Minutes of the 51st meeting of the Museum Council, 24 May 2006, 11:30 – 13:00, National Gallery of Iceland, Laufásvegur 12, 101 Reykjavík
Present were: Ólafur Kvaran, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, Sveinn Kristinsson, Karl Rúnar Þórsson, Álfheiður Ingadóttir and Rakel Halldórsdóttir.
1. The minutes of the 50th meeting were approved and signed.
2. Report of the Managing Director. Icelandic Museum Day 2006, Sunday, July 9th. – The Museum Council oversaw the implementation of the promotion of Icelandic Museum Day this year. The Managing Director led a working group of representatives of the main museums, the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors and the Icelandic Department of ICOM. Museums and centres jointly placed an advertisement in Morgunblaðið the day before Icelandic Museum Day, while the Museum Council's office handled the administration in connection with the advertisement. The working group decided that the title of this year's day would be "for the family". There was some discussion of museum issues, including interviews with the Managing Director, in the media surrounding Museum Day. Visit of the Director General to the National Board of Antiquities/Museiverket in Helsinki and a conference on the mobility of museum collections. The Director General represented the Ministry of Education at a conference on the mobility of collections in Helsinki from 19 to 21 July. This is a project that has been underway within the European Union in recent years, of which Finland currently holds the presidency. The conference was entitled ?Encouraging the Mobility of Collections?. In the same week, the Director General visited and familiarised himself with the activities of the National Board of Antiquities/Museiverket in Helsinki, which is a government agency responsible for policy-making and the implementation of projects on behalf of the state in matters of museums in Finland. Aviation Heritage Committee under the Ministry of EducationThe Executive Director has been appointed as an employee of a committee under the Ministry of Education and Culture that has been tasked with submitting proposals for aviation relics and an aviation museum. The committee is chaired by the National Heritage Officer. Applications have been invited to the Museum Fund for 2007. in the main media and the Icelandic Gazette. The application deadline is November 1st. The structure of museum studies at the University of Iceland. The Director is the chairman of a working group on the development of a master's degree program in museology at the University of Iceland. The working group has requested financial support from the Ministry of Education and Culture for the development of the department. The importance of increasing the supply of professional, specialized education in the field of cultural and natural heritage in this country was discussed for the maintenance, advancement and innovation in relation to the heritage of Icelanders.
3. Museum Council survey on the status of registration – results. The results of the Museums Council's survey on the status of registration of museums and centres were published, and the survey was conducted in the spring of 2006. 67 museums and centres participated in the survey. Museums and centres are in varying stages of registration, with some having registered most of their collection and others having registered little. Overall, the results indicate that there is still some way to go in terms of professional registration of cultural and natural heritage in electronic form.
4. Museum Council field trip 2006. A field trip was discussed in 2006. The trip was postponed in the spring and it was now decided to change the trip and go to the North instead of the East. The Executive Director will present a proposal for a one-day trip to Akureyri in connection with the next meeting of the council. Museums and centers in Akureyri and the surrounding area will be visited.
5. Museum Council logoThe improved proposal by designers Hildigunnar Gunnarsdóttir and Snæfríður Þorsteinn was approved.
6. UNESCO Convention of 2005 on the Protection and Promotion of Cultural DiversityThe Ministry of Education and Culture requested comments from the Museums Council and other government agencies on the agreement, as the ministry is working to have Iceland ratify the agreement. No comments were made on the agreement and the comments were approved.
7. Consultation meeting of the Museum Council on October 19th and 20th on the status and policy in the field of the educational role of museums. Following the decision of the last meeting, the Director General convened a working group of experts from the main museums and the largest museums in the city of Reykjavík to work on the preparation and implementation of a consultation meeting on the educational role of museums in October. The dates chosen were 19 and 20 October. The working group is currently working on a survey of the current situation in museums in terms of the educational role and its implementation. Subsequently, a framework for a policy will be prepared that working groups composed of parties responsible for educational matters in Icelandic museums will continue to work on and approve at the consultation meeting. The Museum Council agreed to provide museums abroad that have already been defined by the Council as a museum according to Article 4 of the Museums Act with a grant of ISK 10,000 for participation in the consultation meeting. The goal is for the product of the meeting to be a policy in the form of a report that can be used as a real tool in museums for the positive development of museum activities related to the educational role. The policy will be published by the Museum Council. The meeting will be held at the National Museum of Iceland.
8. Next meeting and other mattersThe next meeting was set for October 5th.
Other issues:
a) Science Museum. ÁI presented developments regarding ideas for establishing a science museum. In the first half of the year, a preparatory association for a science museum was established, in which Reykjavík Energy and other parties are represented. The association is working on the development of a science museum/experimental museum. The Icelandic Institute of Natural History will meet with the committee to discuss possible collaboration, which may involve a possible way to build or develop the Icelandic Museum of Natural History as part of the planned science museum.
b) The Defence Force Area. MH presented ideas regarding the preservation of information about the presence of the defense forces in this country. The National Monuments Commissioner visited the defense forces area some time ago, to observe the area and the community that is disappearing there with the departure of the American military. The Director of the Museums Council was with him. It is urgent that a party be appointed, through the right channels, taking into account that the owner of the defense forces area is NATO, to register relics and sources about this community, which is rapidly disappearing. The Museums Council discussed drafting a resolution in order to draw attention to the issue and its importance. The National Monuments Commissioner and the Director will meet and review the issue, but a decision on a resolution will be made at a later date.
Other issues:
a) Science Museum. ÁI presented developments regarding ideas for establishing a science museum. In the first half of the year, a preparatory association for a science museum was established, in which Reykjavík Energy and other parties are represented. The association is working on the development of a science museum/experimental museum. The Icelandic Institute of Natural History will meet with the committee to discuss possible collaboration, which may involve a possible way to build or develop the Icelandic Museum of Natural History as part of the planned science museum.
b) The Defence Force Area. MH presented ideas regarding the preservation of information about the presence of the defense forces in this country. The National Monuments Commissioner visited the defense forces area some time ago, to observe the area and the community that is disappearing there with the departure of the American military. The Director of the Museums Council was with him. It is urgent that a party be appointed, through the right channels, taking into account that the owner of the defense forces area is NATO, to register relics and sources about this community, which is rapidly disappearing. The Museums Council discussed drafting a resolution in order to draw attention to the issue and its importance. The National Monuments Commissioner and the Director will meet and review the issue, but a decision on a resolution will be made at a later date.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM/RH.