CAMOC, ICOM’s International Committee for the Collections and Activities of
Museums of Cities was born in Moscow in April 2005 and it is to Moscow we
are returning for our tenth anniversary. CAMOC, in collaboration with the
Museum of Moscow, is hosting an international conference “Memory and
Migration”, a conference on city museums, migrant memory and migrant
identity. From the 12th century onwards the capital of Russian has united
people of different cultures and histories to create a vast, dynamic and
diverse world city.



*Memory and Migration *

Migrants created cities and they continue to give cities shape and meaning.
We, and our parents, may have been born and brought up in the city, but we
are all in one way or another the children of migrants, migrants from the
rural hinterland or from another country, who found the lure of the city
irresistible.



Migrants bring memories of their past, their culture and their habits with
them. How do they preserve them in another environment, how do they
maintain their identity? They may prefer to be absorbed into their new
home, but they still bring a former life with them, and diversity and
difference give a city its own unique character. In any event, no city
museum can be indifferent to the impact of migration. All this will be at
the heart of our conference.



Migration is a vital part of urban history and a subject that touches many
different points of heritage, legacy and human rights across the world.
Histories of migration are collected and interpreted in many museums and
city museums all around the world. Thanks to the flow of migration, cities
are continuously changing. And of course social media now have the power to
accelerate this change and to create new ‘places’ for discussion on the
city.



City museums preserve and disseminate a city’s memory, yet at the same time
migration continually redefines a city’s heritage and narrative. With this
in mind, these are the sessions and themes we are proposing:



*Migration and city museums *

In this session the focus will be on the role of migrants from the
hinterland, near or far, or from another country in giving shape to the
unique characteristics of the city throughout its history.

* City museums as places of debate and social involvement in the changing
city*

How are city museums dealing with migration and memory? What are the issues
and the challenges for city museums? What is the potential for city museum
involvement? What is the role of migration in the creation, history,
culture and development of a city.



*City museum as a Memory Centre and a Place of Inclusion *

What is memory? Who’s memory does city museum represent? Every place in our
cities has both collective and individual memory and each develops
different narratives. What is cultural exclusion and who is excluded? Is it
possible to escape exclusion and what is to be done? This session will
focus on different ways of working with memory.



*City Museums – 10 years together *

A number of presentations on exciting and original projects in city
museums. Does your museum have a project that it is really proud of? Do you
think it can be inspiring and interesting for the CAMOC community? Is the
topic something many museums around the world are faced with? It is time to
present this project to us, sharing efforts, challenges, weaknesses and
strengths with colleagues.



Our detailed programme, including a full range of receptions and excursions
in the city, is now being drawn up, but in the meantime we are inviting you
to take an active part in the work of our conference.



*To submit a proposal for a presentation:*

Please send us an abstract of no more than 350 words, as well as a short
biography, to [log in to unmask] (contact person Layla Betti,
member of the CAMOC’s Executive Board)



Abstracts should include the following:

Paper title

Name and institution of the author (with ICOM membership number for ICOM
members)

Email address

Any special technical requirements (for example a Mac or PC for
accompanying images, video)



As the majority of participants will not be native English speakers, we
encourage the use of visual material wherever possible. A short 2-5-minute
film or video about a museum in relation to migration would also be welcome.



Deadline for submission of proposals: 30th of April 2015

Announcement of approved proposals: 30th of May 2015



*Registration*

Further details about registration and payment methods will be available
from 1st April 2015.



Conference fee

For ICOM members: EUR 150

For non-ICOM members: EUR 180 For students: EUR 80

For accompanying person: EUR 40



Contact person in Russia: Please email Irina Smagina Member of CAMOC’s
Executive Board ([log in to unmask] ) and Polina Zhurakovskaya (
[log in to unmask]) at the Moscow Museum for further information
about visa requirements and all practical matters.



You can download the preliminary conference details through the following
link:

http://network.icom.museum/fileadmin/user_upload/minisites/camoc/PDF/Conferences/CallForProposalsMoscowConference2015.pdf

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the
archives at:  http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html