NEWS << 1 >> < 1 > 1 < 2010 NEWSNEWS Newsletter of the International Committee for Regional Museums Circulaire du Comité International des Musées Régionaux Circular del Comité Internacional de los Museos Regionales JOINT ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF ICR AND ICTOP Conferencia anual conjunta de ICR e ICTOP >> STAFF AND TRAINING IN REGIONAL MUSEUMS Chairperson’s Letter Comunicación de la presidenta It is really my pleasure to inform all ICR colleagues that the annual conference in Italy held in October was a great success. Once again it has been proved that good co- operation brings results and the joint work of the ICR and ICTOP backed up by the ICOM Italy followed the spirit of ICOM in full sense of the meaning. Therefore, it was not a surprise to see the General Director of ICOM, Mr Julien Anfruns, giving his support to the meeting by personally addressing the participants. ICR also prepared an exhibition of sketches done by member Geir Helgen which contributed to the friendly feeling of the conference. Italian hosts did their best to create a homely atmosphere and we are really thankful to ICR Board member Alberto Garlandini who is also the Director for Cultural Affairs of the Lom- bardy region and his colleagues for being “a driving wheel” of organisation. Many thanks go to Stefano Benetti, the Director of Museo della Città di Mantova, and his staff and to the local authorities of Mantova, Revere and Montana The conference group in front of the Museo il Forno (historic blast furnace) in Tavernole sul Mella di Valle Trompia. do we need and how lifelong learning is vital Many experts attended the conference and for the quality of work in museums. As one discussed topics mainly dealing with questions of the opening speakers Irena Veselko from Content regarding what kind of education and training Slovenia presented a survey of core compe- Chairperson´s letter: Looking back to Mantova / Italy _______________ 1 Two new ICR books ______________ 8 Call for nominations ______________ 8 The Call for Amendments to the statues ____________________ 9 Exhibition of Geir Helgen __________ 9 General Conference in Shanghai ___ 10 Mantova, view of the city photographic archive: Heimo Kaindl << 2 NEWS Mantova, church S. Andrea In their paper, Chen Jianming and Huang Lei from China dealt with another aspect of staff training which is based on the visitor-oriented ICR and ICTOP joint conference group in the city museum of Mantova concept. The model relies on practical experi- ence employed by the regional museums. The tencies needed in a museum while Elisabeth cultural Emirate life. Hunan Provincial Museum serves as a good- Caillet from ICOM France discussed the role An excellent survey was presented by Jane practice example since they have fully develo- of ICTOP in helping museums to define their Legget describing skill sets and training needs ped the “visitor-orientated” service concept. training courses. She suggested two-fold ap- for New Zealand Museums. The author pre- Anna Maria Visser Travagli from Italy discus- proach based on French experience. Alberto sented the findings from a study undertaken sed the curricula guidelines for professional Garlandini gave an overview of the current si- early in 2009 on behalf of the Industry Training development and their impact on Italian muse- tuation in Italy and proposed the direction that Organisation with responsibility for the mu- ums. She tried to evaluate that impact with a should be followed by ICOM as well taking into seum sector in New Zealand. The research special reference to small museums that have account the European Frame of Reference. was designed to assist the Aviation, Tourism few resources. Marie-Agnès Gainon-Court, a member of the and Travel Training Organisation (ATTTO) to Christina Chun HSU from Taiwan has a rich Training Task Force of ICOM Switzerland, ex- identify skill shortages, training priorities and experience in teaching and she shared some plored why continuous training is so essential career pathways for the museum and art gal- case studies she conducted for training muse- for museums and how they are faced with the lery sector. um trainers. She emphasised the importance demand for higher quality. In order to do that, Evelyn Kaindl Ranzinger from Austria presen- of publications published by ICOM’s interna- they have to raise their staff competencies. ted a project which she did with another ICR tional committees that helped her in her work Eman Assi, a conservation specialist of the colleague, Metka Fujs from Slovenia. It dealt with students. Architectural Heritage Department of the Du- with volunteering trends as well as wide-ran- Having a rich experience gained by working bai Municipality, gave a valuable survey of the ging promotion of volunteering in museums. for years the Landesstelle for Non-State Mu- recent activities in the United Arab Emirates. Called the VoCH