2024 ICOM UK Conference

ICOM UK s a gateway to the global museum community and the only UK museum association with a dedicated international focus.

ICOM UK

Join us at the Ulster Museum in Belfast for the 2024 ICOM UK Conference - Common Ground: the role of museums in divided communities

Ulster Museum

We live in an age of division and discord, with many communities riven by political differences, social inequalities and, in some cases, conflict and its legacy. This conference will explore the role of museums as valuable shared spaces, where differences can be ethically discussed and represented, and areas of commonality identified and valued.Hear from museum professionals from the island of Ireland, the UK and the global museum community, in a city that has been damaged by division but through the ongoing social peace process is embracing the opportunities of the present and looking to a more positive future.The ICOM UK 2024 Conference is a collaboration between ICOM UK, NMDC and National Museums NI, with support from the Northern Ireland Museums Council, the Irish Museums Association, ICOM Ireland and Barker Langham. Programme:Thursday 11 April 202415:00 "Best of Belfast" Walking Tour (Free Tour).Evening - Informal meet-up at the Post House (32 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 5BQ)(delegates to pay for own food and drink)Friday 12 April09:00 - 10:00 Optional tour of The Troubles and Beyond gallery, Ulster Museum (limited places available, booking required)09:00 - 10:00: Student and Emerging Professionals Breakfast (Free event, booking is required. Please note that a ticket is required to attend the wider conference) 10:00 - 10:30 Arrivals, refreshments (provided), informal networking10:30-10:40 Welcome and introductions: William Blair, Director of Collections, National Museums Northern Ireland10:40 - 11:00 KeynoteMaeve McLaughlin, Manager of Bloody Sunday Trust and Director of Derry Model Project, Bloody Sunday Trust, Derry11:00 - 12:00 Session 1 - Old Wounds: After ConflictChantal Umuhoza, Curator, Institute of National Museums of Rwanda (INMR)David McGivern, Director, Roddy McCorley’s Republican Heritage Centre, BelfastGerry McConville, Director, Falls Community Council, BelfastDamian Foley, Head of Estates &amp; Strategic Planning and Transformation DepartmentSummary: Conflict leaves behind a difficult and painful legacy, which is often worked through at a local level. By exploring how different groups are developing the interpretation of their history, this session will explore the parallel processes of continuity and change that characterise societies emerging from conflict. 12:00 - 13:00 Lunch (provided) and informal networking 13:00 - 14:00 Session 2 - Borders and BoundariesBrenda Malone, Curator, National Museum of IrelandElma Hasimbegovic, Director, History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Board Member, Balkan Museum NetworkJulie Andrews, Director, Linen Hall Library, BelfastNiall Kerr, Head of Heritage and Community Relations, Nerve Centre, Belfast and DerrySummary: Whether we choose to focus on them, overlook them or transcend them, borders and boundaries impact our work and how it is viewed both locally and internationally. This session will explore the importance of acknowledging the impacts of borders and boundaries and the role of museums in raising questions of national identity and shared heritage. 14:00 - 14:10 Comfort break14:10 - 14:30 Keynote - Nusrat Ahmed, Lead Curator (South Asia Gallery), Manchester Museum14:30 - 15:00 Break and refreshments (provided)15:00 - 16:00 Session 3 - Four Nations: For CommunitiesAnne Bradley, Curator (Social &amp; Oral history), National Coal Mining Museum for EnglandDr John Giblin, Keeper, Department of Global Arts, Cultures and Design, National Museums ScotlandDr William Mitchell, Project co-ordinator, Action for Community Transformative (ACT) Initiative , BelfastNia Williams, Director of Learning and Public Programmes, Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museums Wales)Summary: The role of museums is changing, we are taking a much more proactive and forward-looking role in working directly with our audience and local communities. Drawing on their own experience, representatives from the four nations of the United Kingdom will come together with a view to exploring the similarities and differences in approach and the challenges faced by museums in divided communities across the UK. 16:00 - 16:15 Wrap up and close16:15 - 17:00 Late afternoon Belfast murals tour (limited spaces available, booking required) Saturday 13 April 2023All day - we will provide a What's On guide for self-guided visits The ICOM UK 2024 Conference is a collaboration between ICOM UK, NMDC and National Museums NI, with support from the Northern Ireland Museums Council, the Irish Museums Association, ICOM Ireland and Barker Langham.Further details about the programme on Friday 12 April at the Ulster Museum, and associated events in the city and other museums on the afternoon of Thursday 11 April, will be added shortly. We will provide information on self-guided museum and city visits on Saturday 13 April. Speaker institutional websites: Session 1Institute of National Museums of Rwanda - <a href="https://genocidearchiverwanda.org.rw/index.php/Category:National_Museum_of_Rwanda" title="https://genocidearchiverwanda.org.rw/index.php/Category:National_Museum_of_Rwanda" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Category:National_Museum_of_Rwanda - Genocide Archive Rwanda</a>Police Museum - <a href="https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-history/police-museum" title="https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-history/police-museum" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Police Museum | PSNI</a>St Comgall’s - <a href="https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/stcomgalls" title="https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/stcomgalls" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">St Comgall’s (belfastcity.gov.uk)</a>Roddy McCorley’s Museum - <a href="https://roddymccorley.com/museum/" title="https://roddymccorley.com/museum/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Museum – Roddy McCorley Republican Heritage Centre</a>Speaker institutional websites: Session 2History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina- <a href="https://muzej.ba/" title="https://muzej.ba/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Homepage-History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina</a>Balkan Museum Network - <a href="https://www.bmuseums.net/" title="https://www.bmuseums.net/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Balkan Museum Network – Celebrate, preserve and share the complex common heritage of the western Balkans (bmuseums.net)</a>National Museum of Ireland - <a href="https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Archaeology/Engage-And-Learn?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6szYmOSlhAMVgEBBAh2TrAzoEAAYASAAEgLokvD_BwE" title="https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Archaeology/Engage-And-Learn?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6szYmOSlhAMVgEBBAh2TrAzoEAAYASAAEgLokvD_BwE" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Engage And Learn | Archaeology | National Museum of Ireland</a>Nerve Centre- <a href="https://nervecentre.org/" title="https://nervecentre.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Homepage- Nerve Centre</a>Linen Hall Library - <a href="https://www.linenhall.com/" title="https://www.linenhall.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Homepage - The Linen Hall, Belfast</a>Speaker institutional websites: Session 3National Coal Mining Museum for England - <a href="https://www.ncm.org.uk/" title="https://www.ncm.org.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Home - National Coal Mining Museum (ncm.org.uk)</a>National Museums Scotland - <a href="https://www.nms.ac.uk/" title="https://www.nms.ac.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">National Museums Scotland (nms.ac.uk)</a>Amgueddfa Cymru, National Museums Wales - <a href="https://museum.wales/" title="https://museum.wales/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Homepage | Amgueddfa Cymru (museum.wales)</a>ACT - <a href="https://act-ni.co.uk/" title="https://act-ni.co.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">ACT INITIATIVE (act-ni.co.uk)</a>

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