China 2014

A cycle of conferences was organised at the Museum of Communications in Macau, China.

It was launched with a symposium entitled “Old Topic, New Experience” and chaired by curators of the Hong Kong Science Museum. A museum fair was followed by a series of conferences and activities. At the Museum of Macau, the public attended a Cantonese opera played by singers in traditional costumes (picture).

Spain

In Spain, 84% of the participant museums gave free entree to visitors for International Museum Day. Guided tours were organised, as well as diverse types of activities accessible to all: temporary exhibitions, conferences, plays, poetry readings, historical reconstructions of events, and concerts, as illustrated here with the Sefardi Museum in Toledo.

Afghanistan

In 2014, Afghanistan participated for the first time in International Museum Day. The National Museum of Kabul organised a symposium dedicated to the role of museums during war and domestic crisis (picture). The meeting was attended by representatives of different institutions, in particular the Ministry of Culture and Information, the University of Kabul, the Institute of Archaeology, UNESCO, as well as a number of foreign embassies.

Zambia

In Zambia, International Museum Day was celebrated in the presence of ICOM President, Prof. Dr Hans-Martin Hinz as well as the President of CECA, Prof. Dr Emma Nardi.

Activities were organised in the National Museum of Lusaka, the Choma Museum (picture) and the Livingstone Museum. A radio programme was even broadcast upon the occasion to talk about the importance of museums in society.

Barbados

ICOM Barbados inspired the theme of International Museum Day: “Museum Collections make Connections”. T-shirts bearing the trademark expression “everyone collects” were distributed upon the occasion.

The inscription is made of pictograms representing objects held in museums or private collections.

Pakistan

In Pakistan, the State Bank Museum organised two workshops dedicated to the preservation of coins and the reproduction of works of art (picture). An object from the museum served as a model for the participants, just as plaster and paint were provided to participants in order to create replicas. A treasure hunt and film screening were also included in the programme.

Burkina Faso

The representatives of 10 museums together with about 40 museum professionals and enthusiasts met in the city of Koudougou, Burkina Faso. Training workshops and tours to places of interest had been organised.

In Bazoulé, participants visited the sacred crocodile pond, and visited the Museum of Art and Knowledge in Mossi (picture).

Oman

In Oman, a labour day inspired by the theme of International Museum Day brought professionals together in the Conference Centre of the Ministry of Tourism, in Mascate (picture). The Director of the Museum Department of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture stated “[these] workshops enabled us to collect testimonies on current museum issues”.

Malta

Organised by ICOM Malta, the competition entitled MySelfie – My Cultural Identity was a unique way of celebrating International Museum Day. The aim of the competition was to stir public awareness for museum collections. The pictures collected were published on the event’s Facebook page, with a caption explaining the choice of the object and the museum. The picture rewarded was taken at the Domus Romana Museum (picture).