Promoting development of museum science around the world
The International Museum Research and Exchange Centre of the International Council of Museums is launched at Shanghai University.
An international museum research and exchange center has been established at Shanghai University.
The International Museum Research and Exchange Centre of the International Council of Museums is a milestone in Shanghai University’s internationalization in talent cultivation and academic research, said Liu Changsheng, president of the university.
The new center is a cooperation program between Shanghai University and the International Council of Museums (ICOM). It will develop a think tank and a network for museum research and exchanges to promote cross-regional and cross-disciplinary research as well as the development of museum science around the world. It will also analyze statistics in different areas to work out related reports and share research findings.
The center will provide education programs for young leaders in domestic and foreign museums.
Liu also wishes that other museums and universities will work together with Shanghai University to build the new center into a highland for museum-related cultivation and research.
Alberto Garlandini, president of the International Council of Museums, delivered a speech via Internet and expressed his confidence in serving museums around the world together with Shanghai University via the newly established center.
According to the agreement between ICOM and Shanghai University, Garlandini will be president of the administration committee of the new center while Duan Yong, deputy Party secretary of the university, will be vice president of the committee. An Laishun, a professor from the university, will be in charge of the center's operation.
The center’s launch ceremony attracted officials and experts from the National Cultural Heritage Administration, ICOM, the China Museums Association, Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism and museums around the country, such as the Palace Museum and the National Museum of China.
There was also a discussion on the operation and new social value of museums when facing the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zhu Hongwen, deputy curator of the Palace Museum, said her museum had also established an international training center with ICOM earlier. The new center in Shanghai will integrate strength and resources from Shanghai University and ICOM and become an important platform for museum research and exchanges. She believed the platform will provide academic support for museum staff around the world and promote their sustainable development.
Ding Pengbo, deputy curator of the National Museum of China, said museums around the world need to coordinate and cooperate in not only operation affairs but also academic research to promote exchanges between different civilizations.
He said such cross-regional, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary cooperation, including sharing information and good practices, is especially important when they face new challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
