August 26, 2021
The UST Museum, represented by Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño and Asst. Director, Ar. Carlo Sayco participated in the International Council of Museums (ICOM) virtual symposium 2021, held in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 26, 2021. The conference was presented in a Hybrid format, meaning the forum will be physically and virtually available simultaneously in the historic National Museum of Prague. This format made the conference accessible to all ICOM members who could not physically join the proceedings due to COVID-19 concerns and restrictions.
Interesting topics about museum resilience, leadership, civil societies, and technologies were presented during the conference. These helped the ICOM network understand more the various practices of museums worldwide and how they adapted to the world's current setting.
Ideas about conference formats such as the hybrid/streamed internet conferences were shared and applied in the live event. Key takeaways like "Genuine Kindness" and how the museum shows the said trait was a concept that museums should exhibit all across the globe. Museums were also compared to rope strands: that the strength of the rope lies in the overlapping of its fibers. It implies collaboration, essential to the practice of museums.
The digital world we interact in was seen as an opportunity to stimulate curiosity through content and be an avenue for discussion and collaboration. It was also considered that "Digitization is the future of cultural organizations," a heavily present notion in museums worldwide.
With the digital world discussed briefly, technology is also a component of this development. Museums were reminded that technology is not just a showpiece but enables a museums' very mission. Having these technologies present in the museum will help museum professionals implement their ideas and give meaningful museum activities.
The future of the ICOM organization was also discussed, focusing on creating a new museum definition, plans for the 2022 convention, and the 75th ICOM anniversary festivities, which will be presented in November this year, all of which, your museum, the UST Museum, will be actively participating in.
Ar. John Carlo Sayco
August 26,2021 | Edited 11:37 PM