Int’l conference highlights museums’ role in boosting global solidarity

Iloilo City, Philippines – The International Council of Museums Asia Pacific (ICOM-ASPAC) Conference 2015 emphasized the role of museums in the promotion of international cooperation and solidarity.

Inspiring long-term partnerships among museum professionals and stakeholders, the conference positions museums to become global driving forces toward sustainable development though common agendas and initiatives. (READ: Putting museums at the core of sustainable dev’t)

“The conference will offer a platform to share and demonstrate projects of participants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds of the region and provide a forum to develop innovative, interdisciplinary and inclusive conceptual frameworks in a dynamic and changing environment,” Dr. Song Xianchao, Chair ICOM-ASPAC, said.

Museums in the global perspective

As the world is becoming a global village, culture and heritage have become a currency for cross-cultural exchanges. Against the backdrop of globalization, mutual respect for cultural backgrounds and cultural diversity can foster mutual learning and solidarity, which on a greater scale can lead to sustainable and inclusive societies. 

Now, more than ever, museums can serve as platform where people can share their culture and heritage while learning from that of others, creating a network of understanding and harmony.

Professor Lou Wei, Deputy Director of the Palace Museum in China, discussed the importance of cross-cultural exchanges, highlighting the importance of mutual cooperation among different countries in the field of academic research, education, and training for museum professionals.

“Since ICOM ASPAC was established in 1976, we always get compared to western countries. We always felt like we were short of something. But because of that, we also saw an opportunity to improve,” Professor Inkyung Chang, Director of Iron Museum Korea and Vice-Chair ICOM-Korea, said.

He added: “The Asia Pacific region is always challenged because of the language barrier. But with conferences such as this, we get the chance to talk and learn from each other. So, diversity also becomes our strength.” 

Many capital cities of the developing world are growing in size due to the continuous influx of people migrating from different parts of the country, an unavoidable consequence since capital cities work as the centripetal force of economic growth and development. This, however, also creates immense tension among city inhabitants with different cultural background. 

While pop culture easily invades the minds of migrants of a capital city, a museum can help sustain the urban fabric of the capital, using its diverse cultural threads while promoting a common cultural identity anchored in tradition.

Janghangir Hussain, Director of the Department of Contemporary Art and World Civilization of the Bangladesh National Museum, shared how they acknowledge the creative diversity of their country’s population through educating people from different parts of the country, on their common history and heritage; thereby producing cultural values that will fasten development of a harmonious national cultural identity.

Culture and heritage in challenging times

The link between sustainable development issues and the core function of museums to safeguard, promote, and educate the public about their cultural heritage is becoming more pronounced in recent years.

“I have seen how Iloilo City is at a rapid rate of urbanization, and I think it is quite comparable to what’s happening in China. Museums need to tell the story of their societies. It’s timely for museums here to discuss socially relevant issues pertaining to development in the context of sustainability,” added Xianchao of ICOM-China. 

A case study presented by professor Chen Kelun of the Shanghai Museum and Fudan University on the Collection, Conservation, and Museum Sustainable Development revealed how environmental pollution caused by industrialization endangers the rich museum collections in various areas of the world. Chinese Museums have conducted continuous studies on the prevention of damages to priceless museum resources and treasures.

As the world is increasingly torn by conflicts and violence, museums and cultural heritage sites have also become targets of destruction or end up as collateral damage, especially during acts of terrorism and war. 

Calamities and disasters, resulting from extreme weather conditions, likewise, continue to endanger museums and collections that represent irreplaceable culture and heritage. Poverty and a growing population have to neglect, in some countries, subjecting museums and cultural objects to pillage and theft. 

Bharat Raj Rawat, Directors of National Art Gallery-Nepal, presented the extent of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal in April 2015 and its impact on the country’s cultural heritage and monuments. He revealed that among the 35 districts affected by the quake, 15 of which were home to world heritage sites of Kathmandu Valley, affecting over 745 monuments – a tremendous loss for Nepal’s rich heritage.

In addition, Yuki Kurihara,  Administrative Director for Tokyo National Museum in Japan, expounded on how, in recent years, large scale disasters have become more frequent in addition to the growing concerns that the effects of climate change will further exacerbate the risk of natural disasters for cultural heritage and museums. 

He also cited the case of Japan after the Great East Earthquake in 2011, where he founded the National Task Force for the Japanese Cultural Heritage Disaster Risk Mitigation Network, in partnership with the National Committee of Blue Shield, to protect world cultural heritages threatened by natural and human-made disasters. – Rappler.com

Russel Jude Patina Mendez is a Rappler mover in Iloilo City.

Jaro Cathedral in Iloilo via Shutterstock.