Wikimedia at the 20th ICOM-CC Triennial Conference/ICOM

Help us share museums' knowledge with communities everywhere

Introducing ICOM

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The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is an international organisation of museums and museum professionals, which is committed to the research, conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.

ICOM establishes professional and ethical standards for museums and makes recommendations on issues related to cultural heritage, promoting capacity building, and advancing knowledge. ICOM is the voice of museum professionals on the international stage and raises public cultural awareness through global networks and co-operation programmes.

ICOM has a membership of 45.493 professionals in over 138 countries. Formed in 1946, it is a non-governmental organisation. It maintains formal relations with UNESCO, and it is the only global organisation in the museum field.

You can find out more about the Council, its history, strategy, aim and activities at the ICOM website

The ICOM conference in Valencia

ICOM Triennial conferences are major events in the fields of cultural heritage and museums. They occur every three years and are hosted in Europe every six years. The 20th conference, in September 2023, is expected to be attended by about 1.000 professionals from all around the world, including both ICOM and non-ICOM members.

This is a unique opportunity for museum professionals and supporters to gather together in order to share experiences, ideas and insight, to make valuable contacts with colleagues and representatives from international institutions, and to keep up to date with the developments and trends in the field.

Wikimedia collaborations with ICOM

For several years, Wikimedia affiliates have collaborated with ICOM, for example, by:

organising an International Museum Day campaign to document museums;
illustrating and disseminating Red Lists to protect cultural heritage in Afghanistan and Southeast Europe;
Discussing decolonisation and image description (video in Spanish); and
empowering Italian GLAMs to use Wikimedia projects to share content related to their digital collections.

In 2022, ICOM approved a new definition of museum. We hope that ICOM's new focus on inclusivity and community participation could inspire more museums to collaborate with the Wikimedia movement.

“A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”
— ICOM, August 2022

To propose a collaboration with ICOM, Wikimedians can contact their national committee or regional alliance.

If you're a museum professional at the ICOM conference in Valencia, you can come to the Wikimedia stand to meet Wikimedia organisations from Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. We also have a program of events.