News

$2000 bursaries

ICOM Australia has announced its 2010 bursary program for members. For full details see: Bursaries (16 Feb 2010) 

Chile quake & tsunami

Another major disaster is affecting the lives of many and impacting on cultural heritage. ICOM is monitoring the situation in Chile and will release a disaster report soon. (3 Mar 2010)

Cambodian antiquities Red List

The ICOM Red List of Cambodian Antiquities at Risk was launched in Phnom Penh on 9 Feb. (Feb 2010)

PIMA - new secretary general

Tarisi Vunidilo has been appointed Secretary General from 1 Feb of the Pacific Islands Museums Association (PIMA). (Feb 2010)
 

Haiti devastation

ICOM is making every effort to contact its Haitian colleagues, assess damage and provide support following the devastating January earthquake (Feb 2010).  

New CEO - Te Papa

The new CEO of Te Papa Tongarewa has been announced as Welshman Michael Houlihan.
(Jan 2010) Radio New Zealand report

Poor funding - director quits

Art Gallery of South Australia director Christopher Menz has declined to renew his employment as a protest against poor State Government funding of the Gallery. (Jan 2010) Newspaper report

Sustainability for museums

The Collections Council of Australia has published Towards sustainability indicators for museums in Australia. (Jan 2010) Collections Council of Australia report

Closure of Melbourne City Museum

The Melbourne City Museum will close in 2010. Victorian State Finance Minister Tim Holding announced plans on 11 Dec 2009 to use the building for an expansion of the Victorian Marriage Registry and the exhibiting of historic material from the Public Records Office of Victoria. The museum will close on 14 Mar 2010. (Dec 2009) Press release

Membership renewals due

ICOM membership renewals for 2010 are now due. (Dec 2009)
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Australian candidate

Frank Howarth (Vice Chair) has the support of the ICOM Australia Executive Board to run for a position on the ICOM Executive Council in the 2010 elections. The election of the 2010-2013 Executive Council will take place during the Shanghai General Conference in November. (Dec 2009)

ICOM 2010 General Conference

The 22nd General Conference of ICOM on the them of Museums for Social Harmony will be held 7-12 Nov 2010 in Shanghai. (Dec 2009) See:

Iternational Museums Day 2010

Museums for social harmony is the linking theme for International Museums Day in 2010. (Nov 2009)
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Bushfires in Australia - Blue Shield submission

Blue Shield Australia has proposed 14 recommendations in its Aug 2009 submission to the Bushfires in Australia inquiry. (Nov 2009)  View (PDF 141kB)

Earthquakes

Italy: The earthquake of 6 Apr 2009 affected the Provinces of Aquila, Pescara and Teramo.
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China: The Sichuan earthquake of May 2009 has had severe impact on a range of cultural institutions.
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Illicit traffic of cultural property

Combating illicit trade in cultural goods is one of ICOM's core actions. ICOM's activities in this campaign focus on preventive measures and involvement of international networks of professionals. One particular strand of this work are the ICOM Red Lists. These are lists of endangered cultural objects threatened with illegal export and trade. (Dec 2009)
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Ocean declaration

Representatives of Pacific Countries met during the UNESCO World Heritage Workshop of the Pacific Islands held from 1-7 Nov 2009 in Maupiti, French Polynesia. The group made the Ocean Declaration of Maupiti calling nations to protect, manage, maintain and sustain the cultural and natural integrity of the ocean for our ancestors and future generations. (Nov 2009)

See: Declaration (318kB)