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.

PROPOSAL OF MUSEUM DEFINITION

“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.

CURRENT DEFINITION

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.