The Palestinian Museum, represented by its Director General Adila Laïdi-Hanieh, Ph.D., participated in the ICOM 2022 Conference in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Three thousand people from around the world were in attendance. Under the theme ‘The Power of Museums,’ the conference addressed the axes of Purpose: Museums and Civil Society, Sustainability: Museums and Resilience, and Delivery: Museums and New Technology.
Furthermore, Laïdi-Hanieh, participated in the ICOM Arab meetings, which convened to discuss various issues as well as hold elections for new council members for the 2022-2025 term. Notable from the proceedings of these meetings was the election of Collections and Conservation Manager of the Palestinian Museum, Baha Jubeh, for the second time in a row to Arab ICOM membership.
During the ICOM International Committee for Collecting, Ruba Totah, PhD, Curations and Collections Department Manager, presented a paper entitled ‘Approaches to Bringing Palestinian Collections Back,’ in which she addressed the Palestinian Museum’s experience returning a collection of embroidered thobes (dresses) from around the world added to its permanent collection.
The Palestinian Museum also participated in consultative meetings to formulate a new official definition of museums, adopted at conference end to be circulated and incorporated into various national legislations. The new definition of museums is thus: ‘A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets, and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally, and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection, and knowledge sharing.’
The upcoming ICOM conference is set to be he held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In this regard, Laïdi-Hanieh and the heads of Arab delegations in attendance of the conference met with Sheikha Latifa, daughter of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. They discussed the challenges as well as opportunities of the upcoming international
