Strid om museumsdefinition

Det har skabt strid i den internationale museumsorganisation, International Council of Museums (ICOM) at der er ønsker om at modernisere definitionen af, hvad et museum er.

ICOM’s Executive Comitee er ud fra en bred debat og mange forslag nået frem til dette forslag til museumsdefinition:

Museums are democratising, inclusive and polyphonic spaces for critical dialogue about the pasts and the futures. Acknowledging and addressing the conflicts and challenges of the present, they hold artefacts and specimens in trust for society, safeguard diverse memories for future generations and guarantee equal rights and equal access to heritage for all people.

Museums are not for profit. They are participatory and transparent, and work in active partnership with and for diverse communities to collect, preserve, research, interpret, exhibit, and enhance understandings of the world, aiming to contribute to human dignity and social justice, global equality and planetary wellbeing.

Især den sidste sætning ““social justice, global equality and planetary wellbeing”, har skabt debat, fordi mange opfatter, at den er for politisk. Kritikerne mener ikke museerne skal defineres ud fra en ideologisk hensigt.

Den nuværende museumsdefinition er fra 2007:

“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.”

ICOM repræsenterer 20.000 museer i 141 lande. Museumsorganisationer fra 24 lande har annonceret at de vil stille et alternativt forslag.

ICOM skal vedtage en ny definition ved en kongres i Kyoto 7. september.