As assigned by President Jacques Perot, I was representing ICOM on the
occasion of The Best in Heritage second edition,held in Dubrovnik from
18 to
21 September 2003.
The event aimed to present all those museum achievements - or other
achievements linked to cultural heritage - which have been awarded a
special
prize or mention during the last few years.
18 projects were there to represent 16 countries and they showed the
current
trend of museology: this is the main value and the remarkable interest
of
the event.
The event also showed that several national and international awards are
assigned to museums every year. Among these, the very best known is the
European Museum of the Year Award assigned by the European Museum Forum
-
such an organization brings back to memory the activity and the passion
for
museums which qualifies Kenneth Hudson's life - .
However,all this has pushed me to wonder if ICOM, as representative of
the
museums community in the world, should create a yearly award for the
best
museum achievements in the world, or for the best paper or book on
Museology, or both:
a sort of "Nobel Prize" for museology, not excluding
extra-european museums, as it already happens for EMF.
This kind of award would have moreover many functions: for exemple it
would
provide ICOM with wide visibility all over the world thanks to an
international event, it would create a forum for debates,it would incite
researches as for what relates to museum communication, it would spur
museum
and their owners to renovate the production of museums achievements.
I here suggest this idea to the Executive Council, to the Advisory
Committee
and to all ICOM members, urging to open a debate on this.

Giovanni Pinna
Member of the Executive Council


-- Giovanni Pinna -----------------------
e-mail:     [log in to unmask]
web page:   http://giovanni.pinna.cx
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