[REGISTRATION OPEN] Open Heart Surgery - The Value of Museum Collections // NEMO's 25th Annual Conference

From 9-12 November 2017, Ghent will be home to NEMO’s 25th Annual Conference and birthday event! For four days, NEMO gathers representatives from European national museum organisations, museum experts, and policy makers and stakeholders from the European cultural sector to exchange expertise, discuss, liaise and network.

Collections are at the heart of museums. As their core and basis, NEMO wants to take an open look at how museums operate with their collections nowadays. How do museums make their heart beat, how do they connect it to other organs in the museum-body, to communities and to society?

We want to debate questions about how museum collections can help develop a sense of identity – both for the museum itself and their community. What are the contemporary approaches to museum collecting today? How must we challenge traditional museum thinking and practice, and redefine the museum's role in socially and politically changing times?

<link internal-link internal link in current>Museum experts from all over Europe will present museum concepts and projects reaching into political and social spheres or opening up collections to participative, modern and exceptional approaches. Museums need to deal with new tasks, new challenges and opportunities within a digital and diverse society, preserving intangible heritage, representing diverse and shared heritage. These tasks have to be met with changing resources, structures, expertise and skill sets to make sure collections are accessible for current and future audiences. Have a look at the programme <link internal-link internal link in current>here.

Among the high-level speakers of this conference are Mark O’Neill  Diana Walters (International Heritage Consultant), Taja Vovk Van Gaal (House of European History), Wiebke Ahrndt (Übersee-Museum Bremen), Martine Reicherts (Director-General for DG Education and Culture, European Commission) and Peter van Mensch (independent museologist).

Additionally, this year’s conference offers various hands-on workshops that look into different aspects collection handling. NEMO also offers the unique opportunity to connect to European museum-related projects and initiatives during a EU Project Slam.

<link https: goo.gl forms>Join us for four intensive days with the European museum and cultural sector in Ghent, Belgium!