IV POLICIES

General policies

20. Existing international instruments relating to cultural and natural heritage recognize the importance and social role of museums in their protection and promotion, and in the overall accessibility of this heritage to the public. In this regard, Member States should take appropriate measures so that museums and collections in the territories under their jurisdiction or control benefit from the protective and promotional measures granted by these instruments. Member States should also take appropriate measures to strengthen museum capacities for their protection in all circumstances.
21. Member States should ensure that museums implement principles of applicable international instruments. Museums are committed to observe the principles of international instruments for the protection and promotion of cultural and natural heritage, both tangible and intangible. They also should adhere to the principles of the international instruments for the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property and should coordinate their efforts in this matter. Museums must also take into account the ethical and professional standards established by the professional museum community. Member States should ensure that the role of museums in society is exercised in accordance with legal and professional standards in the territories under their jurisdiction.
22. Member States should adopt policies and take appropriate measures to ensure the protection and promotion of museums located in the territories under their jurisdiction or control, by supporting and developing those institutions in accordance with their primary functions, and in this regard develop the necessary human, physical and financial resources needed for them to function properly.
23. The diversity of museums and the heritage of which they are custodians constitutes their greatest value. Member States are requested to protect and promote this diversity, while encouraging museums to draw on high-quality criteria defined and promoted by national and international museum communities.

Functional policies

24. Member States are invited to support active preservation, research, education and communication policies, adapted to local social and cultural contexts, to allow museums to protect and pass down heritage to future generations. In this perspective, collaborative and participative efforts between museums, communities, civil society and the public should be strongly encouraged.
25. Member States should take appropriate measures to ensure that the compilation of inventories based on international standards is a priority in the museums established in the territory under their jurisdiction. The digitization of museum collections is highly important in this regard, but should not be considered as a replacement for the conservation of collections.
26. Good practices for the functioning, protection and promotion of museums and their diversity and role in society have been recognized by national and international museum networks. These good practices are continually updated to reflect innovations in the field. In this respect, the Code of Ethics for Museums adopted by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) constitutes the most widely shared reference. Member States are encouraged to promote the adoption and dissemination of these and other codes of ethics and good practices and to use them to inform the development of standards, museum policies and national legislation.
27. Member States should take appropriate measures to facilitate the employment of qualified personnel by museums in the territories under their jurisdiction with the required expertise. Adequate opportunities for the continuing education and professional development of all museum personnel should be arranged to maintain an effective workforce.
28. The effective functioning of museums is directly influenced by public and private funding and appropriate partnerships. Member States should strive to ensure a clear vision, adequate planning and funding for museums, and a harmonious balance among the different funding mechanisms to enable them to carry out their mission to the benefit of society with full respect for their primary functions.
29. The functions of museums are also influenced by new technologies and their growing role in everyday life. These technologies have great potential for promoting museums throughout the world, but they also constitute potential barriers for people and museums that do not have access to them or the knowledge and skills to use them effectively. Member States should strive to provide access to these technologies for museums in the territories under their jurisdiction or control.
30. The social role of museums, along with the preservation of heritage, constitutes their fundamental purpose. The spirit of the 1960 Recommendation concerning the Most Effective Means of Rendering Museums Accessible to Everyone remains important in creating a lasting place for museums in society. Member States should strive to include these principles in the laws concerning the museums established in the territories under their jurisdiction.
31. Cooperation within the museum sectors and institutions responsible for culture, heritage and education is one of the most effective and sustainable ways of protecting and promoting museums, their diversity and their role in society. Member States should therefore encourage cooperation and partnerships among museums and cultural and scientific institutions at all levels, including their participation in professional networks and associations that foster such cooperation and international exhibitions, exchanges and the mobility of collections.
32. The collections defined in paragraph 5, when held in institutions that are not museums, should be protected and promoted in order to preserve the coherence and better represent the cultural diversity of those countries’ heritage. Member States are invited to cooperate in the protection, research and promotion of those collections, as well as in promoting access to them.
33. Member States should take appropriate legislative, technical, and financial measures, in order to design public planning and policies enabling the development and implementation of these recommendations in museums situated in the territories under their jurisdiction.
34. In order to contribute to the improvement of museum activities and services, Member States are encouraged to support the establishment of inclusive policies for audience development.
35. Member States should promote international cooperation in capacity building and professional training, through bilateral or multilateral mechanisms including through UNESCO, in order to better implement these recommendations and especially to benefit the museums and collections of developing countries.

 

 

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