More than 200 leading Museum Professionals from 9 countries and over 20 cities of India are participating in an International Conference on Strategic Transformations in Museums in New Delhi & Kolkata from February 10-14 2014
An International Conference and Intensive Seminar on ‘Strategic Transformations: Museums in 21st Century’ was inaugurated by Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch, Hon’ble Union Minister of Culture today at the National Science Centre, Delhi in presence of Prof. Dr. Hans-Martin Hinz, President, The International Council of Museums (ICOM), Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, Former Secretary (Culture) and Founder Director & Chairperson of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Dr. Saroj Ghose, Former President ICOM and Adviser to the President's Secretariat, Delhi, Shri Pramod Kumar Jain, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India & other eminent museum professionals and cultural personalities.
The conference has been organised by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), under the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India in collaboration with Indian Museum, Kolkata, National Museum, Delhi and National Committee of ICOM and supported by Ministry of Culture, Anthropological Survey of India, British Council and Indian Overseas Bank. The delegates will deliberate on four important themes; ‘Museums and Transformations’, ‘Museums and Digital Domain’ ‘Museums and Human Resource Development’ and ‘Museums and Relevance’. The Kolkata leg of the conference shall coincide with the yearlong activities of the bicentenary celebrations of the Indian Museum, Kolkata, the oldest museum in the sub-continent.
Museums all over the world are witnessing a sea change in recent times in concept, approach, management and communication. Attractive architecture, inviting displays, visitor friendly communication tools and visitors centric planning are replacing traditional approach. Due to advent of Digital technology and other resources has transformed museums making them places of learning & cultural experience. They are no more storehouses of tangible cultural objects but places of experience & learning. They play an important role in community development. Deliberating & sharing of best practices by leading museum professionals from across the world will help in drawing a road-map for transformation of Museums in India, to match the global trends.
