UNESCO-ICCROM partnership for endangered museum collections in developing countries

In the last 25 years, the number of museums and the size of collections have been growing rapidly while resources are spread more and more thinly. In developing countries, for many museums the situation is overwhelming, with often no access to the network of resources and expertise which exist in other countries.

UNESCO and ICCROM combine their experience and networks in order to improve preservation and access to museum collections. The focus will be on fundamental preventive conservation issues:

• up-dated documentation;
• collections risk and deterioration assessment;
• re-organized collections storage; and
• emergency planning.

All proposed activities are based on the results of previous actions and assessments.

Following a critical review of different documentation systems adopted by museums in sub Saharan, the project will develop and test guidelines and recommendations for improving and updating documentation of collections. The results will then be disseminated, possibly through a web-resource that will include case-studies, methodologies, teaching and learning tools and relevant links.

With reference to the International Course on Reducing Risks to Collections, UNESCO and ICCROM will select and support six to ten museums in Africa, Asia and Latin America, in carrying out a collection risk assessment project. The production of a learning kit, including a manual and risk assessment tools available for wider dissemination, will be considered.

The UNESCO-ICCROM partnership for collections in storage will refine a methodology for storage reorganization, and prepare relevant teaching tools for the benefit of teachers and staff working in small museums worldwide.

For emergency planning UNESCO supports and is associated with the second Teamwork for Integrated Emergency Management, a regional course developed by ICCROM, GCI and ICOM. In 2007–9, the project involves eight to ten museums in South Eastern Europe, selected for their networking and dissemination ability at local level.

updated on: 19 June, 2009