UNESCO kicks off 3-day training workshop for museum managers

UNESCO kicked off a three-day capacity building workshop on the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, with a focus on documentation and inventorying at museums, AVA Diplomatic reports.

The workshop was organized jointly with the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), ICOM and the Research Center of ICHTTO.

Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office welcomed the participants to the workshop and stressed the importance of museums.

“Museums and collections constitute primary means through which tangible and intangible testimonies of nature and human cultures are safeguarded. As spaces for cultural transmission, intercultural dialogue, learning, discussion and training, museums also play a very important role in education and social cohesion. In addition, museums also support economic development, notably though cultural and creative industries and tourism”, said Ms. Kuisch Laroche.

She also talked about the 2015 Recommendation Concerning the Protection and Promotion of Museums and Collections, Their Diversity and Their Role in Society.

“The Recommendation calls upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that the compilation of inventories based on international standards is made a priority in all their museums. It is in this context that we have organized his workshop”, said the UNESCO Representative.

Dr. Seyed Mohammad Beheshti, Head of the Research Center of ICHHTO, stressed the progress made to date in Iran to implement the 1970 Convention. He mentioned that one of the key achievements was the recent  introduction of a digital inventory system in all museums under the management of ICHTTO.

Dr. Mohammad Hasan Talebian, Cultural Heritage Deputy of ICHHTO, said that while much had been done already, more capacity building was needed to strengthen collection management in museums and at cultural heritage sites. He talked about the numerous training activities that had been implemented jointly with UNESCO over the past year and thanked the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office for its important support in this regard.

Dr. Seyed Ahmad Mohit Tabatabaei, Head of ICOM in Iran, stressed the importance of proper collection management in museums and at heritage sites.

He referred to the situation in Syria and Iraq and said that if those countries had had proper, digital inventories and registers in place, it would have greatly facilitated the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property.

The workshop is hosted at the National Museum in Tehran and Dr. Jabrael Nokandeh, Director General of the National Museum, said he was proud to host the workshop and hoped it would provide the participants with practical knowledge that would contribute to the improvement of museum management in Iran.

The workshop is being facilitated by Ms. Nao Hayashi, Museums Programme Coordinator in the Section for Moveable Heritage and Museums in UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre in Paris.

During the three-day training, the participants will review the general situation and issues around museum documentation and inventories in Iran; learn more about UNESCO’s 1970 Convention and the elements of museum documentation; and draft individual action plans to improve museum documentation.