Every year on 18^th may since 1977, the International Museum Day is observed to raise awareness among people about the museums which is an important means of cultural exchange and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among people. ICOM organizes an event annually on this day. 

However this celebration is not only about museums, it is also an occasion to learn about the fascinating diversity that unites us in our differences. It is about the communities of museum enthusiasts, the occasional visitors, and even those who have never ever entered in museum before. It is about strengthening the bonds that tie them together and establishing new ones. It is a huge celebration of our collective memory, our histories and traditions [1]. Therefore, generally this day focuses on the important role of museums in the development of the society. On this 43rd International Museum Day, 2020, the theme proposed by ICOM is "Museum for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”, which is an ultimate need of the hour. The topic is in itself a statement on redefining the important role of museums that have come to play in the future of our societies.

The concept of museums as known from the ancient Greeks has changed in many ways today. The functions and roles of museum have always been improved and developed. Initially they were used for collecting artifacts from the olden times, which has been shifted and replaced by conservation, research and communication in course of time. As we are living in a great divided historical moment, we still need a new museum concept to be evolved. And fortunately ICOM is playing a pivotal role in this respect.

The term “Museum” is getting redefined which can be easily seen in the latest definition of a Museum proposed by ICOM in Paris, in 2019. ICOM’s Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA), which was held on 7th September 2019, in Kyoto, Japan, postponed the vote on the new definition of a Museum. Critics say the text is too political for most museums to employ. The new proposed definition of Museum is, “Museums are democratizing, inclusive and polyphonic spaces for critical dialogue about the pasts and the futures. Acknowledging and addressing the conflicts and challenges of the present, they hold artifacts and specimens in trust for society, safeguard diverse memories for future generations and guarantee equal access to heritage for all people.”, which can be clearly correlated with the current International Museum Day theme “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”. Although it is important to review the proposed definition, one can still appreciate that it helps us to know about the phenomenal effort museums are doing towards the issues of society, which are directly or indirectly brought up into existence by the human behavior.

Before proceeding towards the theme further in detail, firstly it is important to understand the term “Diversity”. Generally, Diversity means ‘a range of different things’. India is known to be one of the mega-diverse countries in the world. Diversity can be of anything, such as diversity of cultures, of traditions, of attires, of languages, of food/cuisine, of festivals, of religious beliefs and practices and, very importantly, “diversity of thoughts”. Hence in terms of cultures and arts, Museums Association released a report in 2016 on “Valuing Diversity: The Case for Inclusive Museums”, where Diversity is defined as, “any characteristic which can differentiate groups and individuals from one another”. This includes the protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010 as well as others, such as socio-economic background and status. Moreover it also includes and values diversity of perspectives and life experience [2]. 

The next is “Inclusion” which is also a very important term and is paired with Equality. Inclusion is not about you and me but it is about “them’ (a disadvantaged individual/ group/ culture). In every country, there are individuals or groups who confront difficulties or barriers that prevent them from being fully participating in their nation’s political, economic and social life. These groups of people are excluded not only through legal systems or land laws, but also through attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions, which can be clearly seen in the latest proposed definition of the Museum by ICOM, 2019. The new wordings stress ‘the importance of human dignity, social justice, global equality, and planetary wellbeing’. The root cause of such issues is ‘human behavior’; whether it is environmental issues or societal issues, human behavior is massively responsible.

Generally inclusion means ‘to include’ or ‘to get into its borders. The term Inclusion used in the museum context refers to a feeling ‘that you belong’, or it is something ‘to be a part of’, or ‘their (a disadvantaged individual/ group/ culture) voices are counted’. We can say, it is not about tokenism, it is about different type of a person, differently colored person, an able or disabled person, which is usually meant just to check off a box. It is actually a ‘feeling of belonging’ [3]. In the same report of Museums Association published in 2016, the definition of Inclusion in terms of museum was given as, “Inclusion recognizes that people need to feel connected and engaged. Inclusion can be defined as a state of being and feeling valued, respected and supported. Practicing Inclusion is necessary for diversity initiatives to work effectively” [2].

In context of museum the definition of “Equality” is also given by Museums Association in their previous report, 2016 that, “Equality recognizes, every individual should have equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents. It recognizes that certain groups of people with particular characteristics that have in the past, and today, experienced discrimination” [2]. It is evident that our museums can play crucial role in explaining the notions of Equality by empowering notions of Diversity and Inclusion within our institutions of art and culture. This needs re-imagination and re-evaluation of building our future museums based on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. Turning to the above definition of a museum, Diversity and Inclusion, in my view, must necessarily be paired with ‘Equality’. This new and modern concept of museums can be possible only by providing ‘equal access to all’, “equal representation of every group”, and ‘sharing power of every individual”, which has unfortunately denatured from the word Diversity [4]. This futuristic concept of museums can help in improving ability, opportunity and dignity of those who are disadvantaged on the basis of their social identity, which is a task not as easily attained by the formal institutions.

All of this process requires a systematic change which cannot be achieved alone, but through the collective efforts of all museum communities. We need decisive, meaningful action even from museum funders and sector bodies, if we wish to make a real difference on these issues for future generations. As we are facing the divided historical moment, the museums and museum like institutions can help to see each other in a much better world. We will have to rethink and develop such kind of a vision for our future museums. A change of such nature may not be visible immediately, but may take much time, perhaps two or three generations, to materialize. 

1. ksoy, Suay. “ICOM President Message on International Museum Day.” International Council of Museums (ICOM), 2019, https://icom.museum/en/news/international-museum-day-2019-presidents-message/.

2. Heal, Sharon. Valuing Diversity: The Case for Inclusive Museums. Museums Association, 2015–2016, https://ma-production.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/app/uploads/2020/06/18145318/27072016-diversity-report1.pdf.

3. Winter, Cathy. “Diversity and Inclusion.” Talk by Program Manager, DiverseCity onBoard, Global Diversity Exchange, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD9XqlVaaC8.

4. Chang, Jeff. “Diversity and Inclusion.” Talk by Executive Director, Diversity and Arts, Stanford University, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD9XqlVaaC8.