ABOUT

MUSEUM FORWARD is a four-day program that will bring together Indonesian and international museum and heritage practitioners from around the world. The program is hosted by EUNIC Indonesia (European Union National Institutes for Culture), in partnership with INTERCOM (the International Committee of the International Council of Museums for Museum Management). It is supported by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), ICOM-SAREC, the Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia, Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA), Indonesian Association of Museum (AMI), ICOM Indonesia and Jakarta Culture Office (Dinas Kebudayaan Jakarta) with local facilitation by Indonesian Hidden Heritage Creative Hub (IHH Creative Hub). The Program Chair is independent curator and consultant Farah Wardani. 

 

The Forum will explore approaches and opportunities for international collaboration around innovative and sustainable museum and heritage practices, highlighting the wider social and cultural utilization of historic sites and collections. The Forum aims to identify the potential for developing new ways of presenting cultural heritage by exploring current global visions, best practices and standards within the international museum landscape at a time when cultural institutions worldwide are reimagining their roles and responsibilities. It will also provide Indonesian practitioners and policy makers with an opportunity to share their diverse histories and present the new approaches they have developed addressing some of the broader issues and challenges to  colleagues from around the world.

The Forum is also intended as a response to the amalgamation of Indonesia’s major state museums into one integrated body - the Indonesian Heritage Agency, an initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek). The proposed transformation and expansion of Indonesia’s museum sector will entail the production of better curatorial strategies, more sustainable operations, standardized collection and conservation management, and a more professionalized museum staff, while at the same time being mindful of the ways in which Indonesian museums fit into both local and global cultural ecosystems.

 

Starting with a cultural tour around Jakarta museums and heritage sites for the delegates, the program comprises a public conference aimed at a general audience, as well as a series of capacity building workshops for a selected group of museum professionals. The public conference looks into the best practices, key areas, new narratives and fundamental issues in the current global museum landscape that have a particular relevance to Indonesia, while also embracing initiatives beyond government institutions to highlight contemporary cultural practices driven by independent agents, artists, curators and communities. 

 

The workshops will provide training to key personnel and young museum professionals from Indonesia’s museum network as a contribution to capacity building needs in Indonesia. They will be led by ICOM’s international committees, (INTERCOM, ICTOP, ICOMON, MPR, ICOM Croatia and the Castle of Trakoscan, Croatia), focusing on sustainable leadership and funding, staff professional development, museum branding and communication. Following the workshops, a series of roundtable sessions will be facilitated by EUNIC, inviting the experts to share their expertise and respond to a number of crucial topics in museum and heritage practices. 

This initiative is built on the belief that museums and heritage sites are drivers of cultural investment, social advancement, value creation, knowledge production and intercultural exchange. The first of a planned annual program, MUSEUM FORWARD will contribute to the current local and global spheres of cultural development by examining how museum and heritage practice continue to play significant roles in societal development.

 

Our Goals:

• To create mutual exchange of expertise, best practices and new standards in museums and heritage, learning from Indonesian and international examples;

• To map new leadership paths, broaden horizons and identify mutual threads by exchanging new perspectives, contemporary approaches and current urgencies in the global museum and cultural landscape;

• To contribute to enhancing the capacity and expertise of Indonesian museum and heritage professionals as well as supporting the Indonesian government’s proactive cultural policy for museums and heritage through collaboration;

• To foster an international professional network of exchange between Indonesia and other countries that stimulates the growth of a dynamic museum and heritage ecosystem in Indonesia;

 

To formulate recommendations and advocacy to the Indonesian government for better strategies, good governance and operational standards in Indonesian museum and heritage practices.