Ms. Suay Aksoy, President of International Council of Museums (ICOM) delivers a speech

　　Conference Site

　　On the morning of September 2 (local time), the 25thICOM General Conference opened in Kyoto, Japan. Thousands of museum professionals and experts of the relevant fields from all over the world attended the opening ceremony. Representatives of the ICOM organizers, the Japanese National Committee for ICOM, the Science Council of Japan, the Japanese royal family, the local officials and other institutions attended the activity and delivered speeches.

　　Liu Xiuhua (middle), Director of the World Expo Museum, led the delegation to the meeting.

　　During the following week, over 3,000 participants will conduct a range of discussions and exchanges on museum-related issues through academic conferences, museum fairs, excursions, social parties and so on.

　　AVICOM Conference

　　This is the first time the World Expo Museum has participated in the ICOM conference since its opening on May 1, 2017.

　　This morning, Liu Xiuhua (middle), Director of the World Expo Museum and her colleagues attended the opening ceremony of the 25th ICOM General Conference. The delegation listened attentively to the keynote speech at the conference site and attended the plenary meeting of "Planning a Sustainable Future through Museums" and the AVICOM conference.

　　Synchronized Museum Expo at the conference site

　　Communicate with peers

　　The delegation visited the Museum Expo, exchanged views with colleagues at the site, introduced the basic situation and exhibition projects of the World Expo Museum, and actively explored the possibility of future cooperation.

　　Publicity materials at Museum Expo Site

　　During the week of the conference, the World Expo Museum delegation will actively participate in the agenda of the conference, discuss and exchange views on museum-related issues with colleagues from around the world.

　　The exhibition zone for Expo 2015 Osaka

　　Conference Date:

　　September 1-7, 2019

　　Conference Venue:

　　Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC Kyoto)

　　Theme of ICOM conference:

　　The theme of the conference: Museum as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition

　　The word “hub” emphasizes two concepts: As a “network”, museums support cooperative partnership; and as a “core”, museums promote the development of the local communities. The subtheme “The Future of Tradition” means to connect the museum with the future while respecting the tradition.

　　Discussion content of ICOM

　　The conference mainly discusses issues in such three aspects as:

　　1. Global issues and museums

　　How should museums relate to global issues? What can museums do to solve such key problems as natural disasters, regional conflicts, environmental problems, globalization, population ageing and inequality in social and economic development?

　　2. Local communities and museums

　　What role does the museum play in the local community? How can museums build bridges between local communities and other stakeholders to foster unique traditional and cultural resources and pass them on to the next generation?

　　3. Museum definitions and systems

　　How should museums and museum professionals orient themselves? What policies and systems should be formulated to meet their daily challenges?

　　Ms. Suay Aksoy, President ofInternational Council of Museums (ICOM)

　　“ICOM Kyoto 2019 will be an exceptional experience, not only because of the multitude of discussions and events taking place, but also because of the opportunity to encounter the rich cultural heritage of Japan.”

　　Johei Sasaki, president of the Organizing Committee of ICOM Kyoto 2019

　　“Museums are finding that they must play new social roles that go beyond their traditional functions of preserving and exhibiting their collections.”

　　ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums

　　ICOM is an international academic organization of museums. It was founded at the initiative of Chauncey J. Hamlin, the then president of the American Association of Museums. And it’s headquartered in UNESCO,Paris,France.

　　ICOM General Conference has been held every three years since it was first held in Paris, France, in 1946. The conference gathers more than 1,000 experts and scholars from museums all over the world. During the one-week session, the conference focuses on the themes of the previous conferences and discusses the issues of great concern in the museum industry.