Dear Mario Bucolo!

Thank you for your initiative which I support! Just a reminder to you all: 
ICOM have through The Reform Task Force and the General Assembly in 
Barcelona adopted following recommendation and taken the question of student 
membership into ICOM's action plan:


"Student Membership of ICOM (proposed new category)
The Task Force recognises that there is a need to conserve the basic 
stability of the professional membership body of ICOM, and of its capacity 
to keep delivering services to an ever-expanding membership currently at the 
various professional member levels offered at present.
The issue of admitting students to ICOM membership has been raised at 
various times in recent years through the Advisory Committee, and each time 
has failed to achieve a positive resolution of support for its introduction.

The Task Force considers that discussion of this issue previously has not 
examined the issues with sufficient detail, nor faced the negative image 
that attaches to ICOM if it is seen to close the door on channels of 
encouragement to young and future members of the museum profession. A 
professional organisation that does not care actively about recruiting 
future members can expect a limited future for itself.

a. Affirmative action on behalf of ICOM's future

The Task Force believes that a more open, flexible approach to membership 
recruitment early into ICOM is highly desirable. Indeed, it strongly 
advocates that a shift to encourage students to get to know of ICOM 
activities (through ensuring that they learn about ICOM in training courses, 
as well as through selected opportunities to experience and participate in 
ICOM professional gatherings) would be an important affirmative action 
strategy:

        a. to encourage future recruitment of young graduates to ICOM;
        b. to introduce "aspirant members" of the museum profession to a 
first-hand knowledge of ICOM's programs and activities;
        c. to stimulate budding young professionals to enter the 
international museum community and networks of ICOM early in their 
professional lives.

    b. Regulative controls
    The Task Force believes that earlier-stated fears of ICOM becoming 
flooded by students if it opened its doors to them through membership are 
unfounded. There are several measures of regulation well able to be applied 
for stability of the organisation:

      a. Admission to a Student Membership category would, by definition, 
distinguish members from a full "professional" membership status [see the 
definition of "professional" museum personnel in this Report].
      b. This category would consequently not carry any voting rights in 
ICOM's more formal and legislative affairs, nor entitlement to hold any ICOM 
office. Only students at a post-graduate level of training would be 
eligible - and students involved in some form of training specifically to 
enter the museum profession.
      c. (Although unit-courses in museology exist in some tertiary 
institutions at an undergraduate level, and broad disciplinary fields were 
likely sources of future museum professionals - e.g. art history, 
archaeology, natural sciences - it is considered by the Task Force that a 
more focused commitment to the museum profession is needed as a source-base 
for the category of Student Membership within ICOM.)

    c. One common card, differently designated
    Secretariat advice is that the same general card for all is desirable, 
to guarantee museum admission world-wide according to a commonly ICOM 
recognised card. Meanwhile it is a simple matter at a technical level to 
punch the regular ICOM card with a "STUDENT MEMBER" designation.

    d. Scholarships for Student Members?
    The possibility of Student Member scholarships to ICOM General 
Conferences was discussed, and rejected. It is considered by RTF that this 
category could favour first-world students internationally, at the expense 
of young professionals within National Committees in economically 
disadvantaged parts of the world, whose barriers against gaining travel and 
experience outside their country are formidable, while their claim to 
opportunities for professional enrichment on the basis of need are in fact 
higher"

"Strategic Plan 2001 - 2007 adopted by the ICOM General Assembly on Friday 
6th July 2001 in Barcelona
Action plan, objective 2

9. Introduce the category of non-voting Student Member (R13), at the 
discretion of the National Committees and based on recommended criteria, the 
details of which are to be investigated by an Ad Hoc Committee; ensure that 
professionals are targeted for participation in ICOM early in their 
careers."


I think Mario Bucolo's initiative invites AC and EC to take into 
consideration if it's necessary to create a new policy on the question, or 
if further steps could be based on the existing recommendations and action 
plans.


Kind regards


Knut Wik
Member of Reform Task Force, 1999-2001


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mario Bucolo" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 6:25 PM
Subject: ICOM Young Group proposal


A proposal to create youth groups.

I¹d like to put forward the idea of creating youth groups of ICOM
associates.
This idea stems from the fact that many under-40 colleagues that I met all
over the world don¹t feel part of ICOM and maybe are not enough involved in
it, although they are very fond of museums.
The world of museums itself needs renewing. We especially need to encourage
young professionals and give them operational jobs/positions.
How many young people are ICOM¹s members? How many of them do actually take
part in the activities of the various National Committees?
Following the path of many associations in the world, such as, primarily,
the various club services (Rotary, Lions etc), why don¹t create youth groups
within ICOM, with the task, among the others, of involving other young
colleagues?
In order to be effective, national groups (inside National Committees)
should be implemented at least at an earlier stage, in order to promote
co-operation on a territorial base. At a later stage, an international youth
group or committee might be also implemented.
I strongly believe that young people may become a vehicle for ICOM and the
world of museums, provided that we trust them and get them truly involved.

Mario Bucolo

PS: I send this post originally on july 30 to this list but probably it was
lost in the cyberspace. On august 5 I send the same message to the
international museums list Museum-L and from there I receive many positive
response about the idea, so that now we still work on a "manifesto" to
propose at ICOM with the signature of at least 10 ICOM members to delivery
to the General Secretary to propose the Young Professionals Committee (YPC)
I hope that this idea will be appreciate from ICOM management and from all
ICOM members, young...and..."not more young" ;-)
-- 
Mario Bucolo, ABIS MultiCom & Museumland CEO
Skype user: mariobucolo

Visit http://www.museumland.net
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