project, it was a part of a seums in Bavaria Otto Lohr spoke about trai- The local community and the government are great network within Europe since there are ning in museums on various levels. Different aware that museums are the places where programmes that analyse the work of volun- museums have different staff background so cultural legacies are safeguarded and as a teers in museums all over Europe and develop some fulfil the quality standards but some lack result there are numerous newly established concepts in order to enhance the quality of professional skills. Therefore, one of the main museums which describe different aspects of volunteer work. tasks of the Landesstelle, which is the Bavari- Daniele Jalla, chair of ICOM Italy Goranka Horjan, chair of ICR Angelika Ruge, chair of ICTOP Alberto Garlandini, regione Lambardia NEWS << 3 >> One of the ICR activities - organising a exhi- Opening of the exhibition and presenting the catalogue: the artist Geir Helgen, ICR chair bition with drawings of Geir Helgen, Norway: Goranka Horjan and the Director General of ICOM, Julien Anfruns, who visited the joint meeting Irena Zmuc and Goranka Horjan arranging of ICR and ICTOP. the presentation an Museum Service, is to help them. Lynne Teather reviewed some of the activities Viv Golding, coming from the University of and provided analysis of the place of profes- Leicester, outlined the UK situation with re- sions in the delivery of professional education gards to university involvement in the training. in Canada and the USA and its relation to She also referred to specifi c examples from other forms of education, formal and informal. best museum practice particularly a notable Content, curriculum, format, clientele and project called Frames of Refuge. outcomes – she questions the impacts of the- Tijana Palkovljević from Serbia spoke about se offerings on museums and institutions, the permanent education of people working in cul- fi eld and the professional status of museum tural institutions in her country. Life-long lear- and cultural work. ning is a necessity in order to make cultural Stefano Benetti, the host of the conference, institutions function more successfully. Besides spoke about the diffi culties that a museum formal education soft skills are needed as professional encounters in Italy. It is necessary many professionals have diffi culties managing to know the great tradition of the Italian Cata- all tasks and obligations that a museum insti- loguing Offi ce, but also to create a positive link tution needs. between university training and the world of Another ICR activity: ICR secretary Sue Hanna presents ICR‘s new book, „ Regional Museum and the Development of Communi- ties“, more at page 8. Learning about the City Museum: in the center are two members of the Chinese delegation who will host ICR at the next years General Conference in Shanghai Tuulia Tuomi and Ulla Teräs from Finland Other members of the Chinese delegation Eddie (Wei-Chun Lai) and Otto Lohr << 4 NEWS Palazzo Ducale in Revere, second conference place and Museo del Po ... conference hall inside the Palazzo Ducale to bring trust among the divided societies. Two ICR members, Linda Mboya, National Museum of Kenya and Ulla Teräs, Helsinki City Museum, Finland received ICOM grants to attend the joint ICR/ ICTOP conference. Huang Lei, Hunan Provincial Museum,China and Linda Mboya, National Museum of Kenya Participants were also able to see many cultu- museums. ral sites and museums Many thanks from Goranka Horjan to our hosts of the city museum in Since the passage of „Ronchey‘s Law,“ in and enjoy local cuisine Mantova: director Stefano Benetti (right) and his staff 1993, promotion and certain other types of which was rather deli- museum services at Italian public museums cious and brought a bit of extra weight to some tos Culturales de la Región de Lombardía, y a were conceded to private companies. Maria members. sus colegas, por ser el eje de la organización. Laura Vergelli, in a paper, „Professions and Muchas gracias a Stefano Benetti, Director del Promotion in the Museum Sector, the Italian We hope that the good cooperation with Museo de la Ciudad de Mantua, a su equipo y Experience,“ co-authored with Michele Tri- ICTOP will continue and our next joint step is a las autoridades locales de Mantua, Revere y marchi, analysed the effects of that law and to publish conference proceedings. Montana di Valle Trompia. a recent study of the job market promoting For more impressions please see the photos! Un buen número de expertos asistió a la Con- cultural heritage. Goranka Horjan Alice Podestini, who is a coordinator of Valle Trompia Museum System, showed us how the Es para mí un placer informar a todos system works in the specific conditions of the los colegas de ICR que la Conferencia Anual valley, reflecting on the needs of both – emplo- realizada en octubre en Italia fue un gran yees and volunteers.