Alberto Garlandini
ICOM President

The ICOM Advisory Council selects the museum definition proposal to be voted in Prague

May 20, 2022

The Advisory Council, composed of the Chairpersons of National and International Committees, Regional Alliances, and Affiliated Organisations, selected the museum definition proposal to bring forward to vote at the Extraordinary General Assembly, which will be held on August 24th during ICOM Prague 2022.

The methodology that resulted in this proposal, carried out by the ICOM Standing Committee for the Museum Definition, Prospect and Potentials (ICOM Define) was based on 4 rounds of consultation, divided into 11 steps with a duration of 18 months. ICOM Define worked intensively on processing the results of Consultation 4 and elaborating the final two proposals, which were put forward to vote on the 91st Session of the Advisory Council.

The proposal selected will be presented to the Executive Board and then voted in Prague during the Extraordinary General Assembly on August 24. Please note that the decision on the adoption of the proposal will not be taken until then.

“A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.

According to the ICOM Statutes, adopted by the 22nd General Assembly in Vienna, Austria, on 24 August 2007, the current definition is as follows:

“A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.

 Click here for the full methodology.

ICOM-US Participation Tracked Below

Click here for the full methodology timeline

Consultation Four Submission (due April 10, 2022)

•  Thursday, April 7, 2022: 2-3pm ET: Museum Definition Webinar- part of consultation 4- [WATCH RECORDING OF WEBINAR HERE] (passcode: museumdef22!)
• ICOM-US Final submission- ranking of the proposals and recommendation for top proposal 

Consultation Three Submission (due September 30, 2021): Key words and concepts by dimension (compiled from ICOM-US member survey feedback) 

Consultation Two Submission (due April 20, 2021): 20 key words and concepts (compiled from ICOM-US member survey feedback)

Consultation One Submission (due January 10, 2021):

• Abstract 1- ICOM-US Museum Definition Initiatives
• Abstract 1 (a)- Supporting Documents
• Abstract 1 (b)- Supporting Documents

• Abstract 2- ICOM-US April 2020 Survey on Museum Definition
• Abstract 2- Supporting Documents

• Abstract 3- ICOM-US Webinar Series "What is a Museum?"
• Abstract 3- Supporting Documents

ICOM-US Museum Definition Task Force Members:

• Kathy Dwyer Southern (task force co-chair), Professor, Museum Studies Program at the George Washington University.
• Diana Pardue (task force co-chair), Director, Museum Services Division Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. ICOM international committee chair, DRMC and ICOM Define Representative.
• Eric Dorfman, Director & CEO, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and ICOM Executive Board Representative.
• Bill Eiland, Director, Georgia Museum of Art
• Lyndel King, Emeritus Director & Chief Curator, Weisman Art Museum.
• Alejandra Peña, Executive Director, Museo de Arte de Ponce.
• Kate Quinn, Executive Director, James A. Michener Art Museum.
• Elizabeth Varner, Director, National Coast Guard Museum and ICOM Define Representative.
• Rick West, President and Chief Executive Officer at the Autry Museum of the American West (previous member of MDPP2).

Interested in how else to get more involved with this important discussion? Join us at the next ICOM-US Webinar to participate in our series, What is a Museum? An Exploration in Six Parts.