NEMO Secretary General Julia Pagel discussed the impact of political influence on museums, highlighting how political agendas are increasingly misaligned with the core missions and values of these cultural institutions. Although heritage and museums always have been politically instrumentalised to some extent, museums are increasingly under pressure, particularly from right-wing political forces.
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Drawing on findings from NEMO’s Barometer on Political Influence in Museums in Europe, Pagel stressed the importance of safeguarding museums as spaces of critical reflection. She emphasised that ‘Museums must be safeguarded as spaces of critical reflection. We – with NEMO – have long encouraged museums to not remain neutral (because – if you do not speak up you are NOT neutral!) and to engage and be relevant to their communities, to debate the themes that are important. But I think we also need to understand that museums are not activists, and that their biggest strength is the trust they have in society for presenting and engaging with reliable and over all impartial information that does not follow any political agenda.’
