Each year since 1977, ICOM has organised International Museum Day, which represents a unique moment for the international museum community.
The objective of International Museum Day (IMD) is to raise awareness about the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.” Organised on 18 May each year or around this date, the events and activities planned to celebrate International Museum Day can last a day, a weekend or an entire week. IMD was celebrated for the first time 40 years ago. All around the world, more and more museums participate in International Museum Day. Last year, more than 37,000 museums participated in the event in about 158 countries and territories.
International Museum Day 2022 “The Power of Museums”
Museums have the power to transform the world around us. As incomparable places of discovery, they teach us about our past and open our minds to new ideas — two essential steps in building a better future.
On International Museum Day 2022, which will take place on May 18th, museums across the globe will be exploring the potential of museums to bring about positive change in their communities through three lenses: the power of achieving sustainability, the power of innovation on digitalization and accessibility, and the power of community building and education. Here’s the Canmore Museum’s response to the three themes of International Museums Day 2022 and how we are making a difference in our community.
- The power of achieving sustainability: Working in collaboration with community partners, the Canmore Museum is committed to fostering social sustainability and promoting environmental sustainability. In this past year, we have promoted how community organizations are powering an incredible sustainability movement in the Bow Valley and examined how Indigenous traditional knowledge is a vital key to managing our natural resources.
- The power of innovating on digitalization and accessibility: As many of our subscribers are aware, the Canmore Museum has gone “all in” with regards to making our collections, community stories, and knowledge of our community’s shared culture, traditions and places of meaning accessible online with projects like Stories That Matter and Museum@Home. On June 1 we will be launching another initiative – the Canmore Museum App. This “museum in your pocket” will host heritage walking tours, a Heritage Garden field guide, Indigenous content and educational resources available to the public and schools. A big thank you to Gary and Kay Anderson and the estate of Gerry Stephenson for funding the development of the Canmore Museum@Home website and bringing Gerry’s story to home computers and smart devices, and to the Calgary Foundation for the development of the content rich digital museum app.
- The power of community building through education: Through its collections and education programmes, museums thread a social fabric that is essential in community building. We are beyond excited to be launching our new Museum@School program this fall for Grade 3 students – linking classes with the museum’s rich artifact and archival collections, local knowledge keepers, and a weath of resources such as our Discovery Kits, app-based education resources and so much more. Thank you go the Calgary Foundation, the Paterson Foundation and Lafarge Exshaw for your support in making this program possible.
