Symposium explores future of museums

A three-day international symposium was held in Shanghai to explore the development of museums.

The "Future of Museums — 2024 Shanghai ICOFOM-ASPAC Symposium" opened at Fudan University on Dec 9, hosted by the ICOFOM-ASPAC and Fudan University, co-organized by the Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology and the Fudan University Museum, and supervised by ICOM (International Council of Museums) and ICOM China.

This symposium was part of the cooperation agreement on "Comprehensively Deepening the Reform and Innovation of Shanghai Cultural Heritage Protection and Utilization" signed between China's National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Shanghai municipal government in 2023.

The opening ceremony was moderated by Chen Zhimin, vice-president of Fudan University. Guests including Xu Zheng, executive vice-president of the university, Xiang Yihai, deputy director-general of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Liu Shuguang, president of ICOM China, and Janet Siew Mooi Tee, chair of ICOFOM-ASPAC, delivered speeches.

After the opening ceremony, Zhuang Mudi, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, and Inkyung Chang, vice-president of ICOM, also delivered two keynote speeches, on "Industrial Museums: A Brilliant Melting Pot of Urban Culture" and "Museums for the Sustainable Future" respectively.

The ICOFOM-ASPAC symposium was an academic warm-up to the upcoming renovation and expansion of the Fudan University Museum, as well as a tribute to the 120th anniversary of Fudan University, which will fall in May 2025.

More than 70 representatives from countries including China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Russia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Germany attended. More than 30 speakers gave speeches and attended roundtable discussions, mainly around two subjects, including the synergistic development of museums and cities, as well as the sustainable development of university museums. Senior experts and scholars in field and young Fudan students talked about the future of museums.

The aim of the symposium was to positively contribute to promoting exchange and mutual learning among museums in the Asia Pacific region, allow Chinese experts and scholars to participate in the international governance of museums, and contribute Chinese knowledge and solutions to the development of museums around the world.