Minutes of the 38th meeting of the Museum Council, February 24, 2005, 12:00-13:00,
National Gallery of Iceland, Laufásvegur 12, 101 Reykjavík
Present were: Ólafur Kvaran, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, Sigrún Ásta Jónsdóttir, Álfheiður Ingadóttir and Rakel Halldórsdóttir.
1. Minutes of the 37th meeting approved and signed. Signing of the minutes of the 36th meeting completed.
2. Report of the Managing Director. The meeting of the Museum Fund's Allocation Committee on 21 February was discussed. Discussion of the 2005 allocations was not concluded at the meeting, but another meeting of the committee was called. The Managing Director presented the Museum Council Office Manual, which contains instructions on the tasks of the Museum Council Office and procedures. The manual is constantly being updated but will be sent to the trustees in its current form.
3rd NODEM Conference 2006. The NODEM (Nordic Digital Excellence in Museums) conference, which had been planned to be held in Iceland in 2006, was discussed. Jóhann Ásmundsson, former member of the Museum Council who died on 31 December 2004, was in charge of the project on behalf of the Association of Icelandic Museums and Artisans, but it was decided at the 31st Museum Council meeting on 18 June 2004 that the main museums should attend the conference. It was agreed to request from NODEM that Iceland's role as the organizer of the conference be postponed, as none of the members of the council or the board of FÍSOS have acquired the overview of NODEM's activities that Jóhann had and which is considered necessary. SÁJ will be in contact with NODEM representatives regarding this decision.
4. Regulation on Articles 4 and 7 of the Museums Act and amendments to the Museums Act. Discussion was held on the results of legal advice that the Museums Council sought regarding the interpretation of certain points in the Museums Act from Róbert R. Spanó, lawyer and associate professor at the University of Iceland. It was agreed to seek another opinion on one point in the interpretation of the Act, which the Museums Council considers fundamental to the work of the Council. Páll Hreinsson, professor of law and expert in administrative law, will be consulted. Discussion of the proposal for a regulation on the Act will be postponed until the conclusion is known.
5. Museum Council's symposium on the educational role of museums. There was a brief discussion about the main focuses of the symposium. ÓK will put together a proposal for the overall concept of the symposium and make a list of foreign speakers. The goal is to have both ready by mid-March. The goal is to present the symposium in April next year.
6. Next meeting and other matters.
The next meeting of the Museum Council according to the meeting schedule is March 31. The Museum Fund Allocation Committee will meet on March 3.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM/RH.